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Price: $7,995,000
Neighbourhood: Old Oakville
Land Size: 5570 square feet
In this two-story home tucked away in southeast Oakville, modern comfort meets high-tech sustainability.
At 116 Chartwell Road, the property “speaks to wellness and calmness.” said real estate agent Nina Mandeville of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
“I see it as, it’s not your typical sort of Oakville family home,” Mandeville said. “It doesn’t fit into that, … the big lot, the pool, the double car garage, and the five, six bedrooms. It’s more of a unique, curated version for the very discerning kind of sophisticated buyer who wants that premium quality.”
Mandeville spotlighted the home’s net-zero certification by the Canadian Home Builders Association, meaning the property has been built to net-zero specifications and passed a series of tests, including an air volume exchange test. Whereas a regular home would see air exchange four to five times an hour due to leaks, cracks, and poor insulation, according to Mandeville, this property only sees an air exchange of 0.5 times per hour.
“And as a result, I call it sort of a wellness home,” the agent said, highlighting the consistent air quality throughout the house. “It speaks to wellness and calmness and it’s just a lovely feeling, it definitely feels different than in any other home that I’ve been in.”
The home’s advanced insulation, fully sealed envelope and geothermal system also work to reduce exposure to contaminants in the air.
A “state-of-the-art” home
Coming from the gated entryway, potential buyers will be greeted by a 10-foot door of solid mahogany. Though the facade is a modern design, it’s not a “cold modern,” Mandeville said, explaining, “because there’s a lot of wood and big windows and this wonderful lush sort of green everywhere you look, the modernness is softened to be warm.”
Upon entering the house, guests are greeted by a foyer with a “soaring” ceiling and pyramid skylight, flanked by an open, floating staircase with an oak handrail. Guests can also see through to the landscaped garden, which “marries beautifully with the more modern elements of the home” because of its minimalistic but textured design, Mandeville said.
To the left of the foyer is the office, whose window wall looks onto the garden and street and contains two floor-to-ceiling oak bookcases, a space the current owner loves to spend time in, Mandeville said. “It just draws you into that space and just has a wonderful, again, calming, beautiful feel.”
The space highlights the unique mahogany-framed windows of the home, which use high-visibility Swiss glass that ensures maximum light passage, and were custom-made by a window company in St. Catharines.
The main floor also contains the primary bedroom suite, which contains a walk-in closet and a five-piece ensuite bathroom, whose fixtures include a steam shower and oversized soaking tub.
Across from the primary bedroom is the great room and kitchen, outfitted with state-of-the-art Gaggenau appliances. To the right of the kitchen is the mudroom, through which guests can access the covered patio or four-car garage, a “rare find in Oakville,” Mandeville said.
A mahogany-clad ceiling covers the patio, which includes dual Kenyon barbeques and looks out onto a stainless steel hot tub.
Two additional bedroom suites lie upstairs, each with a walk-in closet and an ensuite bathroom featuring rainfall showers.
The basement includes an exercise room, a large recreation room, and a bedroom with a three-piece bathroom. Mandeville noted the rec room’s textured cement wall, designed for a vertical garden that, combined with large windows, makes it so “you really don’t feel you’re in the basement.”
Also in the basement are the two control rooms, one for the mechanical functions of the home, and one for the “high-tech” aspects, including lights, heating, and security, which can be controlled via screens throughout the home or from your phone.
The home also features a wood-panelled elevator servicing all three stories, and a 300-kilowatt generator capable of running the entire property.
“I represent a lot of high-end homes, but this quality is above and beyond: the workmanship, the materials that have been used,” Mandeville said.
In addition to the comforts offered within the home, the property lies within walking distance to Lake Ontario and the Oakville core. Mandeville also pointed out the easy commute to Toronto via car or the GO, and its closeness to the airport.
So, who’s the ideal buyer?
Mandeville envisions a single person or ideally, a couple looking to downsize, as a good fit for the home, because of its smaller footprint and lower maintenance needs.
“Because the empty nester usually doesn’t want the big garden, they usually don’t want a pool, …the big home with the big garden and the big pool and the whole drill, they’ve kind of been there, done it, and they want to just consolidate and simplify life. And that speaks to that narrative, in my opinion, big time.”
The environmental features of the home might also make it appeal to a health-conscious buyer, Mandeville said, who might appreciate the quiet and evenness offered by the home.
“It’s tremendous value. There are no other, that I’m aware of, anywhere in Oakville, fully certified net zero homes,” Mandeville said. “It’s very much ahead of its time.”
