Sakura House

Sakura House
Text By: Charlie Guiang and Jeff Rutherford
Architect: Micacchi Architecture
Design and Art: Alison Milne Design and Gallery

My husband, Jeff, and I purchased this home while we were in Kyoto on our honeymoon (it’s a fun story: we saw the house, but the bid date wasn’t until we were away in Japan on our delayed honeymoon)! While we were in Japan, it was the cherry blossom (Sakura) season, representing beauty, spring, and a time of renewal! This partially explains why our renovation has some inspiration from Japan and partly why our architect, Rob Micacchi of Micacchi Architecture called it Sakura House. After working for a couple of firms, Rob, a friend of mine, went out on his own just before he worked on our home. Sakura House is a renovation of a Nonna’s House (what we called it when we first saw it) that was built around 1907 in the family and University oriented Annex Neighborhood of Toronto. A short stroll to public transport, and brief walks to nearby Koreatown and multiple parks, made it an ideal choice for us urbanites and our beloved pooch.

When we first moved into this beauty (we saw a vision of what it could be for us) with white and green exterior, and interior walls of pastel pinks and blues with equally interesting wallpaper, a lovely neighbor came up to us and said it was “one of (her) favorite houses in the neighborhood”. That gave us one of our first important tasks: to create something that respected the old house while infusing it with modernism and clean lines, creating something that we, and the neighborhood, can all respect and love. We asked Rob to keep the classic “house” shape, and the modest footprint of the 2-storey, 1200 square foot house the same. Yes modest (read: small!). We didn’t need more, we just wanted to rooms that we used the most to work for us, and our energetic Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix with attitude named Bruno.
We worked with Micacchi Architecture through a few versions while living in the house for about a year, understanding the light and natural feel of the house. We respected the old, imbued it with the new, adhered to a budget as best we could (!), and paid a nod to Japanese and clean Scandinavian lines, with a lot of warm wood. Each room required thoughtful intention given the limited space – the first floor had to be an area we wanted to live and entertain in, while the master bedroom was a place to sleep and relax, the ensuite bath a place to physically and mentally prepare for the day, and wind down at night. The den was a place to stimulate ideas and encourage clarity of thought, and the kitchen a cook and baker’s playground, mostly for my husband (and secondarily for myself). The result was Sakura House, with black wood paneled exterior, white stained oak floors inside, with floor to ceiling glazing, lots of natural light, and white oak wood millwork that gave it warmth. We paid nod to the mid-century classics like warm paper Akari lamps from Noguchi, the iconic Barcelona Daybed, and cozy Knoll Womb chair sitting near it’s sibling oval marble Knoll dining table. But we wanted to make sure we looked forward too, so with the help of our friend and designer, Alison Milne of Alison Milne Design (AMD) and Gallery, her firm added final touches that included unique window coverings, a minimal den, contemporary furniture choices that celebrated organic curves that were easy to live with, and special art including one wedding present from Alison that was from art the exhibition that was on when we were married amongst 80 of our closest friends and family in her gallery in 2016. We collaborated with AMD in our home previous to this one, in a 100 year old converted church that we loved: designlinesmagazine.com/chu...
Taking you through the house we enter through a full height door to light wood texture cabinetry from Scavolini flanked by light terrazzo designed large-scale tiles. Heated of course (my feet are always cold!). These transition to wide-plank white stained oak floors on the first floor that lead you all the way to the back of the house with floor to ceiling doors framing the redesigned back outdoor living space. The first floor artfully displays slatted millwork that reminds us a lot of our Japan visit, and (injects) a dose of artisan work that we wanted all our contributors to be proud of. It also frames a brass bull designed by Jonathan Adler, given to me from my husband as an engagement present (long story! And we are both Taurus’s). Art from Alison’s gallery dresses up the matte Benjamin Moore Oxford White-painted walls, with Lindsey Adelman’s chandelier in satin brass creating a glow above the oval Knoll table in the middle of the open room.

The kitchen, as modest as the rest of the house, was thoughtfully designed with natural light from all directions, cabinets hung from the ceiling to maximize storage and style, giving the appearance of clean “blocks” our architect envisioned. The Gaggenau kitchen is my husband’s dream kitchen. The white quartz counters complete the spare and clean design. We pulled back whenever we could, so that the house could speak quietly for itself.

Going up the stairwell flooded by multiple skylights up top, natural light seeps through the open oak steps and slatted millwork. We were afraid Bruno might not feel so comfortable with all the openness, but he maneuvered the steps like a champ!
We collaborated with Alison Milne design on the millwork and layout of the den. A picture of a quiet John Pawson space that I passed on to Alison inspired me. Her firm added touches like the brass mobile and an oak wood 14-foot long continuous desk (It almost didn’t make it into the house!). They also are responsible for the high tech bottom-up angled window coverings that amaze everyone every time we actuate them!

The second floor required the collar ties to remain for structural support. The original collar ties were anemic and in rough shape. Micacchi Architecture celebrated the collar ties instead of hiding them, by opening up the ceiling and using the old floor joists of the house, and updating them with integrated lighting that magically illuminates the second floor spaces with cathedral-like soft light, reminiscent of the old church we used to live in! In the daytime, natural light floods the second floor, from multiple narrow skylights that saved on cost compared to larger custom skylights.
We spent much of our time together in the morning preparing for the day, so the ensuite needed to be a special, clean space that encouraged a clean slate and energy to start the day. The walls and floor are covered by large-scale terrazzo tiles (similar to the kitchen and entrance) warmed underfoot. Strategically positioned opaque panels cleverly hide the water closet, with, of course, a Japanese toilet inspired by our travels (this was my splurge!). The full length IKEA cabinetry was proudly put together by my husband and I (a Corporate Insurance Senior Vice President and Physician/Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, respectively) and we think it looks great and provides us with much needed storage.

The master bedroom, warmed with light grey carpet and my husband’s solid walnut bed custom made by a friend of his, is a perfect room to sleep and relax in. Jeff’s Grandmother’s armchair was recovered in mid-century designed Maharam fabric that gave it new life. A Dean West art piece from AMD’s gallery (a present I gave to Jeff previously) completes the room, with individual Noguchi Akari lamps providing some individuality on either side of the bed (Jeff’s is orange, and mine is grey which kind of describes some of our design personality! He likes things to “pop” while I prefer them to sing quietly).
When the project neared completion, we sat with our architect and friend in our new living room, mostly devoid of furniture other than our Italian light grey heather couch, with champagne in hand and soaked it all in. We made it just before the Christmas holidays! Rob said that the most successful parts of the house were the ones that we all collaborated the most on. We couldn’t agree more!