GRAPHĒ: The Smarties-Colored Shingles on This Toronto Home Look Sweet Enough to Eat

The renovated row house’s cheery new color palette starts at the street with a bubble-gum pink facade.

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Project Details:

Location: Toronto, Canada

Architect: SHEEEP Studio / @sheeep.studio

Footprint: 1,200 square feet

Builder: Renovations Ruth

Structural Engineer: Hanne Engineering

Photographer: James Morley, Doublespace Photography

From the Architect: "Bright, bold, and colorful describes both the appearance of Pink House, as well as the personalities of the couple who own it. A facade of bright pink brick, contrasted with red and green framing, stands out in a line of row houses in the neighborhood of Little Portugal, in Toronto, Canada. The home is the regular gathering spot for a group of friends, sharing meals, life, and a love of cinema by projecting movies on the back wall of the house on warm summer nights. As they set out to renovate, the owners knew they wanted a home that reflected the color in their lives: who they are, how they live, and how they love to gather.

"Their choice of architect reflected this—SHEEEP, headed by Reza Nik, has a design ethos defined by playful and provocative uses of color and graphics. Nik’s process is co-creative, and he worked with the clients to not only to get a sense of their spatial needs, but also the deeper elements of their personalities that might be reflected in their home. Some of the first things shared between architect and client were movie posters for the 1958 Otto Preminger film ‘Bounjour Tristesse,’ which were ultimately the inspiration for the bold palette.

"Entering from the front of Pink House, partition walls were replaced with low benches with integrated storage. Seating wraps around a picture window, towards a fireplace and firewood hutch, requested by the clients as a greener way to warm the home. The hutch, stained a vivid green, is anchored by warm wood tones and white tile. Curved walls and cabinetry pulls you from the living space into a dining room featuring a coat closet, built-ins, and a dog bed for Pretzel, the family’s golden retriever. A custom pill-shaped island defines the kitchen space, with pops of color drawing one into the bright breakfast nook. Color, texture, and round forms makes the narrow space feel expansive and open. Every opportunity to bring in natural light was pursued: skylights were added to the kitchen, and a new lightwell brightens the dining space. Finally, the back wall of the home plays off the front, echoing its bold colors but featuring them instead on individually painted shingles, arranged in a gingerbread house-like pattern.

"Collaborator and builder Renovations Ruth, after working with the clients and SHEEEP, gifted each a copy of the ‘The Big Orange Splot,’ a children’s book about a man who joyfully refuses the uniformity of his neighborhood by colorfully painting the exterior of his house, eventually inspiring his neighbors to follow suit. Pink House is a reminder of the life inside of our homes, a commitment to color, mischief, delight, and inspiring others to dream out loud too."