Hidden in a green world, just off a street in Collingwood, lies the home of Frannie and Peter Coolican. Their revitalized home is an architectural gem afloat in a sea of tall pines and flowering fruit trees.

The walls throughout the home are white and the furnishings are neutral and warm. The beauty of the layout is the abilty to move freely in the corridors in front of the windows. Nothing blocks the view.

The precious stone that comes to mind is emerald, because of the expanse of natural greenery that surrounds and infiltrates the home at every turn.

The Coolican home is special for another reason – it is the only residence in the area constructed in the true Bauhaus design.

The Bauhaus style, named after the art school in Germany that revolutionized art training by combining the study of pure arts with the study of crafts, was founded in 1919, with architect Walter Gropius as its director. The school stressed functional craftsmanship in the context of modern mass production. Ahead of its time, the Bauhaus school met with vigorous opposition and finally closed in 1933. But the movement and the architectural concepts it espoused found worldwide acclaim, and was adopted in North America, most notably by the Chicago Institute of Design.

The Bauhaus ideal – an architectural marriage of form and function – finds its elegant realization in the Coolican’s classic Bauhaus residence, designed in the mid-70s by Kopsa Architects of Toronto.

With the help of general contractors, Porter Skelton & Associates, and interior decorating ideas from designer Lorna Gordon Brown, the Coolicans refurbished this unique hillside home on a secluded, one-and-a-half acre lot in Collingwood, complete with a spacious fieldstone patio and regulation tennis court.

The Coolicans always eat dinner in the dining room at the long teak dining table.

Entering the home on the ground floor, the earthen-toned slate flooring (installed by Georgian Flooring) complements the home’s natural setting. This level’s practical use of space allows for access to the garage, as well as to the tennis court via a stone stairway. There’s also space for a small mudroom, TV room and library, as well as a guest bedroom down the hall. Here, the Coolicans were able to install their portable sauna. Wherever you look in this unique home is a stunning view of the inviting natural landscape beyond the omnipresent floor-to-ceiling, triple-glazed, high performance windows (courtesy of G. Lawrence Enterprises).

Commenting on the family’s constant access to nature, Frannie Coolican beams. “It’s like living in a tree house. There is no need for curtains. Because of the trees, we have in-town seclusion.”

The second floor of the home provides its own delights. Like the ground floor, the walls are white. The neutral walls work wonderfully well, providing a clean, spacious look, while allowing the beauty of nature and the family’s collection of Inuit artwork to shine through. “We’ve always had white walls,” says Frannie. “We always liked the look.”

The view from the second-floor dining room and adjacent family room is simply breathtaking. Broad windows offer a spectacular view of the top half of a cherry tree, and of red and Austrian pines. “We always eat dinner in the dining room, where we can watch the squirrels and the birds in the trees close-up. It’s wonderful!” says Frannie.

Speaking of the renovations that the Coolicans undertook, Peter states: “We basically replaced the skin of the house, resurfacing the flat roofs, redirecting interior drains, replacing all the windows and some siding. The bare bones remain the same. Chris Skelton brought his team through and did a thorough assessment of what had to be done…He told us not to compromise the integrity of the house, that everything was here for a reason, everything was thought out.”

Outside the main entrance.

So the Coolicans modernized the home, while maintaining the integrity of the classic Bauhaus style. Floating walls, built-in flower boxes, pocket doors, and long, open halls ending in floor-to-ceiling windows, reflect the original architectural intent to create a flow-through feeling that minimizes the separation between the interior and the exterior of the home. These visual features were not compromised by the installation of an up-to-date heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, shoehorned into the building by Nottawasaga Mechanical.

The Coolicans redesigned the second floor bathroom and expanded the kitchen space, opening it up with a new granite-topped island and counter, creating an eating area filled with natural light that overlooks the inviting patio and treed lawn in the distance. In keeping with Bauhaus functionality, the laundry room is located off the kitchen (next to the rear entrance), with its atmospheric Spanish portal and view of a handcrafted Inukshuk by Inuit artist, David Ruben.

Standing in the comfortable den, linked to the family room by a double-sided fireplace, Frannie Coolican looks out at a mature Magnolia tree and a mammoth Rose of Sharon that perfectly capture the home’s ambiance. “The whole house frames the outdoors. We love it.”

The feeling of the indoors embracing the out-of-doors continues as we ascend the geometric spiral staircase that anchors the three levels. The stairs are positioned like a series of stacked cubes, all bathed in glorious natural light.

The Coolican children love to come home to visit and their bedrooms are ready. This room has access to the roof-top balcony.

The top floor, with original wooden ceilings throughout, intensifies the “tree house effect.” A glass-walled, floating hallway leading to the master bedroom permits natural light to reach the floor below. Above the large master bedroom are clerestory windows that allow moonlight and sunlight to flood the space.

On the third floor, the Coolicans redesigned the en suite and guest bathrooms in neutral shades, with marble accents to blend with the home’s overall sense of natural calm. Two guest bedrooms, with walkout access to a roof-top balcony, complete the tour of this unique architectural jewel.

Frannie and Peter are justly proud of their diamond in the green rough.