My new home!
Mon, 16 Jun 2014
If you didn't catch yesterday's post, the last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity - I sold my house and purchased another. I cannot explain how ready and excited I am for this change. :-) This post is an introduction to my new Arts & Craft style home, built around 1940.
(NOTE: These photos are from the agent's website and I took some quickly during our inspection). The photo above is a bit old - the porch handrail has since been painted and there is greenery instead of melting snow piles under the windows.
This is the front vestibule, which means cats cannot try and escape when the pizza guy shows up. :) Isn't that front door beautiful? Gotta love solid wood!
As you walk in the dining room is on the left. Holy smokes check out the stained glass doors! (There is stained glass in almost every room of the house). I am not a huge fan of the red/mahogany stain used throughout the house but I will tell you all right now there is no way on earth I am repainting any of it. It is in amazing shape (likely recently refinished) and I do not have the patience to tackle it.
I LOVE this little nook for a buffet...which I do not own so that is going on my to-purchase list. Adorable window above. And to the right is a built-in cupboard.
For all that china I own. ;)
The kitchen is TEENY TINY. At least it was recently renovated (in 2014) but this will be one of the projects we would like to tackle when we can save up some cash. We would extend out the kitchen into the backyard and make a much larger kitchen with eat-in area and include a mudroom (there really is no place to stash a decent amount of footwear/coats) and a powder room (there is none on the main floor).
At least I finally have a dishwasher again. YAY! And the fridge is tucked into a nook to the right of this photo - basically in the hallway leading to the back door. Yes, it is so small the fridge did not fit in the space.
Back out in the hallway where the living room is now to the left.
But first, ah mah gawd check out the little telephone nook in the hallway! The mirrored door is a too small coat closet.
Really pretty archway detail in the hallway.
The living room is a long space (23'3" x 11'2") so my desk will be under those windows. And I have a fireplace again! (It is wood - we will likely switch it to gas at some point).
The other end of the living room (at the front of the house).
Gorgeous windows at the stairs landing.
The second story where the bedrooms and main bathroom are. There are four bedrooms. !!!! We will use one for a master bedroom, one for a guest bedroom and then we will each have our own dressing room. YES!!!
The gorgeous bathroom. Not very big but OMG the floor tiles! The pedestal sink needs to go (BLEH) and we need to figure out how to get a freaking electrical outlet in here. (YEAH - AS IF there isn't one!)
Helloooooooo hex tiles!
Not the nicest tub but I love the tile surround.
The master bedroom. (I won't bother showing the other bedrooms - pretty boring)
Standing in the bathroom - the door to the right leads up to the 3rd floor loft.
The loft which we will be using this as a library. Jeff will build shelving and a lounge bed/sofa thing in the alcove where the bed is.
In the basement is a fairly large finished room that Jeff will use as his work room. Off of it is this bathroom with shower so he can keep his mess in the basement! HOORAY! I am going to make him shave down here too because dear gawd I am tired of cleaning up after him!
And I forgot to get a photo of the backyard - more on that later. I have to say, this house is throwing me for a loop. For the past few years I had imagined us building a funky modern home and now I am going to be living amidst red stain woodwork, no open concept spaces and stained glass. Every idea I had for decor I thought I would be going with has been thrown out the window. It is borderline SCARY as I have never lived in a house like this. So stay tuned because this is going to be an interesting and very bumpy ride! And I would love to get some advice as I go along!
Reader Comments (46)
wow! now i understand why you fell in love with this house! make it yours!
Wow! That is a beautiful house with so much potential -almost makes me want to move to Ottawa. I can't wait to see what you do with it. Our house didn't have a single outlet in the bathroom either when we moved in. I had to blow-dry my hair in the second bedroom, so annoying. Needless to say, it got fixed quickly.
Absolutely stunning! Congrats on your new home!
It's so HUGE. I saw that first photo and thought - that's two houses right? That's what happens to your brain when you live in a Toronto semi for so long. By the way I had a house with a tub like that and I actually prefer it to to my jacuzzi (stupid - what was I thinking). It was tall and narrow and thus filled up quickly, stayed hot longer. Those big standalone tubs that are all the rage now - bleh - use so much water and don't stay hot.
Congratulations! It's a gorgeous house and will be a beautiful home after you get your hands on it, no doubt. I have always wanted a telephone nook. Jealous.
Kim, it's fantastic! i can feel the beauty of the spaces even here sitting at the Black Sea. The best feeling ever. Go, Kim, go
This is a beautiful house. Congratulations. I wish you many many happy years here.
GORGEOUS! Congrats - so happy for you!
Kim this is lovely. I want to throw open those windows on the landing right now! :) I know what you mean though. We bought a new townhouse a year ago, which in Vancouver is a FORTUNE, and it's sort of more traditional in style even though all my decor thinking is modern. But it's all coming together and I am sure your place will be so fun. Indeed I love the mix of old and new, the juxtaposition can be exciting.
Would you mind sharing how many square feet this is??
Can't wait to see yard pictures!!
Thanks for sharing and congratulations, again.
I am new to your blog and it seems I've picked the right time! Your new home is beautiful and I can't wait to see the transformations you have planned
Congratulations Kim. Your excitement is palpable. The place has awesome bones and I sense it's been praying to the house gods for someone like you to come along and rescue it.
Beautiful house - congratulations! I had no idea that Ottawa even had architecture like this ;D
I'm already looking forward to seeing what you do with the space, I'm sure it'll be fabulous!
Thanks everyone! You're making me even more excited :-)
For the record, houses with detail like this aren't that easy to come by here in Ottawa. I seriously lucked out.
And I don't know the square footage. That is never disclosed (unless a condo) for fear you'll get sued for giving out an inaccurate number. I only know room dimensions. I could probably calculate it at some point....
Kim your new house is absolutely gorgeous - what an exciting journey you have ahead of you - all the very best.
This place is huge!
Interesting, that the square footage is never disclosed. In Europe, one wouldn't even consider to make a phone call/appointment without knowing exactly what squre footage and which energy certificate the place has. We always want to know how much we have to spent on heating etc. since it is expensive where I live. Accordingly, if the house has new double-isolated windows it will cost more but I can save a lot on heating costs.
The kitchen looks so crisp and clean, and for the european proportions its is not that small ;-). Then again, for this house - looking really huge to me living in a european city apartment - the kitchen is indeed too small.
And special yes to the home library :-)
Beautiful house! I'd say it looks more like 1914 than 1940 though. The stained glass and woodwork is fantastic!
Wow so fantastic. The tiny kitchen though would be a hard sell for me.. The loft though would be my space!! Anyway I think your modern esthetic with the traditional windows and woodwork is going to kick ass.
Gorgeous Kim - just gorgeous! Have fun decorating! And rescue some more kitty cats!
Wow Kim! I also can't wait to see you put your mark on this house! Happy for you...it's a beautiful house :)
Thanks ladies!!! :-)
I'm so happy for you!!! What a beautiful home and I can't wait to see how you personalize it.
Gorgeous! I love the woodwork. Can't wait to see more.
Gorgeous. Congratulations. I can't wait to see all your cool stuff in there. And, of course, how many cats can fit in there!
Awww, it's lovely and I would totally claim that 3rd floor room as my very own
I Laughed so hard when you said you'd make Geoff shower in the other bathroom - I understand completely, it drives me nuts, I usually get the vacuum in after my husband has shaved!! ;) Enjoy your new adventure, brilliants bones to decorate there!!