One owner of this one-and-a-half storey home knows the area well, perhaps better than anyone. “My mom cleaned houses in this area for 30 years, and there was a house on Ada Boulevard that I would play in while she cleaned.” The families grew close and, after the owner of the Ada home passed away, his eldest daughter reached out with an “incredible offer that still gives me goosebumps, because she knew I loved that home.” The couple moved in and renovated, but realized they wanted a home in which they could age in place, which would’ve meant having to make changes that would have, in her words, ended up “destroying the character of the home.”
The couple started looking for their forever home, but never considered leaving Highlands, which makes this their fourth home in the mature area, but the first time building from scratch. So finding the right builder was key. “It was tense,” she says, “because it’s a lot of money. And you place a lot of trust in your contractor. But we’re so glad we used Homes by Metro, because of some of the complexities in the home,” like installing a steel beam to support the rooftop hot tub, floating stairs and making every entranceway accessible.
“They warned us in advance,” she continues. “They said we will have disagreements, we will have arguments, but we’ll come out the other end with a beautiful home, and we did. In fact we’re so happy that they are building our daughter and son-in-law’s garage and garage suite just down the block.”
There are many features to love: the dozen or so rugs from around the Middle East (acquired in Dubai while living there in the ’90s), the 600-bottle basement wine cellar, the outdoor dining table and the stunning backyard. But the constant that brings it together is the window placement, specifically on the stairwell leading to the upstairs office. It separates the backyard from the outdoor dining table, but leaves each visible from the other, and inside hangs a glass teardrop chandelier that refracts the sun’s light throughout the day. “It was completely unexpected, but one day I was in here looking around going, what the heck? It sparkles sunlight on the kitchen fan, then as the sun moves in the evening it shines a rainbow on the wall. It’s such a happy accident.”
Ballet Edmonton’s Home Tour successfully took place on September 18 & 19, 2021. This annual fundraiser allows patrons to see inside custom homes while supporting the arts in Edmonton.
This article appears in the September 2021 issue of Edify
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