76 Hiltz Ave

You immediately sense that 76 Hiltz has been cared for by people who genuinely liked living here.

It starts at the curb. A rebuilt front porch with wider steps, vertical wood detailing and integrated bench seating gives this Leslieville semi a welcoming presence, set against a beautifully landscaped front yard. The blue front door adds just the right amount of personality, while a matching little library out front invites neighbours to stop, swap a book and linger for a minute. It’s a small detail, but one that says a lot about the house and the street. 

Inside, the home is surprisingly spacious, with a modern-meets-vintage aesthetic that feels collected rather than overly styled. More than a decade of improvements has shaped the house from the inside out, balancing major infrastructure work with custom storage and distinctive finishes.

Engineered hardwood floors and new subfloors, installed throughout in 2022, create continuity through the living spaces. At the back of the house, the kitchen was taken down to the studs and rebuilt in 2024, with new drywall, electrical outlets and cabinetry finished with custom brushed-nickel pulls. Large-format 24-by-24-inch white terrazzo floor tiles and a custom mitred double edge quartz backsplash give the room a distinctive material moment without overwhelming it.

Upstairs, the primary bedroom balances character with practical storage. Crown moulding and designer wallpaper add detail, while a custom built-in closet by Space Solutions makes good use of the available space. The bathroom keeps things crisp with glossy white ceramic tile and a clean white vanity.

Then there’s the basement, an important part of what makes this house work as well as it does. A major renovation in 2012 included lowering and underpinning the foundation to achieve approximately seven feet of ceiling height, along with new weeping tile, concrete, stone, membrane, a sump pump and a backflow valve. The electrical, drywall, lighting, and outlets were also redone, and the furnace and water heater were enclosed. The result is a lower level designed to function as genuine living space rather than an afterthought.

More recently, the basement was refreshed with custom built-ins and cabinetry by California Closets, new insulated flooring and carpet tiles, and fresh paint. The basement bathroom has its own distinctive details, including a custom shower finished in glossy white penny-round mosaic tile and a space-saving pocket door.

The outdoor spaces have their own personality. Out front, the porch with built-in bench seating creates an inviting perch above the garden; out back, the deck with its glass railings feels more tucked away, with a yard framed by newer wood fencing. A gate at the end of the yard opens directly onto the park, extending the backyard experience well beyond the property line. 

The setting brings the rest of the picture together. 76 Hiltz Ave sits between Greenwood Park and Queen Street East, giving everyday life easy access to two different sides of Leslieville. Greenwood Park offers a farmers’ market, ice rink, swimming pool and dog park. Lake Inez delivers the kind of combination that keeps a neighbourhood restaurant in regular rotation: fantastic food and an atmosphere that makes you want to stay. The Greenwood has your caffeine covered, while Bar Etc and Poor Romeo’s make a strong case for keeping cocktail plans close to home. And when the occasion calls for a good bottle, East End Vine is the kind of neighbourhood wine shop where an incredible recommendation is part of the experience. Queen East is just steps away, with the streetcar making the trip downtown straightforward and the beach close by. Back on Hiltz, the pace shifts: it’s a quieter residential street with the kind of neighbourhood familiarity where people know who lives a few doors down.

What makes this home memorable isn’t any single improvement or design choice. It’s how the house comes together: the lovely porch and teal door, the chic terrazzo underfoot in the kitchen, custom storage upstairs and down, a basement that was fundamentally reworked rather than cosmetically finished, useful outdoor space, parking and a backyard gate straight to the park.

It’s a house with character, but also substance behind it, and more than a decade of investment already built in.