Garden House by LGA

Sliding glass doors open to the backyard extending the interior space outside. Up a small stairway, the master   bedroom and modest three-piece bathroom feel protected, but not cramped as big windows wash the interiors with natural   light. They clad the front and back façades in   no-maintenance cedar to warmly greet the street, and the sides with a dark cement board to visually “remove” the private   house from the shared laneway. The interior artfully balances Palmer’s love of colour, texture and pattern with her need for neutral spaces to think with   clarity and to display her books, art and artifacts. Palmer’s partner,   a lighting designer, programed the LED light bank along the expansive white wall by the staircase, transforming the house   itself into a canvas for an ever-changing light show. They organized the open concept interiors by cleverly defining rooms without closing off most spaces. Architectural firm LGA have designed the Garden House in Toronto, Canada. On the second floor and at the nexus of the house, Palmer’s library/office takes advantage of natural light and prime views   with her desk placed in front of a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking mature backyard trees. Palmer found a small lot only a block away from   her historic home and she approached LGA Architectural Partners to help her build a new home with a modest budget and   a contemporary attitude. From the architects
After years of living in an Edwardian house in Toronto’s west end, Alexandra Palmer, a museum curator, decided it was time   for change. A low   counter separates the kitchen and entry vestibule and three stairs serving as seating lead down to the generous sunken   living room. LGA employed a number of strategies to create a spacious interior that belies its small footprint and modest street   elevation. LGA designed a neatly stacked trapezoidal box that maximizes the   space of the narrow lot and breathes within the generosity of the adjacent laneway. Architect: LGA Architectural Partners
Project team: Dean Goodman (Partner-in-Charge), Danny Bartman, Yvonne Popovska, Megan Cassidy
Photography by Ben Rahn/A-Frame Pops of turquoise on the inside of the kitchen cabinets delightfully surprise. The house is a play of contrasts – old and new, subtle and bold,   playful and practical, small yet spacious.