It's the fairy tale of decor magazines. The ugly duckling house turns to stunning swan. But there was no waving of magic wands in this east Vancouver Edwardian. The transformation was made the hard way, with a crowbar, hammer, and many other tools of the trade.
“It was a real fixer-upper, but it had good bones and a great price,” says one of the homeowners of the place she and her husband bought in 2001. They weren't even house shopping at the time, but decided to drive around and simply look. On their first outing, they spotted the For Sale sign on the seen-better-days Edwardian. Abracadabra: they were homeowners.
The house took about six months to renovate inside and out. To save money, the couple acted as their own contractor and did most of the unskilled labour. Amazingly, the first-time do-it-yourselfers enjoyed themselves – not a typical post-reno reaction. They admit, though, that totally gutting and rebuilding the four-storey house was ambitious. Picture peeling Astroturf off stairs (indoor stairs!), scraping clapboard siding and demolishing crumbling plaster and lathe walls. “If we'd known what kind of work was entailed we would have been scared off, but ignorance is bliss,” says the homeowner. Is that a note of regret? No way. “We had a ‘we can do it' attitude,” she says. “We wanted to restore the character of this heritage house.”
The dazzling interior is now a mix of early 20th-century architecture and early 21st-century decor. Because much of the original character had been lost, the couple searched out period details to put back in. From a demolition site and scrap dealer, they mixed and matched 100-year-old tiles for a new fireplace surround. In the kitchen they added a salvaged stained-glass window. The new banister for the main staircase was inspired by designs from an old building supply catalogue. “We're not heritage buffs, so it didn't need to be perfect,” says the homeowner, but they did want a blend of Victorian elements and modern style for an airy, contemporary feel.
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