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The house presents a discreet front on one of Edmonton’s most exclusive crescents, which today is crowded with construction crews and equipment busy erecting new homes. All appears quiet until—surprise!—something fluffy and grey flutters around the corner. Boo the dog, true to his name, starts and rises from the side entranceway, tiled with a mottled grey terrazzo into which he blends as seamlessly as this unassuming, flat-roofed vintage house does into the landscape.
From the back, however, the home is another story entirely: a spectacular floor-to-ceiling glazing faces one of the city’s best river valley views, with the top floor cantilevered out over a walkout basement. It’s a mid-century modern dream home, one the owners and their designer knew was worth saving.
“My husband has a very good eye,” says one of the homeowners of her spouse, who has a background in commercial building. “He saw this place, green shag rug and all, and spotted something that could be great.” Designer John McMaster of Daily Planet Design, who lives just a few blocks away in a home of a similar vintage, was happy to come have a look. “Even if somebody comes to me talking about a teardown, I say, ‘Whoa, let me take a look at it first.’ In this case, I was blown away. It had really good bones but was very run down,” he explains, describing peeling painted siding, detached flashings, and other exterior signs of neglect. And the interior? “It was horrible! Really in need of work,” says McMaster, who bemoaned the walls and small rooms blocking the southern exposure and view.
Another architect had already drawn up plans for a complete renovation and big expansion. McMaster proposed a more modest overhaul that respected the original lines, materials and intentions of the home design (for which the owners had the blueprints). McMaster likens his plan to an outpatient procedure instead of risky triple-bypass surgery—a minimally invasive fix that resulted in an “amazingly quick” reno, say the homeowners, who facilitated things by moving the family out during the eight-month process.
McMaster removed the warren of small rooms that closed up the main floor. “I’d rather come up with ways to define space that don’t include walls,” he says. A space-hogging second staircase was removed, and in the end only the river-facing main storey (formerly a laundry room and breakfast nook, now a cozy sitting and family eating area) and the upstairs master bedroom were expanded slightly. “We could have increased the square footage but to what effect?” says the homeowner. “I grew up in a house much smaller than this. We didn’t want more space, just needed better use of space.” For instance, a laundry chute more than compensates for relocating the washer and dryer from prime riverfront space off the kitchen to the walk-out basement, where two of the three children’s bedrooms are.
Refinishing the exterior of the garage faced in acrylic stucco and textured stone, with direct access to the home via a spacious mudroom, also made family-friendly sense. “We live in our house, we don’t worship it,” says the homeowner, taking warm cookies from the oven. She laughs, “Everything is peanut butter friendly.”
Commercial metal-clad windows and a stunning pearwood door make that discreet side-entry vestibule feel as special as a hotel or restaurant entrance. “A lot of people have this perception that old is bad, new is better. That is not always the case,” insists McMaster, clearly proud of the role he had in preserving this modern gem.
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