The Globe and Mail

Lisa Rapoport was listening to her clients' list of desires, but she was more focused on what she could see out the window. "How do we bring that kind of view further into the house?" the architect wondered as she gazed out at a veritable woodland while taking in the homeowners' plans to move the powder room, organize the kid stuff and expand the kitchen. Ms. Rapoport, a principal at Toronto-based Plant Architect Inc., says she and her team had their own ideas during that first planning meeting. "We had an agenda," she admits, "because there's this amazing ravine." For homeowners Laura Trachuk and Martin Katz, the renovation of their three-storey house in midtown Toronto required that they endure eight months of disruption and tough decisions.