It’s hard not to notice Rift House from its perch off the street: it’s black. Or rather, its cladding — cementitious panel with express fastenings — is black. The house looks serious, sitting between its more traditional neighbours, its Shou Sugi Ban (charred) cedar front door recessed back into the shadows. But hints abound of the warmth within, beginning with the graceful maple tree that shyly rustles in the breeze, providing peek-a-boo views of the rooms within. Indeed, think of this cladding as elegant wrapping paper, for the house itself opens to reveal a proposition for the embrace of family.
