10 ways to get a sophisticated country look

Ask these homeowners what they love about their place and the answer may surprise you. It isn’t the gentle stone exterior, the spacious art-filled rooms or even the gourmet kitchen. It isn’t the snug locale under towering oaks and maples, or the beloved horses that stand like sentinels in the nearby snowy paddock. It isn’t, in fact, anything so tangible that they point to. Instead, the lady of the house sums it up in one word: Comfort. “Yes, it’s important that my home be aesthetically pleasing, but I want my guests to feel welcome!”

That clear vision, with the twin ideals of hospitality and graciousness at its heart, guided the owners of this 1890 farmhouse in a total tip-to-toe renovation. It began a few years ago, when the Calgary-based couple found themselves pulled to the pastoral beauty of the King City, Ontario, area, where the husband’s family has roots. They were retiring, their four grown children launched (the youngest two at university), and were in search of a place with easy access to Muskoka (where they cottage in the summer) and Toronto. “We were ready for a new adventure,” says the wife, admitting they’d never lived a rural lifestyle before purchasing the 84-acre property.

Their first adventure, though, was conducting the two-year renovation from Calgary. “It took a team,” says the owner, crediting interior designer Margot Bell, whom they’d worked with before, architect William Bennett and builder Bill Degroot. Important to all was to renovate while giving the greatest respect to preserving the home’s historic core. “It had to feel it had been lived in, that it was a house with history,” says the owner.

Wherever possible the original plank flooring was restored. Cabinetry was custom built and carefully hand-finished on-site by Linda Leibel of Peaks & Rafters for an authentic period look. And many of the home’s original fireplaces were restored. “We love to light two or even three fireplaces when friends come over for dinner,” says the owner, adding that the brick fireplace in the kitchen is one of her favourites.