This converted Wellington County schoolhouse is a wood-filled oasis

Who: Annie Tobias, President and CEO of Proximity Institute Where: Township of Centre Wellington Year built: 1902

Annie Tobias has always loved historic homes. She’s lived in a 17th-century monastery in Switzerland and a circa-1895 house in Old Montreal. In 2016, she returned to Toronto. But, during Covid, she was itching to get out of the city. “Anything within an hour and a half of Toronto was fine with me,” she says.

Related: Inside a picturesque converted schoolhouse in Prince Edward County

In May of 2020, Annie scooped up a converted one-room schoolhouse nestled among cornfields in Wellington County. Last in operation in the 1950s, it was also previously a dance hall. The owners were horticulturists who had won awards for the gardens on the property. The only downsides: small windows blocked the view and sunlight, and the loft was accessed by a wonky spiral staircase.

Annie enlisted Tony Round of BlackLab Architects to embark on a restoration. The goal was to let in as much light as possible while preserving heritage elements like the ceiling beams and brick walls. Completed in January of 2023 in partnership with Evolve Builders, the redesign includes the addition of two modern dormers. Round also blasted open parts of the back wall to create large wood-trimmed windows. Now, the garden seemingly spills inside, and the space is flooded with light.

The pièce de résistance is the arresting zigzag staircase. “This place is a hidden treasure,” says Annie. “I love it.”