54 Raymar Place, Oakville, Ont.
Asking price: $4,288,000
Taxes: $18,500 (2014)
Lot size: 147.20 by 142.04 feet
Agent: Dan Cooper, Broker, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage
Raymar Place is a short cul de sac in Old Oakville. As you travel down it, it is lined with traditional looking mansions on wide lots. Then as the road curves, you catch a glimpse of sun reflecting off of something set behind a group of trees: the “Glass House,” 54 Raymar Place.
“Anyone who has ever lived in Oakville knows about the glass house,” said Christopher Wood, current owner.
“It is a coveted house in this neighbourhood,” broker Dan Cooper said.
The back story
If the name “Glass House” sounds familiar that’s because this home draws its inspiration from the original glass house built in 1949 in New Canaan, Conn. by architect Philip Johnson.
Like the original, the home in Oakville has mainly windows in place of walls – only the south wall is non-glass – and it is rectangular in its form. Unlike the original, which is only 1,728 square feet, this one is massive. It is over four times the size, at around 7,000 square feet.
Given that there are no other homes like it in Oakville, it has a reputation, so much so that Mr. Wood put a bid on it almost as soon as he walked in when it was on the market in 2012.
“The movers were bringing my stuff in and I stopped them and made them take everything out and put it in storage. I couldn’t live in the house [in the state it was in],” he said.
Much like its exterior, the interior had a strong aesthetic. There were exposed beams and ducts, an industrial kitchen and something Mr. Wood jokingly dubbed the “disco wall” – a partition made of glass cubes that split the kitchen and the dining room.
But originally Mr. Wood thought he could get away with only tweaking the interior.
“But then, a little bit of lipstick turned into a major gut,” Mr. Cooper said.
Mr. Wood and his designer, Jonathan Furlong, took almost two years to transform the space from top to bottom. About $1.27-million was spent in renovations. Every room was touched. With the exception of one thing: a bar in the basement.
“I left it as is because I wanted to leave something retro and this bar is so Eighties,” Mr. Wood said.
Otherwise, everything else was updated and picked out by Mr. Wood, right down to the light fixtures, the white oak floors and the wallpapers.
Now the top floor contains three bedrooms, each with their own ensuite bathroom, including a master suite. The main floor is a great open living and dining room, separated only by a two-sided fireplace. The kitchen on that level also got an update and Mr. Wood added an office space close to the entrance and loaded it up with storage.
In the basement, Mr. Wood installed a wine cellar, a fourth bedroom, another four-piece bathroom, a laundry room and the nearly 900-square-foot recreational room (where the ’80s bar resides). There is also access to the four-car garage. In total, there is over 3,000 square feet on this level.
It’s spacious, which is a good thing since Mr. Wood lived the first chunk of his residency down there as the upper floors were renovated.
Because of the house’s size, it’s very conducive to host huge parties, especially in the summer when people can enjoy the backyard saltwater pool and upper-deck hot tub.
“Before Chris purchased this home, a hospital used it for a fundraiser,” Mr. Cooper said. “There were over 200 people in the house.”
And if the interior looks a tad familiar to you, that’s because the home (pre-renovation) was also used as the contestants’ house for the short-lived Canada’s Next Top Model.
Favourite features
Mr. Wood’s favourite room also happens to be the room that underwent the biggest transformation: the kitchen. The original layout was flipped from the current one.
“All of the cabinets in the old kitchen were across the back against the windows,” said Mr. Wood, adding that because of this the view to back was disrupted.
So, he took them out and put all of the cupboards along the two non-window walls. He also ripped out the old commercial stove and added a full-sized fridge (previously there had only been a mini-fridge). And lastly he added the kitchen island, which comfortably seats four.
And Mr. Cooper believes those seats are the best ones in the house, because they allow you to enjoy an uninterrupted view of the backyard.
“It’s an idyllic location, with the backyard facing west, so you get south-west light coming into the house all day,” he said.
You can also see most of main floor from that spot, including the fireplace and the architectural, modern, three-ring chandelier (which took four days to install and comes with the house).
“[The kitchen island] the epicentre of the house,” Mr. Cooper said.
Mr. Wood also really loves the second-floor patio, accessible from the master bedroom.
“When these doors open up, it makes for a 16-foot opening,” Mr. Wood said. “In the summertime, it feels like you’re out at the cottage.”
Because of the access to nature, the home has a very peaceful aura, Mr. Wood said.
“This house is very serene and calming,” he said. “I feel very relaxed here.”