As Realtors, we have the opportunity to tour gorgeous homes on a daily basis, and when you have toured enough homes, you begin to see the similarities between them. Developers fine-tune the most efficient layouts for any given lot size, and each new home is a play off those built before – with that developer’s personal touch added to the next. But when you visit 24 North Drive, you quickly see that this home breaks the mould!
The canvas of a 40x 125 ft. lot – larger than most in the area – allowed our clients enough room to create a home that would include some 4,700 sq.ft of finished living area. They then took those plans to Splendour Abodes, who turned their dreams into reality.
From the street, one of the key selling features of this home is immediately evident: a double-car garage, with a double-wide private drive. At just shy of 20 ft. in width, this is a true double-car garage – the home is one of only four in the Hunt Club area that offer this feature. Whether you opt to park two cars on a daily basis, or just one with ample room left over for a workshop, bicycles, hockey bags and life’s other accessories, the benefits of a two-car garage are plentiful. Usually, buyers in search of this feature focus on homes in Woodbine Park; but the wider lot with pool-sized backyard and cabana (as well as additional living space and above-grade basement) offer an attractive alternative.
Speaking of the backyard and cabana – the backyard of 24 North Drive is waiting for you! Our clients converted the original detached garage into a magical outdoor living room, fitted with skylights, a green wall and rough-in for a wall-mounted outdoor television. At the rear of the structure is a secure storage room.
It’s also worth noting that both the front and back lawns are equipped with an automated irrigation system – no need to get up early to water your lawn!
Once you reach the covered front porch and enter through the solid mahogany door, you are greeted by an expansive foyer with herringbone-tiled floor, built-in storage and soaring 14.5 ft. ceilings. Just off the foyer is another one of the stand-out features of this home: a main-floor home office with those same 14.5 ft. ceilings, and a feature wall with custom millwork and library lights. This home office elevates the work-from-home experience and removes the need to use one of your bedrooms as an office.
The living room is anchored by a gas fireplace, features built-in speakers and is open to the dining room – both of which feature 10 ft. ceilings accented by cove lighting. Pass through the butler’s pantry, which features upper and lower storage as well as a bar sink and under-counter beverage fridge, and behold the kitchen of your dreams!
The five-foot-wide kitchen island accommodates storage on both sides, and easily accommodates four stools. The island is draped in porcelain waterfall counters that flow to the floor on either end, and features a farmhouse sink with touch faucet, under-counter microwave and panelled Bloomberg dishwasher. The 48” designer gas range features six burners plus skillet and double ovens. A wall-mounted pot filler saves you travelling from the sink with a full pot of water; the range exhaust is clad in a custom plaster hood. A 48” integrated Fisher & Paykal side-by-side fridge and freezer round off the high-end appliance package. Built-in speakers continue through this eat-in kitchen, which easily accommodates a dining table for six.
Opposite the kitchen is the main-floor family room, anchored by another gas fireplace – this one clad in white brick, emulating the exterior of the home, and bookended with light wood built-ins. Look up and enjoy the warmth that those wood beams in the ceiling impart to the space. Sliding doors open to the upper deck – perfect for barbecuing and dining. And we mustn’t forget the main floor powder room, with all its drama: floating vanity, raised stone sink with wall-mounted faucet, pendant light, wall-hung toilet and lime-washed walls, all sure to give your guests something to talk about.
Upstairs, a skylight set in the 9 ft. ceiling floods the hall with natural light that streams down through the house. Enter the owner’s suite through grand double doors, and find yourself instantly relaxing in a private, treetop vista. And just look at that ensuite bathroom! Stunning fixtures, a long double vanity, free-standing soaker tub, glass shower with linear drain, bench, product niches and rainshower head, as well as a panelled wall carried from the living room that houses the water closet – dreamy! Just next to it are a stunning walk-in closet featuring three arches straight from your favourite design magazine, two large skylights that illuminate the space, and more built-in speakers. Down the hall, you’ll find a laundry room with a fourth skylight illuminating this level, as well as three other large bedrooms, each with its own walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom.
As you descend the stairs to the lower level, you immediately realize why the homeowners don’t call this a “basement”; the 11 ft. ceilings, huge windows, and sliding glass doors that walk out to the backyard all belie that term. A custom home bar with sink and wine wall, a games area and rec room, and a third gas fireplace make this an entertainer’s paradise, and the heated floor ensures you are always cozy. The lower level also houses a fifth bedroom (or home gym), as well as a sixth bathroom, which houses a personal sauna and a mudroom – thoughtfully equipped with a built-in dog wash station.
Given its location just east of Victoria Park, some Beachers might hesitate crossing into the Hunt. But let me tell you: it is an amazing community of wide lots with new homes that offer an expanse of space only rarely available – and usually at much higher price points – in the Beach. The neighbourhood’s anchor is Blantyre Park, where residents enjoy tobogganing in the winter, or playing in the playground then cooling off afterwards in the outdoor pool in the summer. A group of local parents even take to the baseball diamond each Friday night for friendly games of softball. Blantyre PS runs from JK-8 (removing the need to change schools for 7-8), and the area feeds to Malvern for high school. There’s even a daycare with before/after care right in the school.
If you are looking for a forever home that offers everything a busy family could ask for, in a tight-knit community, 24 North Drive is the one.
Please contact the Grace & Co. sales team at (416) 699-9295 and we will happy to take you for a private tour and discuss everything this house, and community, have to offer.