Page 57 - Canadian House & Home - xxx 2010

Main floor
Kitchen Second floor
Bath
Bath
Bedroom

Dining room

Bedroom

Front
hall Balcony
Living room Balcony
Principal bedroom

FROM DILAPIDATED 1830s
CLAPBOARD TO TAILORED

FEDERAL-STYLE RETREAT
WITH A MODERN SPIN.

Text by JENNIFER HUGHES
Photography by MICHAEL GRAYDON
Homeowner Alan de la Vigne.
Rug, Sunday Antique Market
at St. Lawrence.

Jonathan Swift once famously stated: “You can’t make
a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” But Alan de la Vigne tends
to disagree. “I’ve always loved a sow’s ear,” he says, in
reference to his habit of purchasing homes in dire need of
repair and rescue. His fifth such house, an 1830s structure
in the picturesque town of Port Hope, Ont., an hour east
of Toronto, certainly held no charm when he first looked
at it. Divided into three apartments, the house was a
mishmash of bad “fix-ups” that had almost completely
obscured its original architectural features. “It was a
terrible mess and badly deteriorated,” he recalls. Despite
its many shortcomings, Alan, a retired antiques dealer,
and furnishings and decor entrepreneur, could still see
its potential. Aside from its location on the banks of the
idyllic Ganaraska River, a section of the aluminum siding
had torn away and revealed the original clapboard
exterior beneath, and original wood trim on the interior
Floor plan illustrations by Jenn Lawrence grey wool, Alan’s old sofas Federal-style façade is
OPPOSITE: Recovered in
FAR RIGHT: The restored
are a crisp foil to the living
accentuated by a buttery
yellow hue that sets off its
room’s diverse accessories,
like a bold zebra rug,
pretty clapboard. The
plantation-style veranda
18th-century room sketches
and $45 junk shop metal
adds Southern charm.
table. The front windows are
Porch construction,
half-shuttered for privacy.
Clutterbuck Construction;
dropcloths (for curtains),
See Source Guide for a full
listing of paint colours.
Canadian Tire.
BEFORE
SEE SOURCE GUIDE H&H FEBRUARY 2010 55
12/9/09 2:21:12 PM
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