THE LISTING 13 Briarcroft Rd., Toronto
ASKING PRICE $1,998,000
TAXES $6,528.87 (2016)
LOT SIZE 27.5 by 110 feet
LISTING AGENT Nutan Brown, sales representative, Royal LePage West Realty Group, brokerage
Ive Viksne remembers being a part of the "sandwich generation" vividly. But she had something that helped her get through that tough time: her house.
The brick exterior of 13 Briarcroft provides no clue that inside there's an integrated two-unit home that provided Ms. Viksne with a solution to the challenges so many face while squashed in between aging parents and young children.
"So many people talk about the sandwich generation," Ms. Viksne said. "Well, I was a part of that. But when [my parents] were needing more help, all I had to do was walk downstairs."
The backstory
How Ms. Viksne and her husband, Donald Powell, ended up living with her parents really boils down to timing and an agreement.
In the mid-1980s, Ms. Viksne and Mr. Powell were shopping for a home for their young, growing family. Ms. Viksne's parents were at the point where they were thinking about downsizing.
So they made a deal: her parents would live rent-free with them if they promised to provide some child care for the working couple. (Ms. Viksne was a teacher – Drake was once a student of hers – and Mr. Powell is a criminal lawyer.)
Her parents also agreed to take the funds from the sale of their home in St. Catharines and put it toward 13 Briarcroft Rd.
"We had the help of the bank of Mom and Dad," Ms. Viksne said. "The stipulation was that they would spend summers at the cottage but live here in the winters."
The house today
When Ms. Viksne and Mr. Powell purchased the house in 1984, it was already carved into two apartments: One on the top floor and the other on the main floor, plus an unfinished basement. The actual logistics of living together proved difficult at first in terms of who fit best where.
After a short time, Ms. Viksne and Mr. Powell realized they needed to renovate.
In 1987, they brought in architect Michael Brisson. He redesigned all three floors of the home. Each apartment got a new layout and the lower level was totally transformed. When he was finished the next year, it was an entirely new space.
"There is nothing original to the house except the brick," Ms. Viksne said.
The lower level on the middle floor was transformed to include a kitchen, dining room and living room.
"We spent more money on the renovation than the house cost in the first place," Mr. Powell added.
Ms. Viksne described the finished product as a "sandwich design." The middle floor (which has an at-grade entryway on the side of the house) became the apartment for her parents, because they needed easy access to the street. On that floor, he laid out a one-bedroom-plus-den apartment, complete with its own kitchen, dining room, living room and Juliet balcony.
The other unit wrapped around this middle floor. The transformed lower level became the kitchen, dining room and living room, with a walkout to the ravine-facing garden. The third floor housed the kids' rooms, the office space and the master bedroom. A long staircase at the front of the house connected the unit and allowed the family easy access to each other's spaces.
The garden, which can be accessed from the living room, faces a ravine.
"You hear a lot of talk about multigenerational homes, but it's difficult to accomplish," realtor Nutan Brown said. "But here the design lent itself … to a separation of space, while still having togetherness."
In 2002, Mr. Powell and Ms. Viksne embarked on another renovation with Mr. Brisson. This time finishing the attic. Mr. Brisson ended up splitting the attic into two. One chunk of that space became a loft area in their daughter's bedroom and the other was fashioned into a TV room.
The attic, renovated in 2002, was divided into two: one space for a bedroom and the other for a TV room.
The best feature
Ms. Viksne and Mr. Powell cherish their home so deeply that not only does each of them have favourite rooms, they can each identify their favourite spot in the house.
For Mr. Powell, it's the southwestern corner in the master bedroom.
"This is what sold me on the house," he said. "As soon as I was in this room and looked out, I loved … the sense of floating above the world."
Mr. Powell’s favourite spot in the house is the southwest corner of the master bedroom.
For Ms. Viksne, her favourite spot to stand is in the lower-level living room, where you have the view of three tree-lined vistas: one to the south, one to the west and one directly above through a skylight.
Given all of the life events that happened in 13 Briarcroft, leaving it has become a bittersweet moment for Mr. Powell and Ms. Viksne as they prepare for his retirement.
"She is going to miss this house so much," Mr. Powell said.
When asked how she felt about leaving, all Ms. Viksne would say was: "You don't want to know."