This whole home renovation on Robert Street was driven by a clear goal: to create meaningful new space while respecting and reinforcing the home’s original character. The project began below grade with a full basement underpinning, allowing us to significantly increase ceiling heights and unlock the home’s lower level. A new light well and skylight were introduced to bring natural light deep into the basement, transforming it into a fully finished and highly functional living space. Alongside this work, we redesigned the mechanical layout and upgraded the electrical services to support the expanded home and modern lifestyle demands.
Above, the renovation extended upward with a thoughtfully designed third storey rear addition dedicated to a new primary suite. This retreat includes a spacious bedroom, private office, and a beautifully appointed bathroom, all supported by custom millwork for closets and storage. A separate HVAC system ensures precise comfort control, while skylights and oversized doors flood the space with light and provide seamless access to a new roof deck, creating a quiet escape above the city.
Maintaining the home’s heritage presence was a central priority throughout the project. The original facade was carefully preserved, while the sides and rear were upgraded with new exterior cladding, exterior insulation, and fire-rated assemblies to improve performance, safety, and comfort. Inside, we introduced new curved walls and soft arches on the main floor, echoing the proportions of the existing heritage living room window opening. This architectural language was carried through the foyer, powder room, kitchen, and dining area to create a cohesive flow between old and new.
The main floor was further elevated with a fully custom kitchen, new millwork throughout, and a dedicated laundry room featuring built-in machines, a functional wash area, and tailored storage. Across the home, we completed three new bathrooms and updated two existing ones, resulting in a total of four and a half baths. These spaces include curbless showers, heated floors, and custom cabinetry, blending everyday practicality with refined detailing. To complete the transformation, existing flooring and stairs were refinished, restoring warmth and continuity throughout the house.
This Robert Street renovation reflects our commitment to careful planning, craftsmanship, and collaboration. By balancing structural upgrades, modern systems, and thoughtful architectural details, we delivered a home that feels both renewed and deeply connected to its heritage roots.
“We worked with Craftsman Renovation to do an extensive renovation of our home in Harbord Village. First, let me say that the project was complicated because our home was built in the late 19th century and two of the four floors had not been updated in more than 50 years. When we purchased the home in 2013, it was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home that was ideal for a young couple or a bachelor. Ten years and two kids later, we needed more space! So, we worked with Craftsman to turn the home into a four-bedroom five-bathroom house with a large basement den and play space. This required raising the roof line of the attic and building an attic extension, reconfiguring rooms on the second floor, underpinning the basement, reconfiguring the plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems… essentially, we were building a new house. The project was both exciting and daunting.
From the outset, what impressed us was how incredibly organized and efficient Jeremy and his team were. Even during the demolition phase(!!), the site was cleaned up every day and tools were put back. We were also very impressed by Jeremy’s capacity to openly communicate about the ins and outs of the project. He and his team also provided daily photos of the project so that even when we could not come to the site in person, we could see what was happening each day.
What truly sets Jeremy’s team apart – at least for us – is the level of quality and care that goes into every aspect of what they build. They made sure that our home was built to last– from the framing phase to the finals phase.
Finally, the entire team – Jeremy, Cole, Monica, Jack, and Darcy – was a delight to have on site. They take pride in their work and so came to the site with a positive attitude even when complications arose – as is always the case when you renovate an old house. We also made changes to the layout on our first floor, midway way through the project, and were really delighted by the practical and imminently reasonable advice we received from Jeremy and Cole on the architectural plans. Thanks to their input, our house is now beautiful and truly functional. We could not be happier and are thankful to the whole team!"
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