Extreme Makeover: a Baby Point house loses walls and gains an airy main floor

By Meaghan Binstock | Photography by Steve Tsai

Situated on a 250-foot lot overlooking a ravine and the Humber River, Tom and Jenni Kapler’s 3,200-square-foot house in Baby Point had all the space in the world. But the 1940s home (where Tom grew up) just didn’t function for a family of five. It had an awkward layout: a collection of isolated, bizarrely proportioned rooms that felt confining, and small windows that diminished the ravine view. Architect Paul Raff started by updating the master bedroom and adding a large ensuite. Then he blew out the walls on the main floor to create a family-centric Bulthaup kitchen that’s three times the size of the original. Now, new glass doors lead out to the backyard. Raff also reimagined the living room as a modern entertainment space with a limestone fireplace and built-in shelving (joined to a picture rail) that covers up the old radiators. During the lengthy construction, the Kaplers practically cohabitated with the contractors and constantly moved around to avoid the cordoned-off areas. For a stretch, they set up a cooking area in the laundry room. “The kids totally adapted,” says Tom. “It was kind of like camping.”

See the before and after photos »