With the many reasons for which people are building laneway suites, who would have expected two lanewayers could have so much in common?  Or so I found out when I met Louise James, a 60-something big-firm litigation law clerk.  Louise moved into her 1000 square foot laneway house in July - a stunner! -  and I was thrilled to be one of her first guests.  

Here’s Louise’s story. 

James bought her Pape/O’Connor house in the east end of Toronto 21 years ago as a divorced mother of three. For the past thirteen years ago, she’s shared her house with her youngest daughter and her son-in-law. Louise jokingly told me the arrival of a granddaughter one year ago limited her entertaining to before 7 pm to avoid waking the baby! They’d clearly outgrown the space. 

Her property is on a laneway though, and with the new city by-law allowing laneway suites as-of-right, the threesome saw a way to maintain the intergenerational closeness they liked but attain the degree of independence they also sought. 

For the design and permit work, James went straight to Lanescape, a company that bills itself as “Toronto's leading architecture and construction practice dedicated exclusively to laneway and garden suites” and boasts at having 100+ building permits received and 200+ active or completed projects. Lanescapes are the big guys in a field where time hasn’t allowed other leaders to emerge - yet. That was January 2022, and by May, she had permits. She credits Lanescape’s experience with the speed. She had fewer glitches at this stage than I had, although we had a good chuckle when she showed me the tell-tale red panel on the wall, signifying that, like me, she was required to put in costly fire safety measures because she’s too far from a fire hydrant. We live in safe houses! 

It took a while, but by November 1 last year, James had a builder experienced in laneway building start the construction.  Louise is no dummy - she knew her project had the potential to annoy neighbours who park in garages on that laneway. On day 1, she distributed her own freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with a note letting folks know what was going to take place over the next few months, surely winning some favour! She knows hers is just the first and that in time, others will be temporarily interrupting the flow of that laneway while they embark on their laneway suite dreams. 

So what’s the finished product look like? Well, from the outside, James’ design is what is fast becoming the classic laneway suite look: a vertical box with a second floor as big as the first, taking full advantage of the by-law.  As you enter, though, its boxiness is eclipsed by a great aesthetic and some quirks. And lots of common points with Chandlerville. Her corgi, for example, has his bed in a cubby under the stairs; I sleep in a larger cubby under my stairs. The flooring in her main floor bathroom is a dead ringer for the backsplash in my kitchen.  She sleeps on the main floor as I do. Louise, who works from home full-time, created an office with a view of her backyard, just as I have done. 

Unlike me, though, Louise has her kitchen and living room upstairs. As we arrived in the large second floor space, I did a double take. Perched on her kitchen windowsill was the very wooden rooster whose legs dangle over the edge of my blue staircase. Seriously, how weird is that? If you google “wooden rooster decor” there are a million options in various different poses and colours. But to be clear, Louise has the EXACT same wooden rooster, just in a size that better fits her larger house. Is this a badge for all lanewayers? As laneway suites increase in numbers, is importing these wooden roosters a business opportunity I should explore? I digress. 

Looking beyond the rooster, James gets a glimpse of downtown, including the CN tower. It’s a view that is unlikely to be blocked by condos given her proximity to the Don Valley. We sat snacking and drinking white wine at her kitchen island as she proudly showed off her kitchen. There is nothing like being a middle-aged woman who likes to entertain and getting a brand-new kitchen for the first time. I saw a kindred spirit. At the other end of the expansive room is her living room with a view of her old house. She no longer has to worry about waking her grandchild when she entertains!  

With 450 more square feet than I have, Louise has a powder room on the 2nd floor and several closets - yup, I have a little envy about those.  We both agree, though, that having less stuff is very liberating. Expensive? Of course. Like me she’s a bit coy about exactly how much but let’s say it’s on the low-end of the typical range - $500-$700K.  She reports getting a little injection of money available to seniors in her situation under the Federal Government’s Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, as well as the rebate I received, the GST/HST New Housing Rebate Application for Owner-Built Houses. But that’s it. Homeowners need to have access to money to make this model of housing development work. 

When I asked Louise her favourite part of her new house her off-the-cuff response was the 12 inch rainfall shower head in her bathroom. I totally get it - at our age, luxury is and should be part of the equation. Carrying on with the theme, upon reflection, she added that the windows and skylights on the second floor shower her in light. Her least favourite part? The unfinished look of the laneway that now fronts her house. She’s the sole occupant now but is confident that others will follow now she’s got the ball rolling.  Thanks, Louise, for a great visit and here’s to wooden roosters!

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