11 RAGLAN ROAD - $515,000

The Essentials

An inner harbour townhouse that reads like a Scandinavian hideout, some addictive Netflix binge, all pale wood, gas fireplace, and sneaky views of the river where Leif disappeared in that freak snowstorm.

I’ll do an open house on Sunday afternoon. You should stop by and we’ll discuss plot points.

The Bigger Picture

I wrote not too long ago that 11 Raglan Road is “an expertly renovated downtown townhouse all wrapped up in a fresh, dark chocolate siding. The best truffle in the box.” Something very much like that anyway, and the sentiment still rings true for me, that blazing, cherry-red door pulling the image tight.

So if your aim is to buy one of the sweetest homes in the Inner Harbour neighbourhood, not even a ten-minute walk from the city’s core, well today is going to be a very good day for you. Spread over three floors (the third floor loft bedroom looks discreetly over the Cataraqui River) the house stacks a set of pale wood-accented spaces, each one striving to out-do the last.

Knotty pine floors and stone counters, rough-hewn ceiling boards and whitewashed walls, subway tile and jazzy ceramics. Even a strip of exposed brick chimney at the top of the house. It is a curated exploration of pleasing texture and shape. The stone surrounding the gas fireplace in the living room is like a cliff you find at the base of a waterfall.

The renovations five years ago saw new floors laid down, as well as new insulation, and wiring, and plumbing, and sound-proofing, and windows.

There are three bathrooms (!) and that’s not at all common in these cottages, and there is laundry upstairs, along with closet spaces deep enough a desk has been set into one and serves as a hideaway for top-secret calls.

A shed at the back of the house makes for brilliant storage but if you removed it you’d be left with a parking spot accessible via a right-of-way.

There’s a grassy, private garden tucked away back there too, with dappled shade and often a string of fairy lights.