For years, former school principal Bill Harrison and former teacher Mary Hamawaki regularly hosted staff parties in their large Danforth backyard in Toronto’s east end. They always looked at the space with an eye for what it could become.
But the couple’s vision of building a small extra home in their backyard encountered a snag: Such garden suites were illegal in Toronto. At least they were until February, 2022, when the city approved zoning amendments that made detached backyard units an option, following the embrace of back-alley laneway houses in 2018.
Now retired, Mr. Harrison, 69, and Ms. Hamawaki, 72, spent about a year on the project, replacing their two-car garage with a much swankier arrangement. The renovation allowed them to give their adult daughter, Caitlin Harrison, who grew up on the property, their full-sized home while they moved in to the garden suite in May, 2025.
Caitlin’s husband, Mitch Bates, runs a ramen restaurant nearby. Meanwhile, the couple’s two daughters are growing up in a home with a family history dating back to 1991, when their grandparents bought the two-storey house.
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“That’s what drove us to this: Being able to give them a house in a great part of the city that they could live in, and also being close to us,” Mr. Harrison said.
That motivation led the couple to approach Toronto-based Lanescape Architecture and Construction. After also considering modular homes from other companies, built with low, sloped ceilings to fit within city bylaws (to avoid blocking neighbours’ sunlight), the couple was sold on the design firm’s garden suite with a sunken bedroom layout.
Lanescape, one of the companies in Toronto that caters to the garden suite and laneway home market, said multigenerational living is a common use case for its designs. Building costs run between about $400 to $550 per square foot, Lanescape’s director of business development, Daniel Mansubi, said.
The suite’s open concept living and dining area.Ron Christopher Adriano
The suite’s walkout basement and slanted roof on the main floor “gave us these fabulous cathedral ceilings,” Mr. Harrison said. Within their 1,100-square-foot space, the couple has two bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms and an open-concept living space with a bounty of sunlight.
For finishings, the pair opted for modern and low-maintenance details including a waterfall quartz countertop, an abundance of built-in storage and a slatted wood support wall on the main floor that lets light through.
“We’re a little older, but we want to make sure that somebody else, when we’re gone, still finds the place appealing,” Ms. Hamawaki said. The couple also made sure that the dimensions of the stairs could eventually accommodate a lift.
Outside, they selected a dark exterior for its dramatic look against greenery and to keep cleaning minimal. Even with the garden suite, there is still plenty of remaining outdoor space, including grassy areas and patios for both residences. Garden suites in the city must also have a clear, not-too-long path from the street to ensure fire and emergency access.
A grey stone walkway connects the garden suite to the main house.Ron Christopher Adriano
A grey stone walkway connects the main house to the garden suite. Like many families, the older couple leans on the younger generation for help when needed, such as with computer challenges or when booking vacations, Mr. Harrison said.
For a period during construction, the couple and their daughter’s family all lived together in the main house. At the time, one granddaughter was a newborn baby.
Mr. Harrison recalled the mess and noise of sharing the home during the construction. They even had a portable toilet on their front lawn. “I remember we decorated it at Christmas. We wrapped some tinsel around,” Mr. Harrison said.
Now through the chaos, the couple is enjoying the more compact residence because it takes less work to maintain.
“We’ve built a small house that works so much better for us,” Mr. Harrison said. Though, Ms. Hamawaki added, “it’s not that small.”