DESIGN
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Family Focused
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A renovated family home in Toronto is fun and welcoming for friends and family.
STORY BY TREVOR WALLACE
STORY BY TREVOR WALLACE
To me, family-friendly home design is more than just creating interior spaces where parents and kids can eat, play, and relax. I think finding the correct relationship between the family and the community is really important.
The famous American-Canadian planner and author Jane Jacobs explains in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities that the safety of neighborhoods depends on having “eyes on the street.” We led with that idea for a significant renovation we did for a couple with three young daughters, whose house is in the desirable Summerhill neighborhood of Toronto. We began with the concept that the kitchen is a family community space—almost like the home's reception area—where their friends and family could come and go with ease and familiarity.
A winding indoor slide reflects the home's playful spirit, inviting every generation to embrace a little joy.
- Photos by Riley Snelling
- Photos by Riley Snelling
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Within this multigenerational home (which includes a mother-in-law apartment with a separate entrance on the upper level), the family wanted spaces for working and cooking together. We took a thoughtful approach to the design, putting bedrooms and bathrooms on the lower level, and sacrificing some square footage on the main floor to create a large opening between the upper and lower levels. This allowed us to add windows and install a bright blue slide that descends to a huge play area for the girls. The owner said it was a childhood dream of hers to have a slide in her home; including it in this project was a reminder not to take herself too seriously and allowed her kids to have this really fun feature, which has become symbolic of the house. I think the slide keeps everyone young!
Because both parents work from home, they also wanted a peaceful space. Their backyard is lovely, so we pushed the home office to the back and added a huge sliding door that opens to the beautiful back garden. It is now an inspirational, quiet working area.
That meant that we moved the kitchen to the very front, which is atypical in Toronto these days. One of the things the family loves about their vibrant neighborhood is how welcoming everyone is. They wanted their new street-facing kitchen to be a place where the kids could easily run in from playing outside with friends to grab lunch, and essentially become part of the community.
There is a modest living room area off to the side where they can watch TV and be cozy in a more private setting, but the combined kitchen/dining room is filled with light, energy, family, friends, and the community. It is a very beautiful, uncommon approach to what can happen in the kitchen. We always say the kitchen is the center of the home, but in this case, it's the center of the home and their social gatherings.
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Photos by Riley Snelling
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In terms of the kitchen design itself, we kept it easy and bright, and wanted to make sure there was plenty of storage. We opted for open shelves in the kitchen, which the homeowners used to display decorative items, meaning we had to create storage elsewhere. All the appliances were designed to be disguised in their cabinetry, and we added a big pantry in the hallway behind the kitchen, under the mother-in-law's staircase.
One appliance the couple was excited to showcase is the Wolf Gas Cooktop. They wanted the gas cooking experience but didn't want a big range taking up kitchen space. They loved the chic, integrated look of the cooktop, which blends seamlessly into the countertop.
Health and wellness are a priority for the homeowners—one is a naturopathic doctor and the other is a medical doctor—and they wanted a space that promotes calm. In order to deliver something clean and fresh that takes advantage of natural light while still adding a bit of color, we chose a palette of muted neutrals with blue accents, both in the deep blue-gray of kitchen cabinetry and, of course, in the sky blue of the children’s slide.
The house continues to deliver the fun and community spirit we envisioned. The parents can utilize their quieter work area when needed but, at other times, embrace the playful atmosphere of the house and the neighborhood. As an architect, I want to resist the temptation to abandon the street and retreat only to backyards. Instead, we provided a thoughtful relationship between the family’s home and the neighborhood. It is a concept of free flow, with architectural boundaries that can serve a family for many years to come.
A thoughtful renovation strengthens the home's connection to both family life and the surrounding community.
- Photo by Riley Snelling
Architect Trevor Wallace
- Portrait by Nathan Legiehn
- Photo by Riley Snelling
Architect Trevor Wallace
- Portrait by Nathan Legiehn
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PUBLISHED JULY 2026
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