Great Spaces: a Forest Hill rebuild that’s custom-made to be low maintenance and family friendly

Entering through the front hall of Noah and Erica Godfrey’s Forest Hill home often means dodging bowling tournaments or miniature car races. Four-year-old Chase and two-year-old Lincoln have left their mark all over the house—and that’s exactly how the Godfreys want it.

Noah is a 34-year-old entrepreneur who founded Dose magazine in 2005, recently sold GigPark (a website where networks of friends can refer services to each other) and is now a partner in an eye surgery business. Erica is 32 and a freelance graphic designer, taking time off to care for the kids. The couple met 10 years ago at the now-closed bar Roxy Blu. Five and a half years later, they were married and living in Yorkville. They loved being close to downtown, but with Chase then a toddler and plans to give her a sibling, the family wanted more space and a backyard.

In 2006, they found a property near Spadina and St. Clair. “The house was old and creepy,” says Erica, but the lot was large, so they set about getting the permits to tear it down and rebuild (a Forest Hill ritual). For that, they enlisted architect Richard Wengle, the man responsible for many projects in the area. Erica, who loves to cook, wanted an open concept so she wouldn’t feel sequestered in the kitchen. Noah’s main goal was to minimize maintenance. He insisted on an underground garage, which came with a heated driveway—“I don’t even own a shovel,” he says proudly—and artificial grass in the backyard (no lawn mower, either). Erica then hired designer Jackie Lamey to help with the interiors. They opted for a palette of blacks, whites and greys (Erica hates beige), and elegant but durable fabrics. They even tested a swatch of white vinyl for the kitchen chairs with tomato sauce, crayon scribbles and a fork. It passed.

Oh, and there was one other stipulation: an oversized marble shower for the family’s nightly “team shower” (pretty much what it sounds like). And the team is about to get bigger—the Godfreys are expecting their third child this month.

Erica bought this chandelier, from Universal Lamp, with the master bedroom in mind, but when it arrived she thought it was perfect for the powder room, which, with its black wall­paper and chrome accents, needed a girly touch.

It took Erica ages to find a kids’ stepstool that didn’t have cartoon characters on it. She snagged this one from Restoration Hardware Baby and Child.

The Godfreys’ interior designer found these old subway signs from New York at Hardware Interiors on Queen Street East. Noah used to live in New York, and Erica would visit him there, so the signs have nostalgic value for the couple.

Noah wanted his home office to be functional but not overly serious. This former kitchen table, from G.H. Johnson Trading Company Ltd., was perfect for meetings. Erica proudly claims to have put the white IKEA chairs together herself.

Noah is a baseball fanatic (when his father, Paul Godfrey, was CEO of the Blue Jays, Noah used to go to almost every home game). He has a 20-inch TV in the built-in wall unit, so he can get his Jays fix while the kids watch cartoons on the big screen.

The main quality the Godfreys needed in their family room rug was invincibility. So far, this wool rug is living up to its job description. It’s from Weavers Art.

Noah bought this Andy Warhol print when he was a single investment banker in New York. The following year, he bought a Campbell’s Soup Can for his parents, but it was destroyed in a fire.

Erica was inspired by a picture she saw of Gwyneth Paltrow’s country house. She asked their builder at Buena Vista Development to replicate the mantel.

The Godfreys didn’t want to stare at the back of a couch when they entered the house. When Erica found this oversized ottoman at Horsefeathers, it was peach and white. To make it fit with her palette, she and Lamey had it reupholstered in velvet and painted the base silver themselves in the backyard.

They chose this sofa from Elte for comfort and durability. It’s deep enough for everyone to curl up on comfortably, and the black cushions hide everything.

Erica chose linen for the drapes. “It’s light and airy and doesn’t make the room look too heavy,” she says.

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