When you think about an almost one-million-dollar home might look like, it would be easy to dismis is as pretentious.
However, from the moment you walk in, 35 Burnley Place -- an expansive 3,375-square-foot bungalow found in southwest Tuxedo -- is a surprisingly practical design.
"You gain access to the home's front entrance via a covered front porch with architectural accent grille (and skylight overhead) that provides you with privacy in the summer months, and that keeps the snow off the front steps in winter," says Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate's Lainey Danzker.
"Entry to the home comes through a wide front door, into a vestibule-style foyer with a floating coat closet fronted by sandblasted glass doors. It's quite a grand entrance."
What greets you is a tour de force in modern architecture, where a linear design, high ceilings and glass placed at every angle (or so it seems) on ground level and above makes for a home that is both voluminous and surprisingly cosy.
"There are so many details that are easy to miss, the design is so subtle," she says. "In a nutshell, this home is all about volume and light. It also has a very serene feel, which I think comes from the Zen-inspired architecture that's so evident both inside and out."
The home's volume comes from a variety of sources. In several areas, the ceiling soars to an impressive seven metres. Most rooms, from the family room to the bedrooms, benefit from vaulted ceilings. And most of the doorways are higher than normal -- up to three metres.
Finally, all the windows -- and there are dozens -- are huge. When you combine great interior volume with copious amounts of natural light, the result is an eminently livable interior.
Of all 35 Burnley's features, perhaps the most impressive is the main hallway, off of which all the home's key spaces run -- the kitchen, family room and dining room/living room. This is no ordinary hallway. It's almost two metres wide and has seven-metre ceiling (along with several large horizontal windows).
It leads to a collection of impressive rooms and another surprising space that's breathtaking.
"At the end of the hallway is a four-season solarium that not only provides views to the private backyard, but floods the home with light," Danzker says.
"It's an especially inviting area in winter."
While the home was built in 1990 before the open-concept era began, the floor plan, though segmented, feels inviting, even open.
Meanwhile, the natural finishing materials used throughout the home -- oak hardwoods, granite countertops, off-white cabinetry and a neutral colour palette -- exude quality, warmth and utility.
There's nothing over-the-top here, which is a good thing since an outlandish colour scheme would have ruined what is a wonderful architectural balance.
Add a 2.5-metre island with built-in cooktop, room for a table for six, a huge pantry and built-in desk and cabinets aplenty, the kitchen is both a family's dream.
The main hallway provides seamless access to the master suite, a family room and a dining room/sitting room with a rear wall of windows. The family room boasts a vaulted ceiling, built-in bookshelves and gas fireplace with grey slate surround)
At 2,000-plus square feet, the lower level is literally another home.
It comes complete with two more bedrooms, a bar (with concrete aggregate counter and kitchen), media and games area, an office and a gym.
"This is an understated, practical home with all kinds of space and volume, all in a timeless design," Danzker says. "And the location is superb on a quiet, cul-de sac street. It's a pure, unencumbered design."
lewys@mts.net
DETAILS
LOCATION: 35 Burnley Place, Tuxedo
SIZE: 3,375 sq. ft.
YEAR BUILT: 1990
STYLE: Bungalow
LOT SIZE: 85' x 156'
BEDROOMS: 5
BATHROOMS: 3.5
PRICE: $975,000
CONTACT: Lainey Danzker, Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate @ 989-5000
