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Recently built, this custom home with four bedrooms and a loft is situated in the prestigious area of Old Oakville. It’s close to Lake Ontario and Lakeshore Rd. E., where there are many one-of-a-kind shops and plenty of restaurants and cafes.
“Designed to blend in with the charm of the neighbourhood and the historical ambiance of the area, this two-storey detached home is walking distance to Oakville’s downtown amenities, as well as to parks, great public and private schools, Whole Foods, LCBO, and the Oakville GO station. It is also conveniently close to the Queen Elizabeth Way and to a mall,” says listing agent Susan McHardy.
“The home itself is inviting and airy, and is turn-key move-in ready with hardwood floors throughout the main level, large principal rooms, a main floor office, a main floor family room with a fireplace, tons of space, numerous walk-outs, a covered front verandah, and a south-facing backyard.
“It has been tastefully renovated and is perfect for families of any size who love to entertain,” says McHardy.
With plenty of curb appeal, this home has a dark, teal-blue painted board-and-batten exterior with white accents. The front lawn is well manicured and has a mature tree and garden beds. Stone steps lead to the large covered veranda.
The front entrance has two outdoor wall sconces and the solid wood door is bordered by windows.
Also bright with a window drawing in natural light, the foyer has room for a seating bench and also features wainscoting, a double closet, a ceramic tile floor and pot lights.
The living room is flooded with natural light and has a dark-stained hardwood floor, crown moulding, pot lights and a huge floor-to-ceiling, full-wall window, with two more floor-to-ceiling windows extending the vista on the side walls.
With a French door walkout to a back balcony flanked on both sides by floor-to-ceiling windows, the dining room is very bright and spacious with two more windows, crown moulding, a dark-stained hardwood floor and pot lights.
Adjacent to the foyer is the modern and sophisticated kitchen, featuring an island/breakfast bar with a granite counter, cabinetry and pendant lights overhead. Other kitchen highlights include ceramic tile backsplash, pot lights, granite counters, a dark-stained hardwood floor, a built-in seating bench below a window, a walk-in pantry and high-end stainless steel appliances.
There is a servery from the kitchen to the adjoining family room which boasts a fireplace with a floor-to-ceiling stone surround, a large bay window with a plant ledge, pot lights and a hardwood floor.
The main level also has a bright den or office with a ceramic tile floor, a large picture window, pot lights and a French door walkout to the backyard patio, bordered on each end with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Situated between the dining room and breakfast area is the powder room.
On the second level, the large master bedroom is graced with a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, pot lights, two more windows, a hardwood floor, and a huge walk-in closet with built-in organizers. The five piece luxury ensuite features twin vanities, an oversized separate shower stall and a water closet.
There are three more bedrooms, all overlooking the front yard with broadloom floors and double closets. There is a three-piece main bathroom. The master bedroom ensuite can also be accessed through the hallway.
The second floor loft features a hardwood floor and pot lights.
Professionally finished, the lower level has a large recreation room with a fireplace with a floor-to-ceiling brick surround, a broadloom floor, built-in shelves and pot lights.
Also in the basement, there is a bedroom with a closet and pot lights, a laundry room and a four-piece bathroom.
The backyard is fully-fenced, featuring a flagstone patio, a cedar canopy, and landscaping.

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As Toronto’s real estate market continues its wild run, it’s not just potential homeowners who are having trouble finding affordable properties. For infill developers and resellers – otherwise known as flippers – bidding wars and wild-eyed buyers are making it hard to turn a profit rehabilitating broken homes.

“For years, improving distressed properties was our sole focus,” says Bill Crilly, a structural engineer who runs 3 Stones Custom Homes with general contractor Chris Lawrence. The company focuses on what Mr. Crilly calls “dilapidated houses that no one would want to live in,” in the downtown Toronto core, completely gutting and restoring stately, 100-year-old brick houses and outfitting the insides with luxe, contemporary design touches.

In the past year and a half, the duo has found itself regularly outbid and for the past few months has found itself entirely without a house to fix up. In early fall, for example, they tried for a house on Euclid Street, near Bathurst and College, that was listed at $960,000. 3 Stones offered $1,035,000, planning to spend around $200,000 on a six-month fix and sell for about $1.5 million.

The house sold for $1,220,000, almost $200,000 more than they were willing to pay.

“The thing is, we bought and restored the house right beside it, we know what it needed,” Mr. Lawrence says. He says the eventual buyers are in for an unpleasant surprise if they think they can get away with a cosmetic renovation. “We planned a complete gut right back to the studs.”

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It’s a multi-million dollar home hidden in a discreet laneway, and it just might be the city’s best-kept real estate secret.
The 4,000 square-foot dream home features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a massive, sun-filled patio.
While the home is in the middle of a bustling Toronto neighbourhood, designer Elaine Cecconi says the four-storey house is so secluded that many visitors have a hard showing up on time.
“I have people come down the lane who still can’t find it,” she tells CTV Toronto’s Dana Levenson.
“It’s that place that you want to go, and get away and hide,” Cecconi said recently as she toured the home and the efficiently laid-out property.
Nestled in the Dundas and Dufferin area of Little Portugal, the state-of-the-art home may not have a big yard, but with an 800-square-foot patio and a custom fireplace, Cecconi isn’t complaining.
Located well off the main road, the privacy helps, too.
“It’s so quiet,” Cecconi said. “It’s amazing.”
Cecconi grew up in the area and wanted to build a dream home which combined cutting edge design with an edgy, urban cool.
In 2003, Cecconi bought a piece of “in fill” property — essentially a lot in an alleyway — and it took two-years of work to get the home built.
The home also boasts an ultra-modern kitchen and a sleek, but cozy, living room. The property is listed on the market for $2,250,000.

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