The full front elevation at dusk: stacked charcoal steel and concrete volumes lit by warm soffit lights, with a round porthole window and a rooftop terrace above

The house

Four bedrooms, three storeys, and a roof you can live on.

A modern house of concrete, steel and cedar on a private hilltop estate between Meaford and Thornbury, with views in every direction. Here is what is in it.

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Built from: Concrete, steel, cedar
Storeys: Three, plus the roof
Great room: Double height
Between floors: Stairs or elevator

The short answer

Four bedrooms, four bathrooms and 4,500 square feet, over three storeys on 2.5 acres, plus a rooftop terrace on top of the building. The house is let whole.

The great room runs the full two storeys — eighteen feet to a plank timber ceiling, one wall of board-formed concrete, and a glass wall that slides onto a full-length deck. The kitchen is in the same room, along a fifteen-foot stone island.

An elevator runs from the garage to the roof, which is what makes the upper floors and the terrace usable by everybody rather than only by people who take stairs well.

The roof is a full outdoor level: turf, glass railings, a hot tub, a gas fire bowl, a barbecue and its own kitchenette, facing the Niagara Escarpment. The bed configuration is not published yet, because it has not been confirmed room by room.

Sleeps: 8–12
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Square feet: 4,500
Acres: 2.5
Great room ceiling: 18ft
Views: 360°

Arriving

Down a drive, past a pond.

The house sits on 2.5 acres of private countryside and is not visible from the road. A private drive curves in past the pond and a long sweep of open meadow, climbs, and then the building appears all at once on the high point of the property, with the land falling away behind it and the escarpment across the horizon.

Architecturally, it reads as three stacked volumes: concrete through the middle, dark steel to either side, warm cedar where the building meets the ground — with a round porthole window set high on the front. At dusk, downlights under every eave pick the whole thing out against the sky. It is a good way to arrive.

A gravel drive curving past a pond and open mown fields toward the house on a rise

The rear of the house above a level lawn, with a run of glass doors and a stone stair set into the grass

Flagstone steps and ornamental grasses climbing between boulders to a side entrance

The double-height great room with a board-formed concrete wall, plank timber ceiling, ring pendants and a glass wall onto the deck

Lounge seating facing a linear gas fireplace and wall-mounted television, with the dining table and kitchen beyond

The kitchen run with gloss white cabinetry, gas cooktop, deep sink and sputnik pendants overhead

A long timber dining table with bench and chairs set between the kitchen island and the stair

The main floor

One room, two storeys high.

The great room runs the full height of the building, and its windows run with it: eighteen feet of glass facing the deck and the view. One wall is board-formed concrete, left as it came out of the forms. Overhead, a plank timber ceiling in a weathered grey-brown. Ring pendants and a cluster of sputnik fittings hang in the volume. A linear gas fireplace is set into a slab of marbled stone.

The kitchen is part of the same room instead of tucked away from it: a long stone island with seating along one side, gloss white cabinetry, a gas range and full-size stainless appliances. The dining table is timber, long enough to seat twelve, and set between the island and the stair. A wall of glass doors slides open onto the deck, which runs the length of the house.

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Upstairs

Somewhere else to be.

The thing that makes a house work for a large group is not the number of beds. It is having more than one place to sit. Upstairs there is a loft with a table tennis table, sofas on both sides and a glass rail over the great room. Further along, a second sitting room, quieter, with a long ribbon window and a hutch — for the people who have had enough of table tennis.

A table tennis table in the upper loft with sofas either side under a plank timber ceiling — The loft: table tennis, sofas, and a rail over the room below.

The loft table tennis area beside a glass balustrade looking down over the main floor

A quiet upstairs sitting room with sofas, a glazed hutch and a long ribbon window

Sleeping

Rooms that do not look like each other.

The primary suite has a dark tiled feature wall, a recessed light cove in the timber ceiling, its own linear fireplace and a door straight outside. Its ensuite is the most theatrical room in the house: a freestanding tub in front of a floor-to-ceiling wall of deep blue glazed tile, twin vanities against concrete, and a dressing room next door lined wall to wall in cabinetry with a rolling library ladder.

Elsewhere the rooms change character completely. Some are lined in corrugated galvanised steel with a fireplace and a door onto the lawn. Others are panelled in pine, or set against a carved dark timber wall. More than one has its own kitchenette: a sink, a fridge and a counter — which is what makes the house work when two or three households arrive at once.

A king bed against a dark tiled feature wall, under a timber ceiling with a recessed light cove — The primary suite, with its own fireplace and a door straight outside.

A freestanding soaker tub in front of a floor-to-ceiling wall of deep blue glazed tile, lit by two crystal pendants — A wall of blue glazed tile — the one moment in the house that raises its voice.

A bedroom lined in corrugated galvanised steel with a fireplace, television and timber mantel opposite the bed — Galvanised steel walls — a deliberate choice, and a surprisingly warm one.

A guest suite with its own kitchenette, armchairs and a queen bed under a timber ceiling — Some rooms come with their own kitchenette.

The roof

The whole top of the house is outside.

The roof is a full terrace: turf underfoot, glass railings on every side, a hot tub, a gas fire bowl, a barbecue, loungers and a sectional big enough for everyone. It faces the Niagara Escarpment, which runs unbroken across the horizon, with a band of Georgian Bay visible above the tree line to one side.

The sun sets over the ridge, more or less straight ahead. Most evenings, this is where the group ends up.

What is here

Everything below is in the photographs.

We list only what we can show you. Anything not yet confirmed — internet speeds, charging and bed sizes — is left off until it is.

Outside: Rooftop terraceA full open-air level on top of the house, laid with turf and railed in glass.
Hot tubOn the rooftop terrace, facing the ridge.
Gas fire bowlSet among the rooftop seating.
Kitchenette on the roofSo the roof works for a whole evening without anyone going back downstairs.
Barbecue
Outdoor diningA six-seat table on the main deck.
Covered deckSheltered, looking over the pond.
Full-length deck
Ground-level fire ring
PondBeside the entrance drive.
Open lawn and meadow
Private drive
Lawn and deck games

Room to gather: Great room with 18ft ceilingsEighteen feet to the ceiling, floor-to-ceiling glass and patio doors straight onto the deck.
Table tennisIn the upper loft.
Games loft
Second sitting roomUpstairs, away from the main floor.
Long indoor dining table
Gas fireplacesIn the great room, the primary suite and several bedrooms.
Televisions

Kitchen and dining: Chef's kitchenProfessional-grade appliances, granite counters and a fifteen-foot island.
Island seating
Additional kitchenettesMore than one guest area has its own sink, fridge and counter.

Sleeping and bathing: Primary suiteWith a fireplace, ensuite and its own door outside.
Freestanding soaker tub
Walk-in showers
Dressing roomWall-to-wall cabinetry with a rolling ladder.
Ground-level walkout bedroomsSome rooms open straight onto the lawn.
A bedroom wing that locks offThe secondary bedroom wing can be closed off partially or completely and has its own separate entrance — so a second household, or grandparents, get a self-contained side of the house.
Fireplace in the primary suite
Dual shower in the primary ensuiteAlongside the freestanding soaker tub and a separate toilet vestibule.

Getting around: ElevatorA Vertech commercial-grade passenger car running from the garage all the way to the rooftop terrace. Unusual in a house this size, and the reason the roof works for guests who would rather not take three flights of stairs.
Three-bay garage and workshopInsulated, with a workshop, plus three further covered parking spaces.
Every floor by elevatorThe elevator serves every floor, from the garage to the rooftop terrace, and the stairs do too.

Practical: LaundryWasher and dryer on site.
Cots and high chairsFor babies and toddlers. Tell us how many you need when you enquire.

The same walk, moving

Now watch it.

Three minutes, every room above, and the roof at both ends of the day. It plays here — you do not have to go anywhere.

What happens, moment by moment

A fair question

Is this a cottage, or a house?

Is it a cottage? In the Ontario sense of the word: pine, a dock, a wood stove, a certain amount of damp — no. This is a house. It was built to be lived in year round and it is finished like it.

What it shares with a good large cottage is the part that matters: it is private, it is on its own land, it holds a group, and there is nothing to do in the evening but sit outside. What it does not share is the compromise. Four bathrooms rather than a queue. Radiant floor heating, not a stove you feed at two in the morning. An elevator, not a ladder to a loft.

That is where the luxury is, if you want to call it that — not in the finishes, but in not queuing for a shower. For a quiet weekend getaway from Toronto, about two and a half hours up the road, it makes a real difference.

If you have booked cottages for years and want that specific feeling, you will probably prefer a cottage. If you have booked cottages for years and quietly resented them, this is the one to try.

Two practical things the photographs do not show. There is ductless air conditioning through the house, which matters in July after the glass wall has had the sun on it all afternoon. And the upper level opens onto its own railed balcony above the deck, which is the quietest place to sit in the building. On privacy, which means different things to different people: here it means the nearest building visible from the roof is a farm across the valley. It is a beautiful outlook, peaceful by day and genuinely silent after dark.

On the view itself, since it is the reason to be up there. The house is on a hilltop, and the roof puts you three storeys higher again, so the outlook is panoramic: a full 360 degrees of scenic countryside, overlooking the Beaver Valley. The rooftop terrace looks out over Georgian Bay to the north, with the water reading as a long band above the tree line rather than as a shore at the foot of the lawn — the house is inland and elevated, not on the water, and it is worth being plain about that. Turn west and south and the horizon is the Niagara Escarpment, with Georgian Peaks and Blue Mountain along it. If you have been looking for a mountain view cottage in Ontario, those are the mountains: an escarpment rather than a range, and the same rock the ski runs are cut into.

Ready to see it in person?

Send us your dates and the shape of your group, and we will come back with availability, the sleeping layout that suits you, and anything else you need.

Check availability See the gallery first

Questions about the house

What is on the roof and outside?

The rooftop terrace has a hot tub, a gas fire bowl, a barbecue and lounge seating behind a glass railing, so it works for a whole evening without anyone going back downstairs. At ground level there is a covered deck, a fire ring (the fire pit, as opposed to the gas bowl on the roof) and a pond beside the drive.

Can you see Georgian Bay from the house?

Yes, from the rooftop terrace: the bay shows as a long band above the tree line to the north. The house is inland on high ground, not on the water, so there is no shoreline or dock. The rest of the outlook takes in the Beaver Valley, Georgian Peaks and the escarpment, all the way round.

Do you rent the whole property?

Always. It is a whole-house vacation rental: you take the entire property — the house, the 2.5 acres, the garage and the pond — with nobody else on it for your stay.

How big is the house?

About 4,500 square feet over three storeys, plus the rooftop terrace, on 2.5 acres. There are four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a great room with eighteen-foot glass, a fifteen-foot kitchen island, and a secondary bedroom wing with its own entrance that works as an in-law or nanny suite.

What is the house like inside?

Contemporary rather than rustic: board-formed concrete, steel, cedar and a lot of glass. Radiant heat runs through the floors, there is ductless air conditioning for summer, and a commercial-grade elevator serves every floor from the garage to the roof. It was built as a year-round home, not a seasonal cottage.

How private is it?

Very. It is a small private country estate on top of a hill: the house stands alone on open ground at the end of its own drive, with lots of space between you and the nearest neighbour. Two and a half acres is a modest acreage by rural standards, but the house has the high point of it to itself. It is secluded without being remote — Thornbury is about ten minutes away and Meaford about fifteen, so groceries and dinner out are easy.

Is there Wi-Fi?

Yes, throughout the house. We do not publish a speed, so if a video call or a working day depends on it, ask and we will run a test before you book.

Is there an EV charger?

No. There is no charger at the house, so arrive with enough range or plan a top-up on the way. Gas stations are a short drive away in Thornbury and Meaford.

Is there backup power?

No, there is no generator. If the power goes, call the number on your confirmation and we will keep you updated.

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