Jeff McNeil/Jeff McNeil/McNeil Photography
23 Misty Cres., Toronto
Asking price: $13.8-million
Taxes: $38,042.32 (2023)
Lot size: 86- by 145-feet
Listing agent: Andre Kutyan, Broker, Harvey Kalles Real Estate
The backstory
The home is on a ravine lot.Jeff McNeil/Jeff McNeil/McNeil Photography
Houses are expensive in Toronto, but some neighbourhoods are more expensive than others. Windfields Park sits just above the famous Bridle Path area (home of Drake’s mansion, among other multi-multi-million dollar acreages) and while you can buy a home in the Windfields community for less than $5-million there are some properties that require a more substantial commitment.
That’s the case for 23 Misty Cres., a modernist mini-mansion with an asking price of $13.8-million, which was built by Yashar Fatehi for his parents.
“My parents and I – when I was younger – were living in the neighbourhood for many decades, but they didn’t have a ravine lot,” Mr. Fatehi said. “This property came to market and they decided to switch: within a day or two they made an offer and it was done. After, we sat down to figure out what should be built. They wanted a house that was modern and unique.”
That was seven years ago (according to HouseSigma.com the family paid just $3.4-million for the land) and it took three years between planning and building before they could move in. To be clear, though Mr. Fatehi is the CEO of private equity group NYX Capital Corp. and has a background in real estate development and custom-home building, but he didn’t buy his parents a house: they paid for it. His input was trusted, his contacts were used and he delivered the dream home vision they had.
“When they wanted to build, I was the go-to-person to make sure this is done right,” he said. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone, but my dad always brags about his son who built this.”
The house today
Home of the Week, Home of the Week, 23 Misty Cres., TorontoMitch Fain/Mitch Fain/The Print Market
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There’s another modernist house on the block (it sold for $9-million in 2019) but 23 Misty Cres. has a different curb appeal. There’s a series of black metal fins cladding the upper floor that were randomly spaced to create both an organic and industrial feel. “In front we wanted to do something that is unique, the architect came up with those designs, those things are all aluminum,” Mr. Fatehi said.
The garage door is imposing and inside is a massive atrium-like space that’s almost 18-feet high: officially it’s a two-car, but it easily fits three and has enough headroom to put in a stacker system for an autophile.
The family entertains often and the connections to the interior from the garage were well thought out: there’s direct access to a full catering kitchen (which sits behind the open-concept show kitchen) so vendors can stage service from the garage. There’s also direct access to the house’s elevator in the garage for convenience.
From the front foyer with its marble slab floor an archway with dual niches frames the main living and entertaining space. Centred in the living space beyond is a curving free-floating staircase – made of steel with wood treads and curving glass railings.
“Up close you can really appreciate it: they spent a lot of money – $200,000 on the stairs alone – to create some kind of feature when you come in,” Mr. Fatehi said. Halfway up the landing serves as a platform for those ravine views. “Credit to the fabricator: they tried and failed many times to get that curve just right.”
The staircase separates the formal dining room from the formal sitting room (the stairs also shelter a full grand piano) that’s built for fun.
“This house is designed for entertainment, not just like a party room in the basement: we have a full-blown bar on the main floor [dining room], and a full-blown bar outside,” Mr. Fatehi said. “The last time they had a big party, they had 120 people there.”
The entire back wall is windows, with a linear planter that’s flush with the floor and runs on automated watering systems to add some colour. There are no pillars or posts; the house makes extensive use of steel and cantilevers to create vast open spaces.
“We press a button and all of that glass are covered in 20-foot shades – everything is on automation,” said Mr. Fatehi. At certain times of the day, especially wintertime you get pretty piercing sunlight, so at certain times the shades come down.”
The main kitchen is separated from the entertaining space, and combines with a family room facing the pool deck and ravine. It could be a stark minimalist showcase but it’s enlivened by a dark granite waterfall slab island, and silver-patina mirrors on the far wall. As mentioned, the room behind is the working kitchen and full pantry.
In the sitting/party room a floating fireplace drops from the 12-foot ceiling like a steel and bronze teardrop, the chimney extends through to the primary bedroom above to share the cozy warmth.
There are six bedrooms: one on the main level (handy as a change room for pool guests), one in the basement as a nanny suite and four upstairs. Finishes everywhere are unique and often sourced in Europe: from plumbing fixtures to hardware to lighting. Even the doors are bespoke: they are nine feet tall rather than the typical seven-foot so they don’t look out of scale with the 12-foot ceilings.
There are other fun features: a dog shower in the mudroom, a third sitting area at the top of the second floor facing the views, a primary bath soaker tub with eye-level window ravine views, and a walk-in-closet the size of most Toronto condo apartments.
Soak it in
Jeff McNeil/Jeff McNeil/McNeil Photography
The brief for the backyard landscaping was simple because the house backs onto Windfields Park itself looking across pasture into urban forest. “We have an open view of 1,000 feet or more. … I don’t think you can find 100 houses that have these views,” Mr. Fatehi said. “Basically from every room in the house you’ve got a fantastic view. We designed it to take advantage.”
That includes the pool that was built with an infinity edge so that bathers can feel like the water blends into the park. The whole pool deck is covered in a two-storey tall weather shelter that was a must-have as well. “You’re covered from the elements but you can actually see the sky,” Mr. Fatehi said. “When the weather is good, every meal is done outside – breakfast, lunch, dinner – that’s their living space basically when it’s not too cold or too hot.”
Worth noting, it is a still a public park back there.
“As you can imagine people will come and look. They engage with my dad all the time,” Mr. Fatehi said. “He’s barbecuing and they’ll say, ‘hey nice house.’ We had one over-friendly neighbour who came in [uninvited] and just sat in the backyard to chill. … You get all sorts of people.”