Designing My Laneway House: A Personal Story

Laneway Blog Real Time

February 2025. Mid February I met with my interior designer to select the finishings for the Laneway House I will be building this year.

This was a very exciting time.. my dream of a new future home would  come to life in the choices we would make over the next few days.. the kitchen, bathroom and cupboard millwork, countertops,  flooring, moldings, lighting design and fixtures.  A daunting number of decisions to be made, a tad scary but also so energizing!!!

The COVID Spark

The scary dark days of COVID sparked the birth of an idea. The idea took root, and we started dreaming. Dreams developed into plans. We entered  the real estate market, and our early 2020s dreams became hard-hitting nightmares in 2024. The nightmares finally subsided and by the fall we’d come through the worst of the stressors. We were once again moving forward towards the dream. Overtime I will weave these chapters of the journey into the  blog.

In the early fall, I joined Rachael my daughter, Callum her partner, and Cooper my young grandson, and moved into the new home we had bought on Gladstone Ave in Dovercourt Village. We had purchased the property in early May—a new bigger home for Rach, Cal and Cooper with the potential for a laneway home for me. The buy, sell and move challenges behind us, we could focus on settling in and starting the design process. A 2 storey home, Gladstone had lots of room— great living space on the main floor, (space we often share), and a dedicated ‘drop down’ living suite in the basement that I will call my home as I await the build of my new space. 

Selecting the Design Build Firm

The next big decision was to land on a design build firm that would be able to turn my dream into reality. While I did do some limited research on contractors in this space, I think my decision to select 2X2 Construction https://2x2construction.ca/about-us had formed over the course of the past 2 years. 

In April of 2023 I began my research into laneway housing. My internet search brought me to the 2X2 Construction site on their laneway and garden suite construction services https://2x2construction.ca/services/laneway-house . This website is a dream—filled with real plans and photos of laneway houses, a terrific ‘Laneway House Guide’  an informative laneway Q&A, laneway house requirement, tips and trends and costs. It was a gold mine!! Having absorbed as much as I could and armed with my personal set of questions, I sent 2X2  the following message.

Good day. 

I am hoping to purchase a home with my daughter and her partner that would enable the buildout of a space for me. 

We need assistance in the planning stages that covers what type of property we need to purchase, the design of the separate spaces to the final build of the project. We have considered the option of a laneway house. 

We have found your website to be very helpful and wondered if we could set up some time to meet to develop a clearer understanding of what  planning we need to do to prepare for such a project.

I look forward to hearing from you

Geri

David 2X2 Account Manage called me. He spent an hour and a half and answered question after question. At this point I had not committed to the laneway build, I was simply exploring an option. David was generous with his time and committed to offering ongoing guidance as we debated our future options. Over the course of the next year and a half, David and I connected again and again. In December 2024 we committed to find a property and David became a resource (in addition to our real estate team — more on that dream team later) to call on to assess whether the properties we were considering were suitable.  

David provided great insight into the final decision to purchase Gladstone. It was a great fit!! The neighborhood had a lot of appeal…close to the subway,  a charming family neighborhood with schools and parks, the draw of urban offerings–bars, coffee shops and local stores.  The main home was fully renovated, move in ready and provided ample space. The property had a large backyard ( for urban standards), a 2 car garage, a very wide rear laneway providing great access, and it ticked all the laneway build requirements for smooth ( hopefully) permitting.

So having moved into our home, conversations with David began in earnest  in late September as Rachael, Cal and I 

• Reviewed the 2X2 design /build process. 
• Explored early options of what might be feasible given the garage and property size
• Discussed 2X2 cost parameters and my  budget 
• Visited 2X2 build projects in process
• Conducted references on 3 2×2 laneway clients

The Design Build Process

In my next blog I will pick up the story and share the next phase of the design journey