Johnny C.Y. Lam/Supplied
22 Brooklands Park Ave., Bath, Ont.
Asking Price: $1,150,000
Taxes: $5,741.77 (2022)
Lot Size: 98- by 147-feet
For sale by owner: MLS #40347955
The backstory
Because the house sits on a slope, both levels have large windows with abundant light.Johnny C.Y. Lam/Supplied
Johnny C.Y. Lam and Kate Golding first learned about a mid-century modern house overlooking Lake Ontario after a friend went for a hike in the Parrott’s Bay Conservation Area nearby and became curious about properties for sale in the area.
“This house has your names written all over it,” she told the creative couple.
Mr. Lam and Ms. Golding had good reason to value the opinions of their friends; the two met on a blind date years earlier in Toronto.
At the time, Mr. Lam was building his career as a portrait photographer and Ms. Golding was working in television and advertising.
In 2011, Mr. Lam purchased a farm in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ont., and the couple relocated in 2012. Ms. Golding gave up advertising to put her fine arts degree to use as a surface pattern designer.
“I always knew I wanted to design wallpaper,” she says.
After the tip from their friend, the couple travelled about 25 minutes east from Prince Edward County to see the house for sale near the village of Bath, Ont.
Mr. Lam and Ms. Golding loved the setting on a quiet cul-de-sac surrounded by nature. The living room window provides a sunset view of Parrott’s Bay on Lake Ontario.
One of the main selling points for the two artists was the lower level, with oversized windows and plenty of space for a home studio.
They were also drawn to the pristine condition of the 1970s-era home, which had changed very little over the decades.
They purchased the property in 2017 from the 94-year-old owner, who told them he bought it years earlier from the Swedish architect who designed the house.
The house today
Upstairs, the living and dining area has a vaulted ceiling, a wood-burning fireplace with a brick surround, and doors leading to a wooden deck with views towards the bay.Johnny C.Y. Lam/Supplied
Residents and guests arriving to the front door take a few steps up to the main floor with 2,316-square-feet of living space. Taking a few steps down leads to the lower level with an additional 1,808-square-feet.
Because the house sits on a slope, both levels have large windows with abundant light.
Upstairs, the living and dining area has a vaulted ceiling, a wood-burning fireplace with a brick surround, and doors leading to a wooden deck with views towards the bay.
The kitchen at the rear also has a breakfast area and sliding doors opening to the deck. Mr. Lam and Ms. Golding left the kitchen intact but updated the space with new appliances.
“A lot of things are original but in very, very good condition,” Ms. Golding says. “I think that keeps the soul in the house.”
Mr. Lam says he has lived in previous houses where he needed to knock down walls and renovate the space. In this case, the layout needed no adjustments.
That floor has a primary bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. There are three additional bedrooms, a family bathroom and a powder room.
On the lower level, the couple’s studio with a gas-burning fireplace would serve equally well as a recreation room, Ms. Golding points out.
Mr. Lam says having the studio and principal room on different floors allows them to feel more separation from their work lives at the end of the day.
The lower level also has a workshop, a wine cellar, a bathroom and a sauna.
“We love a good sauna in the winter time,” Mr. Lam says.
Throughout the house, expansive windows provide a vista over the landscape.
“Last winter we saw a snowy owl fly past as we were drinking our coffee,” Ms. Golding says.
That floor has a primary bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. There are three additional bedrooms, a family bathroom and a powder room.Johnny C.Y. Lam/Supplied
Mr. Lam says the couple took their time collecting pieces of mid-century modern furniture that pair well with the architecture. They found furnishings for sale online and worked with a few dealers who kept an eye out for them.
Today classics such as George Nelson bubble lamps and Herman Miller dining chairs are part of their collection.
They had many of the pieces reupholstered or refinished and are willing to offer some of the furniture for sale with the house.
When it came time to choosing a paint palette for the interiors, the couple decided to go with various shades of white to suit each room and the light that passes through it at different times of day.
“We’re both visual artists – we’re quite picky about our colour,” Mr. Lam says.
For the studio, they brought home samples of white from the paint store and separately chose a favourite. They each landed on the warm tones of Night Blooming Jasmine.
“I can’t believe we both picked the same white out of 20,” Mr. Lam says.
The couple have decided to market the house themselves with the use of a social media campaign . They also paid a fee to have the property placed on the Multiple Listing Service of the Canadian Real Estate Association and created a website at 22Brooklandspark.com. They prefer to work directly with buyers but are willing to pay a 2-per-cent commission to a buyer’s agent who brings an acceptable offer.
They figure the house will appeal to buyers who want to be in a rural setting but not too far from the amenities of the city.
Mr. Lam often travels to shoot portraits, interiors, and food and lifestyle images. He takes on assignments in Kingston and places nearby but the home’s location also makes it easy to get to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, he says.
The best feature
They figure the house will appeal to buyers who want to be in a rural setting but not too far from the amenities of the city.Johnny C.Y. Lam/Supplied
“My absolute favourite thing is the serenity and feeling of nature,” Ms. Golding says of the home’s surroundings.
When they’re looking for outdoor activities, the pair stroll to the grasslands, marsh areas and coniferous forest of the same conservation area that inspired their friend to find the house.
They own a canoe and a kayak, which they can wheel out the door and put straight into the water.
“I’ve actually portaged the canoe over the road a couple of times, which entertains the neighbours,” Mr. Lam says.
A short ferry ride takes them to Amherst Island, where they look for birds and wildlife in the winter and relax on the beach in the summer. Just down the road, the free Glenora ferry transports cars and people to Prince Edward County.