/Get Inspired/Spaces

A Roncy Addition Irons Out a Family’s Hectic Routine

Galley House, Regio & Bauer make backward progress with this open concept addition to a Victorian home

By Eric Mutrie
Photography by Tom Arban

The overlapping morning routines of this Ronscesvalles meant that someone always had to shower in their basement. Add to that an overburdened rear entrance and a cramped upstairs bedroom and it was time to call in architectural designers Reigo & Bauer – masters of flow – who reinvented the cramped Victorian as the more spacious Galley House.

Galley House - Open concept addition - Regio & Bauer

Outside the Galley House, a preserved portion of the original brick wall meets the 53-square-metre addition’s fresh cladding of metal tiles – black for the first storey and white above. “By going two-tone, we soften the structure’s verticality,” explains co-principal Merike Bauer.

Galley House - Open concept addition - Regio & Bauer

Inside, an open concept back mudroom addition built at grade creates a new mid-level, with its sliding glazed door spotlighting a spacious new basement staircase. Up a half-storey, the revamped dining room now sits below a double-height ceiling, with a second-storey window slanted for targeted illumination.

Regio & Bauer

Continue the Galley House ascent, and a curved balcony upstairs sweeps past this angular corner en route to an expanded back bedroom. The net result: every family member’s day starts off right.


Categories: Spaces

You may also like