Madrigal House is a renovation and addition to an Edwardian-era house in Toronto’s Annex neighborhood for a family of five. Paul Raff Studio’s objective was to go beyond the conventional approach of juxtaposing modern architecture with a historic structure. The result was a delicate “Madrigal” – a weaving together of restoration, transformation and invention.

Back facade evening

Evening rear deck

Afternoon rear deck

Rear deck detail

The new home unfolds in a passage from old to new, maintaining gracious Edwardian proportions throughout to ensure a seamless transition — a carefully restored and refined exterior respects the characteristically high-Victorian and Edwardian neighborhood. The grand stained glass entry opens onto a central hall that stretches through the original part of the home containing the living room, music room, and roomy staircase. The architects relocated this staircase to a more central location from the back of the house.

Dogdoor

Entry detail

Dressing room 1

Dressing room 2

Here, though pared down from its original ornamental details, deliberate homage is paid to the 19th century. Newly commissioned stained glass adorns the music room and staircase; thick, curved railings, crown moldings and 10” beveled baseboards are an interpretation of what would have been native to the home, and an existing Jatoba floor underwent chemical treatment to bring out a more era-appropriate color.

Kitchen view

Kitchen with people

Kitchen with people 2

Kitchen stainless

The central hall arrives at the back of the house where the new extension encompasses a large, multitasking kitchen. While still marked by the home’s grand spatiality, traditional details fall away to express the full gamut of contemporary design. A modern clarity characterizes the kitchen’s strong composition, setting the stage for a new kind of luxury in visual and material richness: unadorned Anigre veneer millwork frames boldly articulated elements like a black lacquer espresso station and linear stainless steel bar. A spacious eating area, an office command center and an integrated teal daybed with reading light round out the amenity in this, what is the new heart of the home.

Kitchen and break

Kitchen and dining

Hallway

Bedroom

The second floor contains adult living quarters: master bedroom with a marble-clad ensuite and his-and-her offices. An ample dressing room shows off unique customization, where a built-in closet is scribed perfectly into the original curved ceiling.

Kitchen built ins

Kitchen built ins 2

Kitchen built ins

Kitchen coffee

On the top floor, the addition of modern dormers opens up a formerly cramped attic to allow for three, equal size bedrooms for the family’s children. The boxed dormers face in three different directions and although democratic in size (to avoid sibling rivalry), each room offers its occupant a unique shape and view, with light pouring in through dramatically cut window channels. As with the rest of the home, the bedrooms are customized with built-in storage, desks, shelving and window seating, to ensure optimal use of space.

Kitchen island

Kitchenbar

Living room view

Kitchen island 2

The dormers are clad in a modern zinc siding and jut out from a traditional pitched roof. Below it, the Cenia Azul limestone façade feels restrained, while allowing an air of stately consequence that was inherent to the original home. The stone is bush-hammered for a lighter finish and an almost suede-like texture which complements the sleek dormers and custom mahogany windows and doors. The stone façade cascades down to transform into the back stair and patio, which meet the ground level in a fluid and powerful connection between the life of the house and its gardens.

Bathroom marble

Master bathroom

Powder room

Wine room

Bedroom 2

Bedroom built in

Music room

Stairlanding

As dubbed by Canadian architecture reporter and critic, Simon Lewsen, our ‘sensitive and revisionist’ approach to this renovation created something that is perceived with the same ease as a masterful composition; an elegant madrigal that equally sings the merits of old and new.

Photos by Steve Tsai & Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Architects: paulraffstudio.com