Eppich House II, 1056 Groveland Rd., West Vancouver, B.C.Ema Peter Photography/Ema Peter Photography
In a special edition of The Globe and Mail’s roundup of the top housing and real estate stories, we’re featuring the best homes of the week of 2023. From converted churches to famous architects, here are the most interesting homes the year had to offer.
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Caledon estate has country house feel with a modern vibe
17265 Mountainview Rd., Caledon, Ont.Mitchell Hubble/Mitchell Hubble/Modern Movement Creative
17265 Mountainview Rd., Caledon, Ont.
Entering the three-bedroom, five-bathroom house, each room seamlessly flows into the next. The open-concept living room — featuring a huge stone fireplace — centres the home and blends into the den, kitchen, and second-floor staircase. Recent renovations added wood accents across the building, with cedar ceilings, walnut kitchen cabinets and maple floors. The inground pool, hot tub, and bocce court are perfect additions for entertaining in the backyard. The best feature is the 47 acres the home sits on, covered in woodland, ponds, and manicured walking trails.
A grand home for a ton of books
3746 Highway 1, Annapolis Royal, N.S.Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
3746 Highway 1, Annapolis Royal, N.S.
The monumental 7,570-square-foot house built in 1935 features five bedrooms, walls fortified by three layers of construction, massive cement footings and tough steel girders supporting all three floors. Its sturdiness was a big selling point for the previous owners, who ran a bookshop and needed a space that could handle their 20,000-book collection. The house underwent major renovations, including combining the main house and the former servants’ quarters. Outside, the grounds include an apple orchard, woodlands and meadows.
A work of art in steel
Eppich House II, 1056 Groveland Rd., West Vancouver, B.C.Ema Peter Photography/Ema Peter Photography
1056 Groveland Rd., West Vancouver, B.C.
Eppich House II, a 6,486-square-foot house named after its original owners, Hugo and Helmut Eppich, is a sprawling steel structure which appears to roll into the natural landscape of the neighbouring creek. Designed by architect Arthur Erickson — known for landmark buildings such as the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia and Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall — it’s been upgraded in recent years with new plumbing, wood ceilings, and a one-bedroom guest house by the pool.
“To be in the living room when there’s snow outside – there’s nothing like it,” said Monica Feldman, daughter of the couple who commissioned the house. It has stayed in the family ever since. “And the reflection of the Christmas lights in the glass – it’s a very tranquil place to be.”
A Calgary home with lots of woody warmth
5036 Vanstone Crescent NW, CalgaryHayden Pattullo/Hayden Pattullo/Damon Hayes Couture
5036 Vanstone Cres. NW, Calgary
At first glance, this split-level home on Calgary’s Vanstone Crescent might not stand out, but look a little deeper and you’ll find its quirks. It features three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a hidden office, and a lounge space on a 613-square-metre lot.
Designed by architects Mark Erickson and Matthew Kennedy, the home is a celebration of all things wood. The main highlight is a series of unique rattan mesh panelling separating some rooms, with similar accents peppered around the home.
“We really strive to be timeless,” Mr. Erickson said. “Is it modern, is it mid-century? … It kinda makes you question it, and that’s how something becomes timeless. It’s always going to feel good.”
Modern log cabin an homage to wood near Prince Edward County
971 Naphan Rd., Roslin, Ont.OneLook Photography
From left to right, the rooms on the main floor almost seem to travel in time to the present: The living room/den has a massive fieldstone hearth and barnboard walls; the dining room is filled with tiger-stripe oak antiques and glass-globed brass lighting fixtures; and the kitchen evokes modern farmhouse with a huge granite-topped island over a playful turquoise lower cabinet, grey upper and pantry millwork and stainless steel appliances under a white-washed oak ceiling.
Along the back of the house is a hallway that connects the dining room, powder room and kitchen and has three exterior doors to the stone patio and side driveway and backyard. There are three more bedrooms on the top floor, and plenty of skylights to bring light into another lodge-like level filled with wood.
A panoramic view of the Gulf Islands
630 Tinker Rd., Mayne Island, B.C.DAN KIRCHNER/Supplied
630 Tinker Rd., Mayne Island, B.C
The house sits on a mountaintop 500 feet above sea level in British Columbia’s Gulf Islands on 52 acres of forested land. The panoramic views from inside the house take in the Gulf Islands and the water to the south, while the natural landscape surrounds the house to the north.
The 2,829-square-foot house features three bedrooms, concrete floors and white walls. There’s also a separate guest cottage with 661 square feet of living space.
A converted church near Toronto’s High Park
202 - 384 Sunnyside, TorontoEdwin Ham Photography/Edwin Ham Photography
384 Sunnyside Ave., unit 202, Toronto
In 2009, a century-old church building in Toronto’s leafy High Park neighbourhood was transformed into 24 residential lofts. This unit provides approximately 1,836 square feet of living space on two levels. The primary bedroom retains some of the character of the old church with wood rafters and a large arched window. There’s also a guest bedroom and a powder room on the main level.
A work from a pioneer of the West Coast style
4069 Madeley RdDAN KIRCHNER/Supplied
4069 Madeley Rd., North Vancouver, B.C.
The house offers 3,550 square feet of space on three levels, including the basement. At the centre is the sunken living room with a fireplace surrounded by a bank of glass, a gallery above overlooks the double-height space, and a few steps up from the living room is the dining area. A corner of the main floor has been designated as a music room, with the piano sitting next to a window at eye level. Upstairs, the primary bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and a balcony facing the treetops.
The house is surrounded by greenery, overlooking city-owned parkland, with the Vancouver skyline in the distance.
Former home of four-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Roy
367 Chemin du Tour-du-Lac, Lac-Beauport, Que.Matthieu Delarue/Archimed Media
367 Chemin du Tour-du-Lac, Lac-Beauport, Que.
Montreal entrepreneur Dave Villeneuve had his eyes on a lakefront property in this exclusive enclave north of Quebec City. The only problem was it was already occupied by one of Quebec’s most famous residents: Four-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Patrick Roy. Eventually, Mr. Villeneuve decided to contact Mr. Roy and make an offer.
The property is really not a house so much as a compound with 425 feet of beach, one of the largest lots on the lake and every amenity a hockey legend could want. There’s a concrete dock, a newly refurbished boathouse for all your water sports needs and an infinity pool that offers the illusion of being a part of the lake.
There are five bedrooms but the unquestioned star of the show is the primary suite which sits above the kitchen/family room with an even more elevated lake view.
Rural Whitby home with a Westchester vibe
4390 Anderson St., Whitby, Ont.Robert Holowka/Robert Holowka/Birdhouse Media
4390 Anderson St., Whitby, Ont.
A 6,500-square-foot house in Whitby, Ont. where life on the main floor revolves around a great room with a wood-burning fireplace set in floor-to-ceiling Indiana limestone. The vaulted ceilings are two stories high, and a second-storey walkway overlooks the main level.
The circular dining room was inspired by the round dining room table which the owners had custom-made, and two alcoves were designed for the couple’s antique Canadiana hutches.
A Calgary home for the tech lover
530 Crescent Rd. NW CalgaryZoon Media
The Crescent area of Calgary, just a 15-minute walk to downtown, offers stunning vistas and a mix of more traditional and newly built homes. The lot size is 28.9-by-120 feet, and the entire house is oriented toward the view: a modernist building with 13-feet high windows – made in Belgium – and outdoor spaces with built-in fireplaces.
On the very back of the house is a screened-in back deck and an office workspace. Sitting in the office, you can turn around and look straight through to the front terrace and beyond. “The idea was, wherever you are, you have a view to the downtown,” the owner said.