At One With Nature
Story: Walter Franczyk | Photography: Sandy Mackay
Kathy and Ken, a Toronto couple, had long wanted to build a custom home, and a steel house was their first choice. Luxury home builder Garrison Creek realized their vision by incorporating preferred materials like steel and concrete in a unique, energy efficient home that blends into its natural setting.
Years ago, BONE Structure, a Quebec company that uses recycled metal and high- tech energy conservation to build homes and commercial buildings, piqued Ken’s interest. “The more we looked into it, it seemed the design and style of the home that we wanted could be accommodated and built using the BONE technology,” Ken says. BONE’s building method and the way its houses work appealed to them. “They’re perfectly square and things are in perfect alignment. Everything is very precise,” Ken says.
Now retired, the couple had searched for vacant land on which to build a new home in Prince Edward County and the Collingwood area but didn’t have much luck until they found seven building lots near Port Severn, offered on BONE’s website. They checked out the area and liked it. “What we wanted was a large property that provided a peaceful, natural setting and interesting view,” says Kathy. “It fit the bill. It’s a great location.”
They created the overall concept and floor plan of their single-level home on their own. “It was a project we wanted to do ourselves,” says Kathy. They brought their design ideas, with lots of windows, wide doorways and halls to BONE, which converted their plans to architectural drawings and began manufacturing.
Their building site was carved out of an oak forest on Darling Island. Enough trees were left to ensure privacy for each building lot. The property borders a protected wetland on Gloucester Pool, an island- speckled lake that flows into Little Lake and eventually Georgian Bay.
Garrison Creek erected the home’s steel frame in about 10 days and did all the interior finishing. BONE’s steel building components are all pre-engineered and cut to fit. They’re simply bolted together, quickly and more efficiently than conventional wood- frame construction.
During the year-long construction project, Kathy and Ken lived in a rented townhouse at the nearby Oak Bay Golf Club. “It was a good way to get to know the area,” says Kathy. “It helped to make the transition from the city easier.”
They frequently visited the building site. Garrison Creek enabled them to closely monitor progress by posting daily online updates. “We could see every day what they had done,” says Ken.
The couple say they’re very pleased with Garrison Creek. “The quality of the work is fantastic. All their employees and tradesmen were great to work with. They were respectful, pleasant, dependable and clean,” says Kathy. The Garrison team was always helpful with recommendations, says Ken. “We can’t say enough about them.”
The three-bedroom home with nearly 2,500 square feet of space is centred around an open-concept kitchen, dining room and lounge that overlooks the oak forest, wetland and lake. One side of the home holds all the bedrooms, a small library and family photo gallery. One bedroom serves as both a gym and small office, including a desk topped with thick, frosted glass that served as a kitchen peninsula in their original home.
On the opposite side of the house, the family room has a linear Napoleon fireplace recessed in a unique feature wall of tile and cold-rolled steel. Varied ceiling heights, ranging between nine and 12 feet, partial walls and large openings define individual living spaces, providing privacy while maintaining an open ambience. “We kind of built the rooms to accommodate custom furniture pieces we already had,” says Kathy. “To me that was a way to bring the family home with us.” In-floor heating warms the porcelain tiles in every room. Walls in the main living areas and kitchen are painted Behr Halation. Bedrooms are painted Benjamin Moore Collingwood and bathrooms are Silver Satin.
Muskoka lighting company manager debbie tilstra furnished contemporary light fixtures and pot lights to complement the home’s minimalist style. “She was great. She did the lighting design for the entire house,” says Ken. “It didn’t take her long to figure out what we were asking for.”
Garrison Creek found local experts to implement Kathy’s unique ideas for interior and exterior finishes. She wanted a wall of steel in the family room, as well as rust-coloured steel accent panels and a horizontal metal band bisecting the exterior siding. Parts to Print, a machine and fabrication shop in Washago, provided the atypical solutions.
Aluminum windows and doors, supplied by BONE, help keep the home maintenance-free. Galvanized steel construction prevents any rot in the walls and sprayed polyurethane insulation keeps the home warm and heating bills low. Interior walls are non-load-bearing so they can be moved or modified to evolve with the couple’s lifestyle or that of future generations.
Ken and Kathy moved into their new home last July. They share their neighbourhood with swans and blue herons, foxes, moose, snapping turtles and the occasional rattlesnake. “We love it,” says Kathy. “The forest, granite outcroppings and rugged terrain provide the perfect setting for our new home.” OH
