Lasting beauty

Three generations, two homes, and one challenge: Build a house that works for everyone now- and into the future

- FATEEMA SAYANI

When this family started the process of building their dream home, they set out to marry accessibility and beauty in unique and subtle ways. The W couple's child was born with a rare genetic disorder and relies on a wheelchair. Knowing that he will always require a caregiver, his parents started planning for the house they needed. They knew that their stacked townhouse would not do; the child's mother, who is the primary caregiver, was carrying her son up and down multiple flights of stairs. As he grew, it was clear they were going to need to move.

"Knowing what we were facing going into the future was discouraging, Jennifer* says.

At the same time, her elderly parents were finding their four-bedroom house more than they could manage. And so both families sold their homes, bought a neglected bungalow west of downtown, and promptly tore it down to build fresh. They hired Amsted Design and Build to design a Craftsman-style house that backs onto a ravine and blends in nicely with its neighbours. Working with the existing foundation, two separate units were erected - one for the young family of three, the other as an in-law suite.

"It has allowed us to have a safe, stable, bright, calm place all those things that are not always in our life," she says. "The house is more than just a home because it brings you all of that."