Page 55 - 06_July-Aug-2025

by ZACHARY AYOTTE + photography BLUEFISH STUDIOS
W
hen Darren Jacknisky
and Shelley Robertson
bought the house they
now call home, in 2005,
they had already been looking to
move for some time. The couple and
their young daughter had outgrown
a 900-square-foot condo, but the
search wasn’t going well. They saw
a series of houses that weren’t right
— in some cases not making it past
the curb. Finally, their realtor brought
them to a mid-century home in
Westbrook Estates built by the
architectural duo Wallbridge and
Imrie, Canada’s first female-operated
architecture firm. The split-level
house proved to be exactly what
they were looking for. Even though
there were no street-facing windows,
and the front entrance held an
unassuming look, there was a refined
aesthetic to the exterior that hinted
at something bold hidden inside.
I visited the house on a warm
Thursday morning and immediately
understood what Jacknisky and
Robertson had seen 20 years
earlier. The clean lines that define
the exterior continue into the front
entrance, where sets of stairs can
take you up into a rustic den, or
downstairs into the main living
space. Both floors look out on a
green blanket of trees.
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