When Toronto-based interior and landscape designer Mary-Beth Jenner was reimagining the Victorian home she purchased in the spring of 2017, she saw potential out back.
“I always thought that it would be nice to develop that garage into something more interesting than a garage,” Jenner tells Livabl.
Originally, she’d planned for a rooftop garden. But Jenner wanted to leave possibilities open to the future owner of the four-bedroom home at 305 Crawford, which she bought as a project rather than a place to live and listed this week for $3,549,000.
So while the 2,700-square-foot home itself was being extensively reno’d — a process that took more than a year — she made sure the garage was roughed in so that one day it could easily be converted to a laneway home.
As the project was underway, the city was in the process of legalizing laneway homes, so the extra work to connect the garage with water, gas and electricity needed for a separate unit made sense.
She also created the possibility for a separate basement suite in the house. Jenner underpinned the home and dug out a complete basement with a separate entrance which, like the garage, has been prepped for a kitchen.
“It was in terrible condition,” says Jenner of the property. So while she wanted to respect the home’s heritage, the place was totally gutted.
Only the original first-floor staircase, with its cherry-wood banister, remains.
In addition to building out the basement, the third-floor loft was expanded into a spacious master bedroom with an ensuite and rooftop terrace.
“That terrace is really nice,” says Jenner, noting the views.
Listing agent Jamie Sarner says the home has broad appeal. It’s attracted interest from a variety of buyers, from down-sizers to young families.
“We’ve even had a couple of young isngle people looking at it. It really attracts all types of buyers,” Sarner tells Livabl.
See more of the house below.
Here’s the master ensuite.
There are three bedrooms on the second floor, including this one.
