Who hasn't seen a picture of an enchanting historic house and dreamed, for a moment, of living in that fabled place? When David and Lynda Azzopardi saw a painting by Canadian artist William Campbell of a white board and batten Victorian cottage, they said, “this is the house we want.”
The dream didn't stop there. The couple had been saving for years to buy a country home in the Muskokas but the prices kept climbing out of reach. In keeping with their modest budget they opted, instead, to buy a plot of land and build. Campbell's painting became their inspiration. “We had no idea it was based on an original,” says Lynda Azzopardi. And they were even more surprised to discover the house still stands in Vaughan, Ontario, not far from their home.
Auspiciously, they met the ideal architect to realize their vision. Toronto designer Catherine Tredway specializes in country homes in heritage styles. She just happened to recognize the house in the painting, and took her clients to see it.
It was perfect, just as the couple imagined. The main floor cozy, yet open and elegant in a Federal style with classical pillars on the front porch, simple board and batten cladding and just enough lacy gingerbread around the eaves to be charming but not too cute. One small concern; the Azzopardis would need twice the space.
The original is a compact 900 square feet. “We wanted a small cottage look,” says Lynda. However, they also wanted an open kitchen with central island and pantry, an extra bedroom, a walkout from the master bedroom and a screened-in porch. With those imperatives, Tredway drew plans for an 1,800-square-foot version.
The designer's biggest obstacle was that as the footprint expanded, the steeply pitched roofline widened, ruining the home's distinctive Victorian Gothic character. Tredway solved the problem by extending the main floor ceiling height from eight feet to 10 feet. A cathedral ceiling rises through the centre to the peak, lending a contemporary, open-concept feel.
If liberties were taken with the floor plan, elsewhere great care was taken over the details to maintain authenticity. Original woodwork was painstakingly measured and milled. Though not structural, exposed beams were introduced to suggest traditional post and beam construction, while single sash windows, French doors with true mullions, and period plumbing fixtures and faucets throughout further enhance the old world ambience.
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