The Osborne Laneway House transforms a nondescript plot in Toronto’s Upper Beaches neighborhood into a site for multigenerational living. This open and light-filled home for a young family is situated in the backyard of the owner's childhood home and fronts onto a public lane. The neatly designed 3-bedroom, 2 bathroom laneway house realizes its inhabitants’ ambitions for home-ownership while allowing the family to live in a neighborhood they love in proximity to aging loved ones.

An economical design takes full advantage of the available space and unique site to create an enriching and personalized space. Although the building footprint extends across the full width of the property, an inset ground floor provides cover to the walkway below, sheltering the entry of the suite and creating a connection from the rear yard to the lane. This arrangement results in a functional access point to the suite from both the main house and the laneway. Additionally, the laneway setback is strategically located to provide ample space for parking and an outdoor patio at the laneway side.

The exterior of the suite features a simple material palette of white corrugated metal and white windows. Large sliding doors at the ground floor connect the living-dining-kitchen space to the greenery-filled exterior. In contrast, the interior features playful custom interiors and is equipped with the storage solutions to support small scale living.

Client Remarks

"We were trying to figure out an option to get into the crazy housing market - it was between buying something up north and renting in the city or getting a small condo somewhere outside of our beloved Beaches neighbourhood (neither of which were ideal options in our opinion). I started looking into laneway houses and did some preliminary research w/ Lanescape before approaching my parents with the idea of us building on their property. It seemed like a great option, for the price of a 1 bedroom condo in Scarborough we get a custom 3 bedroom home in the beaches and we get to be close to my parents. Once we determined it was feasible and it was sort of full speed ahead from then on. 

When approaching the design of the house I had a very specific vision, and my mind sent on some distinctive design features. Unfortunately we chose to build during probably one of the worst times in history with supply chain issues from covid still running amuck as well as record inflation and ended up having to pivot on certain elements due to market volatility for materials. I opted to do some of the more unique custom stuff myself to save money. Throughout the house you can find pieces and finishes either designed, built, or designed and built by myself. Funky bathroom mirrors, abstract raw steel handrails, brutalist concrete accent stairs, an oversize Ettore Sottsass veneered coffee table  and some built-in shelving are some of my designs in the home."