Victorian Renovation: Modern Luxury on a Narrow Lot
Sep 9
3 min read
On a narrow street in Toronto’s Harbord Village, an old Victorian home had a foundation that was too damaged to repair. Rather than patching up the existing structure, the team decided the best solution was to remove the house and rebuild it from the ground up.
Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung
This project, called Project Lippincott, was a full renovation that included a two-storey rear addition, designed by dbdbdb and built by ZZ Contracting. The finished home is 2,600 square feet. It keeps its Victorian look from the street, but inside, it is made for modern living.
One of the main issues in this project was the foundation. It had glaring deficiencies that necessitated the full replacement of foundation walls and basement walkout. Once the drywall goes up, this work is hidden, but it supports everything above.
The biggest change is in the basement. It now has an eight-foot ceiling and its own walkout to the backyard. In many Toronto renovations, basements stay cramped and low. In this house, the basement feels like real living space, not just an afterthought. Interior hallway shot looking through the kitchen toward the rear addition, with the wood-slatted ceiling and the white stair screen running along the right wall.
Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung
A two-storey addition at the back of the house added about 500 square feet to the main and second floors. Douglas Fir windows and bi-fold doors from Loewen open the addition to the backyard. The exterior is finished in cement stucco, which changes colour and texture as the light shifts throughout the day. Custom Douglas Fir woodwork on parts of the exterior adds warmth to the cool, simple grey look.
All the skylights in the house are solar-powered Velux units that close by themselves when it rains. This small detail shows the care that went into the build. Even the automatic features were chosen with attention.
Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung
Inside, quarter-cut White Oak floors and cabinets finished in Rubio Monocoat run through the main living areas. This gives the wood a matte finish that ages well instead of looking shiny. The kitchen and main bedroom ceilings have oak panels with built-in, dimmable LED lights, so the fixtures blend in and the wood stands out. Smart heating and cooling, polished cement and marble counters, and high-efficiency appliances make the home practical and attractive.
The main bedroom is on the top level, in a small but well-designed space. A skylight, floating oak bookshelves, and a built-in wooden platform will never give you the feeling of a cramped space.
Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung
Project Lippincott stands out not just for its furniture or for the high level of finishing, but for what the design and construction team achieved on such a narrow lot: a house that fits its residents, room by room, without pretending to be something else. This is the kind of renovation older Toronto neighbourhoods need more of—not flashy, but one that truly works.
Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung Victorian Renovation. Photography by Stephanie Tung
