A dark and monochrome home with a bright and airy interior provides a tranquil shelter from the bustling outdoors.

Designed by Ravi Handa Architect in collaboration with AAmp Studio, the Ell House is a vacation home located on Lake Ontario, Canada, that is defined by its L shape, a configuration that provides several benefits. This shape, reminiscent of the extensions built on farmhouses over generations, creates two volumes: one houses the private quarters and the other contains the common areas. Aside from also providing shelter from the area?s prevailing winds, the home?s unique shape also ensures that each opening has a picture frame-like display of the beautiful surroundings.

The two volumes are connected by a glass vestibule that serves as the entry point into the home. From there, visitors can take a moment to appreciate the waterfront before heading left or right. The more private volume on the right includes four bedrooms and two baths, while the other volume on the left houses the kitchen, dining room and living room. Each space flows into one another to create an intuitive understanding of the home, even for first time visitors. Both volumes are clad in a charred cedar that gives the home its monochrome aesthetic and adds contrast to the natural surroundings.
Inside, the home is bright and airy with a warm material palette. The gable roof, reminiscent of the region?s barns, adds height and accentuates the openness of the home?s interiors.

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