Laneway Suite of the Week: $2.2 million for an upside-down Harbord Village home with a rooftop shower

Neighbourhood: Harbord Village
Sold for: $2,232,000 in March of 2024 Size: 1,214 square feet Bedrooms: 3+1 Bathrooms: 3 Real estate agent: Paul Johnston, Paul Johnston Unique Urban Homes

The place

A three-plus-one-bedroom, three-bathroom home that may be Toronto’s first-ever laneway suite. Uniquely, the home is inverted, with the open-concept kitchen, living space and dining room on the top floor, which brings added privacy to the bedrooms below. It’s within walking distance of bustling Harbord Street’s many businesses, Little Italy, Kensington Market and Chinatown. Residents have easy access to several TTC routes, and motorists are a short drive from both Bloor and Avenue Road.

The history

This detached pad was completed in 2006 by Kohn Shnier Architects, meaning it predated the city’s current laneway standards, helping it gain recognition over the ensuing years for its atypical size and design. The place has since gone through substantial renovations.

Related: How an Annex contractor built a $500,000 in-law unit in his backyard

The tour

The façade is unusually tall and narrow for a laneway suite. Because of the home’s history, U of T sometimes arranges tours of it for architecture students.

Since the residence is inverted, let’s start at the top. The rooftop terraces comes with a built-in day-bed, a lounging and dining space, and an overhead heater.

Here’s that day bed.

There’s even a shower up here.

Now for the skyline view, with CityPlace and the Financial District in the distance.

Moving down to the third storey reveals the open-concept space. Its wall-to-wall windows provide a view of the courtyard’s birch trees.

In the kitchen: millwork all over and tiled surfaces. Those stairs outside lead to the roof.

Here’s a closer look at the kitchen’s subway-tiled backsplash, AEG oven and gas cooktop.

Built-in teak cabinets like this one can be found throughout.

The main bedroom has a gas fireplace.

This is the main ensuite bathroom, complete with a steam shower and a super-long vanity.

The staircase leads directly to the bedrooms and anchors the structure.

Here’s a peek inside one of the secondary bedrooms, this one with a space-saving layout.

The bedroom on the ground floor comes with storage galore.

There’s a steam shower down here too.

Back outside, there’s a deck with a tall fence for privacy.

Finally, here’s the hidden courtyard, home to a moose silhouette by legendary Canadian artist Charles Pachter.

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