A Country Paradise in Utopia
This property is a perfect blend of elegant design, stunning architecture, and sustainability, all wrapped up in a perfect property. Michael and Sandy are the original owners of this home in Utopia, Ontario. Michael, an architect, designed this home after he and Sandy, a writer and photographer, fell in love with the forested property. Built in alignment with the seasons and movement of the sun, the home is gorgeous and energy-efficient, capturing solar gains from intentional design choices. I've interviewed Michael and Sandy to understand the unique qualities of this property, as well as the beautiful setting it sits on. While Michael and Sandy are ready to move on to their next project, they’re excited for whoever chooses to make 2 Trillium Lane their next home. Check out the listing here.
The property is in Utopia, which sounds like perfection in name alone. How did you decide to build in the area?
Michael: Sandy and I spent just short of three years looking for the ideal property. This was the most beautiful property we could afford at the time, as we were a young family with two small children (Christian, age five, and Danielle, age two). The forested site, which already possessed a large clearing in the centre of it, resonated with us immediately as it was not only breathtakingly beautiful with its surrounding majestic trees, but had the perfect solar orientation, providing southern light (your best light), which penetrated deep into the property. From the moment we saw the property, we knew this would become "ours."
Sandy: We always imagined building a house on a couple of acres and raising a family. We found this beautiful spot and loved how it was tucked away off the main county road. It felt like a bit of an oasis. It still does– and many visitors say the same thing. It truly has a magical quality throughout every season.
What are some of your favourite features of the Utopia area?
M: Utopia is really only known for its historic grist mill – the Bell Mill (there have been many attempts to turn the Mill into a local museum, but to date, without success). The countryside of Utopia, which is primarily agricultural, is very easy on the eyes, which makes it a wonderful place to pass the time– driving through its various agrarian textures and ever-changing colours quickly calms the nerves. Moving outside of Utopia, the countryside is riddled with small discoveries, from family-owned bakeries to tucked-away artist studios and local artisans capable of almost anything.
S: Utopia is unique in that it is a picturesque rural place, yet only a 15-minute drive to Barrie and 30-minutes from Wasaga Beach. Trillium Lane is only 3km from Drysdale's Tree Farm, where we go every year to choose our Christmas tree, shop in the Christmas store, and, when the kids were young, get photos with Santa.
Utopia is also surrounded by farmer's markets (Murphy's Farm; Barrie Hill Farms; Moondance Organic Farm...etc). We also have access to the Nottawasaga River right from the end of our road. This area is also close to many artist studio tour events throughout the year. In general, Utopia is a very tranquil place to live.
The home was clearly designed with energy efficiency in mind– can you share your favourite elements of this design choice?
M: The house was designed before any LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification was available for houses (LEED was originally an American energy rating system, which eventually came to Canada). Nonetheless, the house features many green design principles, from its renewable materials (wood and timber construction) to its passive solar design.
The passive solar design uses a large roof overhang in its calculations to accept all winter sun (29-degree maximum solar angle) for natural heating, while cutting off all summer sun (72-degree maximum solar angle), removing unwanted solar gain, to prevent overheating and reducing cooling loads.
The roof overhang is functional while maintaining an appealing form. Architecturally, it emphasizes the long sloped profile of the roof, while metaphorically it resembles a large fallen tree, dramatically set within the site's manmade clearing.
Why was energy efficiency an important consideration in the design?
M: Energy efficiency is critical to any and all new architecture today, as the generation of energy is tremendously expensive, has a direct impact on our natural environment (in some cases with serious detriment), and its use is becoming increasingly expensive each day. So obviously, maximizing energy efficiency directly benefits the natural environment, which we all need to be stewards of.
The house's expansive windows invite the outside in. While raising a family on the property, what were your favourite parts of living within such a natural setting?
M: I'm sure Sandy will languish over her favourite natural benefits that our house and property share, but it's quite specific for me. Being an architect who has spent more than 25 years commuting to downtown Toronto (which I thankfully haven't done in the last ten years), I am accustomed to starting my day very early in the morning (4:00 AM). So for me, there's nothing more enjoyable than getting up very early on a Saturday morning, consuming a hot cup of coffee, sketching through my latest architectural project, and sharing this quiet time with a half dozen deer, who are gently looking about and foraging on my property's fringe. For me, this experience comes very close to being subliminal!
S: Seeing how the angles of the sun rays settled across the lawn throughout the seasons. My camera never stopped clicking. What is also endlessly enthralling is seeing all kinds of wildlife meander across the lawn at different times of the year. Deer are regular visitors, and if you're very quiet and still, they'll come very close to the windows. In winter, we'll often see depressions in the snow at the edge of the woods, where they had clearly bedded down for the night!
In addition to the house, the property also features a studio– how does the setting inspire creativity?
M: With the exception of my youngest son, who is presently studying kinesiology at McMaster University, the rest of us are all creative/artistic individuals (architects, artists, musicians, photographers and writers), who have brought their creative talent into our home for many years and in turn, have absorbed the property’s endless beauty, directly impacting their art and the way they see the world. The guest house/studio/two-car garage, although still to be built (drawings 100% complete, along with zoning approval in-place), would give this group of creative thinkers an ability to expand outward beyond the confines of the house while still remaining immersed in this "Magical" forested setting.
S: To me, the whole house is one big studio, including the deck in the warmer weather.
It is clear the design has been exceedingly personal– what are the family's favourite features of the house that you may carry into future designs and builds?
M: I won't attempt to capture everyone's favourite feature, but it's quite simple for me. The 15 foot tall, fully glazed kitchen/dining/living space is an architectural lens onto nature. It absorbs, reflects and resonates with the seasons and their associated colours and textures; it captures the dynamic movement of white snowstorms, grey/green rainfall, the swirling ballet of leaves falling to the ground, and the particular sporadic movement of all our forest friends; but most importantly it has allowed me to watch my children grow for many years and learn to be one with nature.
S: Favourite features are big windows that make you feel like you're a part of the outdoors; the inglenook fireplace which is so cozy in winter; the big covered front porch and deck; my large bathtub with a private view to the woods; a main floor laundry; lots and lots of hidden storage/bookshelves and lots of wall space for displaying artwork. And little built-in display shelves.
And, of course, that amazing front door!
I must say, my absolute favourite thing that I will miss is my morning view of my beautiful old "storybook" maple tree. An arborist once estimated its age at 200 years. The kids and I buried a time capsule under its canopy many years ago!