THREE TAKES ON A TORONTO MAIN FLOOR
The most important area of improvement for most renovations is the main floor, where the family shares space and entertains. Old houses were laid out with an entirely different sensibility, and the lifestyles for today's families typically demand a very different floor plan. This post will show you three different solutions to renovating the main floor of a typical Toronto home. While exploring different layouts, these plans also seek to integrate time-tested design patterns that add life to spaces: window seats, walls with storage, half-open walls, light from two sides, positively shaped spaces, etc.
EXISTING PLAN
Above is a very common plan for a Toronto house, typical from 1870–1920. It fits the long and narrow lot, and the spaces are stacked with a circulation path from front to back along the shared wall. There are windows at each end, and light is provided to the middle by means of a notch in the plan. (Another common version of this plan is fully rectangular with a window facing the shared path at the side of the building.)
Plans like these reflect a separation of entertainment from service spaces: the kitchen is relegated to the back. For today's homeowners, this makes the house feel disconnected and dark. One goal of almost all renovations is to open the floor plan up so that the kitchen, which is usually the centre of the home, becomes more integrated with the living and dining spaces.
KITCHEN IN THE BACK
There is much that can be done to improve the main floor even by leaving the rooms where they are. The key is to open up where possible while still defining each space. Creating a loft-like fully open concept plan often ends up taking the life out of the space, making it uncomfortable and empty. Maintaining relatively discreet places to handle entry (both a foyer and mudroom), can help you transition mentally and physically (boots and all) as you come in from outside.
KITCHEN IN THE FRONT
Moving the living room to the back can be a great opportunity to enlarge that space, and to connect it to the family life of the back yard. Moving the kitchen to the front can make sense if the dining table is the centre of your family life. An efficient, but still spacious galley kitchen shoehorns nicely with the front foyer. And if you are usually coming in with groceries from the street, this makes your trip to the counter a short one. This plan also makes use of a small rear extension for a powder room.
KITCHEN IN THE MIDDLE
If the kitchen truly is the centre of your family life, it can make great sense to place it in the middle of your main floor. Acting as the home's pivot point, this plan allows for direct connection to the dining area, living room, and stairs. A skylight at the upper floor will help add light to this space. This plan shows a banquette, which can lend space to an enlarged foyer—especially useful when this room must act as the sole entry point.
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written by Brian Hagood, OAA
