The tiny Cape-style house looks pretty much as it would have in the mid-19th century when, surrounded by farmers' fields, tall stands of trees and meadows filled with wildflowers, it was the only dwelling for miles. But in the years since 1836, when this austere little house was built, and the 1990s, when Maria and Wouter Eshuis embarked on a down-to-the-floorboards (and beyond!) remodel, the charming house had suffered one design indignity after another.
In fact, by the time the young couple arrived from the Netherlands some 20 years ago, and purchased the 50-acre wheat farm just outside of London, Ontario, the weathered farmhouse had sprouted a couple of large, ill-conceived additions. But the secluded setting was magical, so the Eshuises settled into the rambling house, and down to the task of raising their growing family while launching a business trucking horses between Canada and the United States.
By 1993, the couple were ready to renovate the quirky building, which consisted of three distinct areas: the original cottage, which was virtually uninhabitable, a midsection they believe was an amalgamation of the various additions, and the final wing, added sometime during the 1970s. The first step was to sever the old cottage from the rest of the house and shift it 250 feet across the property. Next, the couple demolished the home's nondescript middle section, and moved into the circa 1970s wing, where, for the next two-and-a-half years, they lived while a new house took shape around them.
The Eshuises, who now manage the regional sales of AGA cookers – a business they say grew from their own love affair with the legendary appliances – proved to be dab hands at the renovation business. Emboldened by their main-house rebuild – for which they did their own drawings – they turned their attention to the neglected cottage in 1995 – just days after their fifth child was born. At the time, they weren't sure what to make of the 900-square-foot original dwelling. “Absolutely everything in it needed to be done,” they recall. “Plumbing, electrical, foundation. We think it was only the old carpet holding it together. And yet it seemed ridiculous to destroy such a piece of history.”
Maria and Wouter had visions of creating a cozy retreat for visiting family and friends. But whatever its eventual use, the couple knew they favoured a complete interior reconfiguration. The main floor of the cottage had previously been one large room. “We opted to create walls,” recalls Maria. “We wanted a classic look, and we've always liked centre hall plans.”
As the couple forged ahead, Wouter carefully salvaged some of the home's elements, such as the original old pine floorboards, while at the same time, he recovered other relevant materials from local businesses and farms. He was able to reuse most of the original pine planking on the ground floor, but upstairs, where they managed to carve two good-sized bedrooms, plus a full bathroom out of the eaves, Wouter opted for reclaimed, wide-plank maple. (Wouter fell through the floor boards not once, but three times during the renovation.) New double-hung windows were added, and a portico was built – the only addition to the home's original footprint.
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