Downsview Whole Home Renovation: A Full Second Storey on a Bungalow

The main floor now lives around the kitchen island. White shaker cabinets run to the ceiling with a second row of uppers, matte black pulls and a tall pantry cabinet, and the veined quartz counter continues up the wall as a full-height backsplash behind the range. The island carries drawer storage on the working side, under a black-framed linear chandelier, with stainless appliances all around. Wide-plank flooring runs without a single break from the front hall through the whole floor, and the entry got a closet with sliding doors.

Two more moves complete the level. A new staircase connects the floors: hardwood treads, white painted risers and stringers, a square wood newel post and thin black metal spindles that let light pass through. And the powder room packs the most personality per square foot in the house: a wall-hung walnut vanity, a round backlit mirror, a matte black faucet and a patterned mosaic floor.

This entire floor is new. The existing roof came off, a complete second storey was framed on top of the original walls with new windows and a new roof, and the exterior was finished in stucco from the ground to the roofline, so nothing outside says "addition".

Inside, the bedrooms open off one central landing, each with its own built-in closet behind sliding doors. Walls are crisp new drywall, windows and doors share one white casing profile, recessed pot lights sit in an even grid, and the same wide-plank flooring as the main floor runs through every room and over the top step.

The two full bathrooms follow one language: walk-in showers behind frameless glass, large-format grey porcelain to the ceiling, matte black rainfall sets with handhelds, and white vanities with quartz tops, integrated sinks and round backlit mirrors. One shower has a window and a tiled curb, and each bathroom vents through its own exhaust fan, the quiet detail that keeps new bathroom renovations looking new.

The basement was finished end to end: grey plank flooring across the whole level, new drywall and paint, and a flat closed ceiling with pot lights set into it and the bulkhead. Structural columns were boxed in and trimmed with the same baseboard as the walls, and the basement flight of stairs got a white railing to match the new staircase above. A finished basement like this turns the lowest level into real, everyday living space.

Warm grey walls, white trim and doors, and recessed lighting run through every finished room on every level, and that consistency is the whole point: when one team designs and builds all three floors, the house ends up speaking one language. It's the second whole-home build in our portfolio, next to the Summerhill Victorian rebuilt from the studs, a very different house with the very same approach. See how a project like this would price out in our renovation cost guide for Toronto.