A Tour of My Friends’ Beautiful Home

We met Danielle and Niels three years ago when our girls became friends. When we met them, they were in the middle of a massive home renovation. Little did we know what awaited us on the other end of that process. Here is their story and their beautiful home. Enjoy!

When we decided to move our family to Stratford, we knew we wanted to live in a century old home but never thought we would embark on the biggest renovation of our lives.  We started touring through homes for sale in July of 2015 and had gone through our home three times before we knew it was exactly where we wanted to spend the next chapter of our lives.  We loved its character, charm and great bones but also knew it was going to be a huge undertaking to restore it back to its original glory.

Our renovation lasted fourteen months; which most people say was extremely quick for what we accomplished.  We had only our contractor and his son working together alongside all of the other trades we had in from electrical to plumbing to painters to cabinetry to brick layers to carpenters refinishing the original floors.  

My husband and I have renovated many homes and by this point formed good relationships with our crews who all worked well together. We are best friends and business partners but we have always been on the same page and pulled from each others strengths but here’s what we learned in the process…

1. Listen to your gut; it will always lead you home. We were a bit overwhelmed by the size and work our home initially needed but knew the house was built with integrity, strength and by some of the finest craftsman of its time. It was worth it. Our hearts also told us that it needed to be restored to its original state and given back its life and we knew if anyone could, it was us. That being said, it leads me to #2…

2. Don’t underestimate what it will cost to build your dream home. Even though we have renovated many houses, we still struggle with sticking to a budget. Sometimes there are things along the way that come up and sometimes there are just things that need to be added at the time instead of it costing you more at a later date. Make a spreadsheet, and make it a weekly habit to update it. Know your bottom line at all times so that when certain things arise you are not caught off guard.

Our home was built for a doctor in 1910 and the build was outstanding.  The second owner had removed the entire staircase in order to make four apartments but luckily it was placed (in hundreds of pieces) in the attic of the garage where we found and painstakingly reinstalled it fifty years later.  

3. I can’t stress this enough – don’t live through a large scale renovation. We lived off site until almost the end. We lived in an apartment one street over so we were close but also had a space to call home. We took all of our favourite pieces, art and furniture. We made a home which made it easier to not rush moving into our forever home before it was ready. To be honest, it was the easiest year of our life. For a year, the majority of our things were in storage and for a short period of time there was no clutter or upkeep to the apartment. Makes me wonder why we haven’t decided to live that lifestyle now as well.

4. Visit the property everyday and clean up the job site. You need to be present and you need to know exactly what is being accomplished each day. It allows you to catch mistakes early or adjust quickly if needed. This lets you keep on top of your trades and allows things moving forward smoothly. A clean worksite is the same as a home office or kitchen; when it is tidy, you are much more productive.

5. Communicate with your team. I think we all lack a bit of this in our lives but it is so important when dealing with numerous trades and keeping things moving. Sometimes your trades are working alongside one another and other times one needs to finish so the other can get started. It can be a dance. It is also very important to pay your trades on time and even on a schedule so everyone knows what is expected of them. Have a work and payment schedule and have a contract with deadlines.

6. Get competitive quotes and ask for references. The cheapest is definitely not always the best. How detailed someone is speaks volumes. It means they are experienced. If they take the time to thoroughly quote your work, that is usually a good indication of the quality of work you willl be receiving. Word of mouth and a referral is their best advertising, so ask to see some of their work and talk to people that have hired them in the past.

7. Most people say don’t sweat the small stuff but you really need to. You need to think of everything. You are doing the work, so do it well. Take into consideration small things like light switches and their placement and electrical outlets. Do you need one on either side of the couch or bed for lamps? Do you want your lamps to turn on with the light switch? Do you want dimmers? Speakers for music? Think about furniture placement and where your art will end up at the design stage. Write it all down, think about it ahead of time.

8. Keep your finishes classic to the build. If you are renovating a century home, preserve what you can, most importantly the more expensive items like refinishing floors, trim, radiators and windows. Save your money for electrical, plumbing and a new roof if needed so that your home has the proper updates to the mechanicals along with design.

9. Don’t forget to budget for the exterior and landscaping. Landscaping can be expensive but it can also be done in stages. Hire a professional who has a passion for nature, a vision and who can set out a long term plan if needed. You want the exterior to reflect all the hard work you have put into the interior.

10. Some added advise; make sure you have your blinds ordered so they can be installed as soon as the interior is ready for them. Keeps the nosy neighbours or passers-by out. Though sometimes, some of them, really do make for the best kind of friends! ~Danielle and Niels. xo.

So, this last point MAY be directed at me. I just could not help myself from peaking in when I would happen to drive by.

As well as developing her home design business, Danielle is an expert goldsmith. If you live in the area, check out her Spring Open House on May 11th. If you are lucky, I might be there giving private tours of the house!

A bit more…check out Tom and Gisele’s LA home. I want a chicken coop! And here is Ellen’s new house.