Home of the Week: Rathnelly house was architect prof's pet project
This semi-detached Victorian house was once owned by Fraser Watts, an architecture professor at the University of Toronto and later dean of architecture at the University of Waterloo. In the mid-1960s, he gave the conservative row house a mid-century modern makeover, with the addition of some decidedly sixties touches, including cedar ceilings and a sunken living room.
When the curent owners decided to once again change the house, they did so in a thoughtful process aimed to update Dr. Watts’s vision.
“The renovation was a real marriage. We tried to bring the best of what was already in the house into a contemporary setting,” said contractor Kerry Dorey.
The most important change to the house, says the current owner, was the renovation to the front of the first floor. The kitchen was opened up and a big bay window was installed that shines light onto the open dining space, which is perched above the sunken living room.