7 Adelaide Street, Kingston

Pushed to the wall, I'd admit to the existence of similarly pretty bungalows alongside roads north of the city, the shadow of mighty oaks drifting over spotless brickwork and expanses of new glass, or in Kingston's west end suburbs, a few of them lined up eagerly in a row, like dressy siblings. But they are much more rare downtown, and I'm not sure I know of another in the Inner Harbour, where one-level living usually means looking for a condominium. When you add the extensive well-executed renovations and the really splendid in-ground pool and park-like gardens, as well as the four towering white spruce arranged at the northern limit like an honour guard, your chance of duplicating this opportunity are down to nearly zero. To locate you more precisely, the house is one block north of Pine St and a park will be built across the street when the old school comes down. The Elm is a five-minute walk, most of it slightly downhill because you're also heading for the river. There are two bedrooms on the open-plan main level, (the biggest used to be two), a gleaming kitchen with stainless appliances and breakfast counter, hardwood floors, separate dining room, gas fireplace. The high-end and spacious in-law suite downstairs has a kitchen almost indistinguishable from the one above, and a brilliant month-to-month tenant who would love to stay and help with the mortgage. And then there's the pool! And the pergola! The emerald lawns! Together they're like something I half-remember from a long-ago break in Barbados, a brilliant dream of how summer should be spent, and exactly where you hoped you'd wind up at the end of your house search.