House of the Week: $2.3 million for a traditional Annex home with a contemporary soul
House of the Week: $2.3 million for a traditional Annex home with a contemporary soul
ADDRESS: 405 Brunswick Avenue
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Annex
AGENT: Vicky Tal and Meir Gluzberg, Harvey Kalles Real Estate
PRICE: $2,295,000
THE PLACE: Set away from the Annex’s beer-soaked frat abodes, this five-bedroom semi-detached is a quiet retreat in the downtown core.
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Cameron MacNeil, the design editor for House & Home magazine, is a friend of the family and designed the interiors. He selected all the custom-made furniture, like the marble dining room table.
BIG SELLING POINT: She’s a brick house. Due to strict zoning laws in the Annex, this home, rebuilt in 2009, retains most of the gorgeous original exterior brick from its former days as a rooming house.
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The tiled backyard makes for great cocktail parties (no stilettos getting caught in grass here) but if you’re looking for a green space for the summer, you’ll have to invest in a lot of potted plants and shrubs.
BY THE NUMBERS:
• $2,295,000
• $13,509.58 in taxes (2011)
• 3,400 square feet
• 11 foot ceiling in the powder room
• 10 foot ceiling in the living room
• 7 bathrooms
• 5 bedrooms
• 3 storeys
• 2-car garage
• 1 well-known interior designer
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- The two-car garage. The driveway and all the walkways are heated
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The backyard has a cedar deck and a flagstone patio
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The basement contains an exercise room (or, alternatively, a bedroom) with an ensuite bathroom, along with a rec room and a wine cellar
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- A smaller sitting area in the hallway, third level
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- One of the upstairs bathrooms
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The office and den has a built-in teak desk and bookshelves and a skylight
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The fourth bedroom has a walk-in closet, an ensuite with a shower and double doors leading out to the deck
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The third bedroom has space for a sitting area and an ensuite with a tub and shower
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The third level contains the third and fourth bedrooms (both of which have ensuite bathrooms) and a den or office
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The master ensuite
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The master ensuite has heated marble floors, double sinks, a shower with a rainfall head and sprayers and a Jacuzzi tub
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The master bedroom, second level
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- On the second level, the master bedroom boasts a walk-in closet, an ensuite bathroom and built-in speakers. The second floor also contains the laundry room and a second bedroom with an ensuite bathroom
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The main floor powder room
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The kitchen
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The kitchen and family room
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The kitchen has an area for eating, a large pantry closet, a teak island with a sink, white custom cabinetry and marble and granite counters
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The family room
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The family room is open to the kitchen. It has a teak built-in storage unit, a gas fireplace and access to the backyard and garage
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The living room, with its bay window and 10-foot ceilings
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The living room and dining room, with the hallway leading to the kitchen and family room
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The entire main level has oak hardwood flooring and built-in speakers
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- On the main level, the dining room opens up to a living room area (currently occupied by a piano)
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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- The semi-detached house was entirely rebuilt—preserving the façade—in 2009
- 405 Brunswick Avenue
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Contemporary soul? Maybe it’s me, but I find the overly designed staging lacking soul.
Kudos to the designer/owner! It seems to have the right balance between contemporary design and comfort in a traditional home. I toured it a couple weeks ago at an open house. if only I had $2.3 million to spoil myself with… sigh.
I think you meant to say “a soulless renovation to a house that now does not fit in the annex”.
Is nothing of the interior ever salvageable when they renovate these homes? Why oh why does no one ever seem to appreciate the architectural details in an old home?. Sooooo sad.
This is an incredible price for the Annex and you get a bonus of being close to the James Joyce Pub and Brunswick House for a pint!
Cosmo Mannella
no, no, no
cathie – perhaps all the lovely architectural details were removed over time by multiple renos?
strange….indeed…. why so many pics of the sparse dining room then the overcrowded family room. Its so bland for over $2mil…where is the WOW factor ? With all the brick outside, is there a WOW staircase ? entrance ? Come on TL! You can seriously do better!!!
I recognize so much of it is from west elm its not funny…the house is beautiful, just that it wouldn’t strike me as professionally decorated. The WOW factor Paul is the price! ;)
The photo caption says “$8 million for an Arts and Crafts mansion near the lake”. What happened to THAT house?
Sexy house. Great location. I guess this is how the 1% live…
I have to respectively disagree with Cathie. I think the owner/builder should be given credit for maintaining the original external facade of the house. They easily could have torn the entire house down and built a contemporary exterior which would not have suited the Annex. At least they maintained a traditional exterior which fits nicely in the area, while attending to their personal contemporary tastes and comforts of a modern home.
Way too ‘designed’. Too many straight, hard edges.
Jen – not sure how you take down and rebuild a semi-detached! I think this place is wildly overpriced, but so is most of Toronto’s real estate. At this point I’d keep my money and rent!
AV, if by fitting into the Annex you are referring to the rundown delapitated student housing, then you are right. Personally, I agree with Jen, I take my hat off to those who have had the courage to invest in giving a historical corner of Toronto a facelift. Well done! Just wish I could afford it.
AV, if by fitting into the Annex you are referring to the rundown delapitated student housing, then you are right. Personally, I am in agreement with Jen and take my hat off to those who have had the courage to invest in giving a historical corner a facelift.