House of the Week: $3 million for for a High Park home with a Downton Abbey-esque solarium
Address: 7 High Park Gardens
Neighbourhood: High Park
Agent: Monte Walls Burris and Kathy Essery, Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty, Brokerage
Price: $2,999,900
The place: A 99-year-old home with a red-brick exterior, bay windows, a Conestoga tile roof and a large, welcoming front porch.
The history: Built in 1917, the home has many original features (like the three wood-burning fireplaces, the solarium and much of the woodwork), but it has had many updates over the years. The more recent additions include a new kitchen and a five-car subterranean garage. The sellers have even taken care of some less obvious problems, like almost all of the knob-and-tube wiring.
Big selling point: The solarium feels like something out of an old English country manor—perfect for lounging and reading Wuthering Heights. (The less literarily inclined could just marathon Downton Abbey on an iPad.)
Possible deal breaker: The bedrooms aren’t as cavernous as those in more modern homes of this size. It’s a six-bedroom house, though, so the buyer would have the option of knocking down some walls to create more luxurious sleeping quarters.
By the numbers:
• $2,999,900 • $10,954.50 (2015 taxes) • 99 years old • 6 bedrooms • 5 bathrooms • 3 fireplaces • 5 car garage • 1 solarium
The house still has much of its original woodwork, and three wood-burning fireplaces.
The dining room has a 98-year-old hand-painted mural on the upper part of its walls.
The kitchen is relatively new, and it has a handy breakfast nook.
Oh yeah, and here’s the solarium, which it looks as though it could be used as an actual greenhouse. The windows are new plexiglas.
There are four bedrooms on the second floor. Here’s one of them.
Another bedroom. It might take a couple coats of paint to make those stripes disappear.
This bedroom is being used as an office.
And here’s the master bedroom. It has an ensuite bathroom.
There are two more bedrooms on the third floor. Here’s one of them.
The basement rec room has the nicest ceiling of any basement rec room we’ve ever seen.
Finally, a garage with room for the Mercedes, the Maserati, the Mustang AND the Porsche. (If you can afford a $3-million house, you obviously have at least this many luxury cars.)
