Creating Demand with Design: How Lumon Helped Mattamy Homes Make Every Square Foot Count 

The Challenge: Turning Balconies into Assets to achieve faster sell-out rates 

In high-density cities like those in the GTA, space is at a premium, and every livable square foot counts. For Mattamy Homes, one common frustration kept coming up: residents loved the idea of having a balcony but rarely enjoyed them.   

Why? Between the weather, wind, dust, and even birds, these outdoor areas often sat empty or became storage spaces. At the same time, condo units were getting smaller, but people’s lives weren’t. They needed more functional space.   

Enter Lumon. By partnering with Lumon to add retractable balcony glazing, Mattamy found a way to turn balconies into real, usable extensions of the home—no matter the season.   

Even as the market grew more challenging, Mattamy Homes stayed focused on making balconies more functional year-round. Notably, in projects like Carding House, Mattamy saw clear buyer preference for units with Lumon glazing. These units stood out and often sold faster because of the added livable space. But this wasn’t about offering a one-size-fits-all upgrade. The goal was to give buyers a choice—some units with Lumon glazing, others without. This allowed people to decide what mattered most, naturally making the glazed units more attractive. 

This flexible approach allows Mattamy to showcase the value of a usable balcony without financially committing to glazing every suite. It also helps differentiate units in competitive markets, where buyers are looking for real, livable enhancements—not just cosmetic upgrades. This resulted in faster sell-out rates and better pricing options for glazed units.  

I strongly believe that the Canadian market is ideal for this product. I have seen it in Finland and I suspect that as consumers become aware of it, they will begin to want it.

– Dave DeKort, Director of Operations, Mattamy Homes 

Lumon & Mattamy Homes: The Partnership Journey 

Lumon and Mattamy Homes started collaborating in 2015/16 with a clear goal to make urban homes more livable by adding retractable balcony glazing. Over the course of ten years and six mid-rise developments, our relationship has flourished into a strategic partnership built on trust, teamwork, and a shared vision to improve the residents’ experience.  

Lumon has been a great company. They invested many years prior to even trying to sell—doing the groundwork with municipalities, setting up local manufacturing, and creating a service presence. Without that, this wouldn’t have been possible.
– Dave DeKort, Director of Operations, Mattamy Homes

Why This Partnership Works 

Lumon didn’t just deliver a product. They built a local presence and worked closely with Mattamy from the start, collaborating with architects, engineers, and project managers to ensure smooth integration of their solutions.  

That level of commitment and reliability is what helped the relationship thrive—even as the market shifted. With tighter budgets and changing buyer expectations, Lumon remained a trusted partner, delivering consistent quality and flexibility when it mattered most.  

In fact, despite Q1 and Q2 of 2025 being the slowest periods in the Canadian condo market in the last 25 years, Mattamy Homes has continued to sell through projects like Clockwork. In an uncertain market, Lumon’s glazing system has become a differentiator—adding tangible, functional value when buyers are more cautious than ever. 

Integrated Design Collaboration

From the beginning, Lumon has collaborated with Mattamy’s design teams to make sure their balcony solutions fit perfectly. This means fewer surprises during construction and seamless product integration.  

Design Support for Architects, Designers and Structural Engineers – Lumon  

Without an enclosure, there aren’t many days that are actually great to use a balcony. But with Lumon, we’re seeing people furnish them, grow herbs, use them year-round — it becomes an extra room.

– Dave DeKort, Director of Operations, Mattamy Homes

Enhancing Resident Experience

This flexibility is a must in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where homes are getting smaller. Canadians spend over 85% of their time indoors. So, giving residents the ability to enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and outdoor views—even in colder or rainy weather—makes a real difference. As more families transition to condo living, 12-month outdoor access becomes a game changer. 

Balconies are a sought-after feature but often go unused due to weather and other drawbacks. Dave DeKort highlights the challenges with balconies in Ontario’s climate:  

“People want balconies. They look at a building that has balconies versus one that doesn’t and would probably choose the one that does. But balconies often sit empty, not furnished, maybe storing a few things, due to nuisances like wind, dust, birds nesting, and weather conditions.”  

“In Ontario, we have four different seasons — sometimes it’s too cold, too hot, windy, raining, or snowing. There aren’t many days great to be out on a balcony without an enclosure.”  

Lumon balcony glazing transforms these spaces. It turns underused balconies into functional spaces residents can enjoy  nearly all year round.  

This flexibility is a must in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where homes are getting smaller.  

“The evolution of housing within the GTA is basically houses have become smaller. We’ve gone from predominantly Mattamy Homes building larger single-family homes down to building semis, townhomes, and now focusing on mid-rise and high-rise buildings. The suites have a tendency to be smaller and more efficient. Which leads you to utilizing the balconies.”

Read more about smart solutions for maximizing balcony space here!

Scalability Across Projects 

From Markham to Milton to Oakville, Lumon’s local manufacturing and service centre in the GTA enables them to meet municipal requirements and builder timelines across multiple cities. But scalability doesn’t mean one-size-fits-all. Whether a developer wants balcony glazing on every unit or only on select suites, Lumon can adapt. For Mattamy, flexibility supports a larger mission: to build small but livable homes, not just transitional condos that serve for 2–3 years. With Lumon, they offer family-friendly, functional units in dense city environments, something that sets their communities apart. This flexibility allows builders like Mattamy to offer glazing as an attractive option—scaling it up or down based on market conditions, buyer demand, or design intent.  

Want to see the benefits of installing Lumon Glazing on Every Balcony? Read along!

Operational Reliability 

“The product changes the lifestyle of people and brings a better quality of life.” One thing that consistently stands out? The moment buyers interact with the product. 

“Having a sales centre or a show suite makes a big impact. Once people see Lumon in action—touch it, feel it, step into a glazed balcony—they’re wowed,” says Dave DeKort. This firsthand experience often helps the end-use see the value of a glazed balcony.  

Having a partner who stays engaged from design through installation makes a big difference in keeping projects on track. Dave emphasizes this, sharing that Lumon was communicative, professional, and reliable every step of the way—from working with their architects and engineers, to staying with set installation timelines.   

The feedback we’ve had from the first three buildings we’ve done is tremendous. People love having enclosed balconies. The convenience of opening them when you want, keeping the weather out, and being able to keep things on your balcony year-round without damage is tremendously impactful.

– Dave DeKort, Director of Operations, Mattamy Homes

Project Highlights

Each of these Mattamy project features Lumon’s frameless railings and retractable glazing systems that transform balconies into usable living spaces nearly all year round.  

Please contact us to understand more about Mattamy Homes and their addition of Lumon Glazing as a feature to their Condos. If you’re a developer interested in offering flexible, value-adding solutions, this is your chance to see it in action. Let’s build something better together.