AN Interior Magazine Bessborough featured in AN Magazine
Very excited to share that Bessborough Residence was featured in AN Interior Magazine over the weekend! Thank you for the wonderful write-up, Paige Davidson! Link in bio if you’d like to read more 🤓 …
Stealth Modern
In Toronto, AAmp Studio preserves a historic 19th-century house while designing a contemporary annex
By Paige Davidson
Homeowners in Toronto came to AAmp Studio (AN’s 2025 Best of Practice winner for Architect (Small Firm) – Canada) with a challenge: preserve and renovate their historic neo-Georgian home, while adding a modern annex that also complements the original structure. By incorporating natural light and mixing materials, AAmp Studio successfully bridges old with the new in the Bessborough Residence.
A 2-story sliver of glass connects the original red-brick structure and the annex clad in gray board and batten siding. The extension hugs the original house, mirroring its frame to create a single cuboid volume. The architects made sure the addition reflected the original home’s 2-story height, elevation composition, and roofline. AAmp Studio’s cofounder, Anne-Marie Armstrong commented, “Through the renovation and expansion of this home, we struck a balance between new and old, historic and contemporary, something we like to say is ‘stealth modern’ and that demonstrates new architecture has a place in historic contexts.”
“Because the original home was so partitioned, we knew that with this renovation and addition we wanted to lead with light,” added Andrew Ashey, AAmp Studio’s cofounder. The stringent partitions of the original structure made it difficult for the family of five to gather. AAmp Studio carved out open spaces within the original home and continued this language into the annex.
The open floorplan continues at the annex. The first floor of the addition houses communal gathering space for family and friends: the living room, dining room, kitchen, and breakfast nook. There floor-to-ceiling windows are located on one side of the living room, drawing connection to the outdoor living room, where the team cleverly reused the red brick from the dismantled garage and applied it to the exterior facade of this side of the annex.
Clean white walls and white oak floors set the tone for the home’s interior design. This subdued color and material palette is met with a language of curves: an arched breakfast banquette, curved vaulted hallway ceilings, doorways, and small details in the millwork, stair treads, and handrails. These small but noticeable notes allow for the home to allow for a more comfortable atmosphere.
In the bedrooms and bathrooms, the designers played with color. Touches of dusty rose, olive, sky blue, and deep navy blue were used as accents on wallpaper and tilework. In the master bathroom, light blue zellige tile were installed and a butterfly wallpaper decorates the walls of one of the children’s bedroom.
AAmp also tinkered with texture in the renovation. Fluted oak clads the foyer above the wooden built-in bench. A similar treatment was applied to the wall within the curved breakfast nook, the sides of the kitchen island, and around the fireplace.
Bessborough Residence draws connections between the old and the new in the renovation and expansion, uniting the two while also leaving them distinct.
