House of the Week: $6 million for a home in the Beaches that’s actually on a beach

Address: 440 Lake Front Lane
Neighbourhood: The Beaches
Agents: Peter Russell and Catherine Russell, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage; Melanie Wright and Lindsay Wright, Union Realty Brokerage Inc.
Price: $5,995,000

The place

A waterfront home in The Beaches, actually on a beach, near the ever-Instagrammable R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant.

The history

The original home was built in 1904. The current owner bought it in 1984 (back when Pierre Trudeau was prime minister and the current PM was just entering teenhood) and did extensive renovations in 1987. There are only 14 other houses on this strip of beachfront.

Here’s the foyer:

The living room, with wood-panelled walls:

And the family room, with a wrap-around lake view:

The dining area:

And the kitchen:

There are two bedrooms on the second floor. Here’s one of them:

And here’s the master bedroom:

The two bedrooms share this hallway bathroom:

The library on the lower level is big enough for a piano:

And there’s some office space down there as well:

The view from the rear:

Big selling point

Sure, friends can brag about their views of the lake from their 50th floor penthouses, but being able to step from your backyard onto a real, honest-to-goodness beach is a bragging rights trump card for life:

Possible deal breaker

Potential buyers may prefer to turn the third floor into a master suite, which is the trend in houses of this size and price point. But adding an impressive ensuite bathroom would require some construction:

By the numbers

• $5,995,000
• $17,383,13 in taxes (2017)
• 4 bedrooms
• 4 bathrooms
• 3 parking spaces
• 3 gas fireplaces

The Hunt

Food & Drink

Inside the kitchen of Maggie Frith, the owner of Magpie Cakery

Frith’s two kitchens are stocked with vintage baking supplies, a single-scoop ice cream maker and canned olives