Ravine Residence by Akb Architects
Ravine Residence sits in Toronto, Canada, where Akb Architects renew a historic coach house with a three‑storey rear addition. The house tucks into South Rosedale’s trees and turns toward the ravine, pairing a walk‑out level with calm, pared‑back rooms. Inside, light oak floors, sheer curtains, and measured details give the renovation a quiet register suited to a busy owner. The work reads fresh yet grounded.
Morning sun drifts through a tall glass wall and moves across pale oak boards. Leaves throw soft shadows onto sheer curtains while the ravine fills the view beyond.
This is a house in South Rosedale, Toronto, reworked by Akb Architects as a calm retreat for a single homeowner. The project renovates a historic coach house and adds a three-storey volume at the rear, with the interior palette steering the experience from arrival to terrace.
Glazing and Light
At the back, a double-height window wall faces south into the trees and pours daylight deep into the rooms. Slim, dark mullions grid the elevation, and sheer drapery modulates brightness without blocking the wooded view. The walk-out level meets the garden terrace, so the interior reads bright by day and lantern-like at dusk. Light does most of the work.
Warm Wood Volumes
Across the main floor, finely detailed wood panels anchor circulation and form quiet thresholds. In the bedroom, a freestanding wood-clad volume shapes the sleeping nook and conceals storage, leaving the bed low and unadorned against the view. Flooring in light oak keeps the rooms cohesive while softening the black-framed glazing. The move is restrained and sure.
A Quiet Hearth
The living room holds a spare fireplace set in a white wall, its dark firebox a crisp rectangle within a broad plane of plaster. Two low chairs and a throw mark the only furnishings, letting proportion, shadow, and the drawn curtain carry the mood. Recessed ceiling lights punctuate the ceiling with small squares, keeping sightlines clean. Nothing shouts here.
Kitchen in Relief
The kitchen pairs warm cabinetry with cool stone, a measured contrast that reads composed rather than flashy. Marble counters and backsplash catch angled daylight, while integrated pulls and precise reveals keep hardware secondary. A long island centers prep and conversation, and the adjacent dining area holds a glass-topped table with lean timber chairs. Surfaces feel calm under hand.
Stone and Water
In the primary bath, large-format marble wraps floors, walls, tub surround, and vanity in one continuous field of veining. A frameless shower sits to one side, and a full‑height mirror extends the light further into the room. Soft curtains filter glare for privacy without losing the hum of the trees outside. It’s deliberate and serene.
Even outside, the palette holds steady: dark garden walls, clipped shrubs, and pale pavers frame the ravine’s greens. From the original coach house to the new rear face, the house trades noise for clarity and keeps the eye on the woods. The materials do the talking, and the trees answer back.
Photography courtesy of Akb Architects
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