How one couple transformed a rock-and-roll Upper Beaches home once owned by Geddy Lee

The sweeping brick Tudor house at the edge of the Glen Stewart ravine is well-known in the Upper Beaches: it was, for many years, the home of Geddy Lee, the frontman of the beloved Canadian rock band Rush. Neighbours swapped stories of the parties that Lee used to host in his backyard, when revellers would supposedly jump from the retaining wall directly into the gigantic blue-and-white-tiled pool that took up most of the yard. There were also rumours of a soundproof basement where Lee frequently jammed.

In 2023, the house was purchased by Dana Dineen, founder and owner of hot yoga and fitness studio bhy, and her husband, Galen Dineen, the owner of Echo Rock Contracting. Dana had grown up in the Beaches but always wanted to leave. “If there were a superlative in high school for the person who was most likely to move away, I would have won,” she says. Yet, in 2016, a few years after purchasing Beaches Hot Yoga, she moved back to the neighbourhood with her husband and two kids in tow. They lived on Glen Stewart Avenue, and every time they walked by “the Geddy Lee house,” they admired the historic charm of its ivy-draped walls, joking that it was the only house they would leave their current home for.

Related: Ten things Geddy Lee can’t live without

Dana also felt a particular affinity for the house because Lee had approached her late father, architect Thomas Moore, about designing a cottage for him on Prince Edward Island in the early 1990s. Lee ended up purchasing a cottage elsewhere, but Dana remembers vividly the time he visited the family’s cottage in PEI when she was around twelve.

When Lee’s former home came on the market within their budget, at $1.8 million, Dana and Galen pounced. It was an old house with a funky design. The previous owner, who had purchased the property from the Lee family in 1981, added dark wood, wallpaper, carpets and mirrors everywhere, so they knew they would have to undertake a fairly intense revamp. Fortunately, Dana and Galen were seasoned renovators, having already flipped five houses. Since moving to the Beaches, they had put house-flipping on pause so that their kids could spend a few years without having to move, but they now felt ready to swap homes once more.

For the project, they worked with Kelly Lynn Armstrong of KLA Interiors, whose husband was Galen’s roommate in university. The couple wanted to preserve the rock-and-roll vibes and the history of the home, and they settled on a decor theme of “Spain-meets-the-1970s”: rich, earthy colours; mixed metals like nickel, brass and copper; and natural stones like marble and travertine.

The entryway features a red-and-orange painting of Japanese torii gates from Dana’s childhood home and is lined with heated marble-patterned tiles. It opens into the kitchen, which was previously a cramped galley. Dana and Galen removed the walls between the kitchen, the dining area and the front hall to create an open concept living space framed by archways. The gas stove is in a recessed cove painted “Mouse’s Back” by Farrow and Ball. At the centre of the kitchen is a long island that functions as a homework station, breakfast bar and hangout spot. Dana’s kids are big readers, and her son likes to lie across the three kitchen bar stools with a book in hand. The lighting over the kitchen island is hoisted high to preserve a direct sight line across the space.

Related: How this Corktown condo transformed from an everyday unit into a chic sanctuary

The kitchen flows into the dining room, which consists of a built-in banquette and a long extendable vintage dining table that seats up to 14. The four steel-and-rattan Cesca chairs encircling the dining table have been in the couple’s possession for a decade, and Dana grew up with dining chairs in the same style. “We love to have dinner parties, and we love to entertain,” Dana says, “but not necessarily in the traditional way. We like things to be more relaxed.” The open kitchen allows Dana and Galen to mingle casually with their guests as they cook.

As soon as the temperature drops “anywhere close to five degrees,” the Dineens gravitate toward the wood-burning fireplace in the living room. The fireplace is in its original firebox, but Galen created a new frame for the mantle by hand, which was then filled in with Venetian plaster. Across from the fireplace is a grand piano, which anchors the living room. It had been left by the previous owners, and the Dineens carefully moved it around the space when they replaced the dark wood panels on the floor with a lighter oak. The furnishings are layered with textures: a low moss-green sofa occupies the centre of the space, accompanied by wicker chairs decorated with velvet pillows. The wide bay windows overlooking the lush greenery of the ravine are clothed in linen blinds sourced from India. A painting featuring Elvis in an ice-fishing hut—a collision of Canadiana and rock iconography—hangs nearby, subtly underscoring the home’s musical history.

Up the staircase, which is framed by original wooden bannisters, the master bedroom embraces a darker, more sensual palette. Dana and Galen removed the striped and floral wallpaper and drenched the room in a deep purplish brown. The dark walls are offset by white-oak custom cabinets and a playful overhead light that reminds Dana of the moon. She and Galen retained the funkiness of the original bedroom with chrome bedside lights that lean into the ’70s rock-and-roll vibe, as well as patterned linen blinds and another custom upholstered banquette, which overlooks the ravine. “It’s a beautiful spot to read,” Dana says.

The primary ensuite includes a cozy cove-like shower and a free-standing bathtub. All the textiles in the bathroom, including the kikoi towels and linen blinds, are sourced from Kenya, where Dana’s brother, who runs a micro-lending company, resides. A pink marble sink and a white-oak vanity complete the room.

They made the fewest changes to the kids’ bathroom. It retains its vintage wallpaper, trim, tiles and tub—elements many renovators would instinctively gut. Instead, the update was deliberately light: the trim was repainted a blue-green colour, the hardware in the shower was swapped, and a new vanity and mirror were introduced to anchor the space in the present.

Dana and Galen are a rare couple who actually enjoy moving. But, at long last, they may have finally found their landing place. Dana admits, “I do think it’s our forever home.”