Custom home facade design, North York

A classic facade with a modern edge

The house is designed to sit comfortably on an established North York street while still reading as a new build. It uses a classic language, with a stone-look base, framed openings and a mansard roof, and keeps it modern through restraint: smooth cladding instead of busy detail, slim black window frames, flat black garage doors and a limited palette of light stone, dark slate and black.

The mansard roof does more than set the style. The third floor sits inside it, with dormer windows breaking through the roof line, so the house gets a full upper floor while the front elevation stays in proportion with the street. The windows line up from floor to floor, the entrance is marked by a projecting porch with stone steps, and the double garage is set into the same stone grid so it reads as part of the facade rather than an add-on.

Lighting was designed at the same time as the facade. Pot lights in the soffits wash down over the stone, and wall sconces between the windows and beside the garage doors frame the house after dark.

Designing a new home in North York

Many North York lots are being rebuilt with new custom homes, and every design has to fit the City of Toronto zoning rules for the lot: building height, setbacks, lot coverage and floor area. A design that goes beyond them needs a minor variance from the Committee of Adjustment before a building permit can be issued.

Renotect designs the facade and interiors of new homes and prepares BCIN permit drawings for houses and small buildings, so the look you approve and the drawings that go to the City come from the same studio. If you are planning a new house or a major renovation in North York, a free consultation is the easiest place to start.