Ritchie Rowhouse

Ritchie Rowhouse is a modern renovated Edwardian townhouse in Toronto by CAB Architects. It was designed to maximize daylight, and celebrate a love of warm materials – particularly, brass and gold.

The kitchen was placed in the centre of the ground floor, becoming the anchor between the living and dining spaces. Though it is placed so prominently in the main space, the typical elements of the kitchen are designed to recede. Appliances, pantry storage, and litter box for the owners' two cats are hidden and camouflaged into cabinetry. A sprawling mural was created over the front of the upper cabinets, treating the volume as a piece of artwork to stand out more than the counter below.

Large openings were punched through the front and back façades and in areas of the roof to bring natural light deep into the building. A skylight over the stair brings light to the centre of the main floor, filtering into the kitchen. Another skylight in the master bathroom, reflected in the vanity mirror, floods this landlocked space with daylight.

Brass or gold was used in every metal application, whether decorative or integral to the building’s construction. From plumbing fixtures, gold leafed wall treatments, exposed cladding fasteners, door hardware, light fixtures, closet rods – every exposed metal that is typically steel or chrome has been lovingly sourced and replaced with a brass or gold counterpart. Furthermore, wherever possible, these brass/gold materials are left unlacquered, so that they age elegantly and patina alongside of the house.