As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’ve been renovating a beautiful old Victorian home in Halifax. I purchased the property early in 2019 and started what initially was going to be a small update with removal of wallpaper & some carpet, paint, light fixtures and new window treatments. The minute I saw the house I loved it, and could see loads of potential. The house had high ceilings, lots of large windows, and many beautiful original, old architectural features like a stunning stone fireplace, large mouldings, gorgeous French doors, ceiling medallions, original built-ins and more. My guess is that the house is around 130 years old and many of the original features were intact, and that is something I have rarely come across or see any more. The trim throughout the house was all in its original brown stained glossy finish, something I knew I would paint white to brighten and lighten it up.
I really have a love and appreciation of an older home and the architectural details in it. I wanted to keep those original aspects, but update it and make it my own. I personally love a mix of old and new in furnishings and light fixtures, and this carries over to a mix of older architectural features with some modern elements.
So, my initial plans of a quick update didn’t last that long and once I owned the house and spent some time in it, I felt I had to take the plunge into a much larger than planned renovation. Now, 8 months later, it's not quite finished but getting there! I decided to re-do the kitchen, tackle the various floors – opting to keep and refinish original wood floors where I could, and replace the tile and other flooring in several rooms with a new wood floors to match the original. I opened some walls up and closed some in, replaced a couple of exterior doors and put in a new window where there was once a door. I have updated all light fixtures and have had every surface in the house painted, including the exterior. I’ve included some before pictures and some shots of the start of the renovation – more to come - I’ll continue to blog about the progress and updates. So far I’m overjoyed with the results, I love how it looks and feel grateful to call it my own!
