As seen in previous posts, we live in a run-of-the-mill Toronto apartment. There’s no charm, no unique features, no surprises. We were sold on the place because of the bathroom tile, which was a white subway tile — very, very unusual for a cookie-cutter apartment.

Once we moved in, we’ve tried to put our own unique twists on the place. Other than our possessions, we haven’t put much of a stamp on the apartment. Not anything close to what we could do….

Tonight, I reread aloud an article that my cousin Robert had shared a few years ago. Despite Richard’s criticism about the assumed salaries of rich New York bankers, the unlikelihood of someone ever paying over 10 million on a house, and arrogance of presuming a future home owner would care about the life of the previous owner, I still managed to enjoy the feeling of wonder in imagining a house fabricated with built-in clues unravelled in time.

The idea to integrate clues into the new family home came when the home owner requested a poem he had written be hidden away within the walls. The clues themselves spark with a second poem sent to the family (Mr. Klinsky & Ms Sherry) from the architect.

In any case, the finale involved, in part, removing decorative door knockers from two hallway panels, which fit together to make a crank, which in turn opened hidden panels in a credenza in the dining room, which displayed multiple keys and keyholes, which, when the correct ones were used, yielded drawers containing acrylic letters and a table-size cloth imprinted with the beginnings of a crossword puzzle, the answers to which led to one of the rectangular panels lining the tiny den, which concealed a chamfered magnetic cube, which could be used to open the 24 remaining panels, revealing, in large type, the poem written by Mr. Klinsky.

Another fun twist on the ordinary comes in this play room built under a staircase. Nothing creative there. Except the doorway. Check it out:

The top of the slightly hidden doorway comes just under the light switch. Not inaccessible to parents but completely wonderous for a child!

Makes me really excited to own my own house one day.