THE MAGICIAN'S MAISON
This magician envisioned a fairytale home to be born from a Victorian wreck. Visions of rainbow colours, fantasy skies, far off lands, and enchanting fairy gardens filled her head. The wishes and needs of all four members of her family were discovered through their personal charts – we let The Chart™ lead the magical way. PVAs wafted through each room and triggered positive reactions for each family member. The sky was literally the limit and the imagination soared – all with a limited budget!
This five bedroom, three-storey home had previously belonged to the same family for 40 years and little had been changed in all that time. The original owner took pride in her beautiful backyard, complete with a rose and vegetable garden. After she died, her son and wife moved in, allowing the weeds to grow so tall as to rival Jack and his beanstalk, littering the backyard – their personal garbage dump. It was believed that the old lady haunted the place!
This house had all its original details, including: beautiful stained glass windows; plaster ceiling medallions; a beamed dining room ceiling; a wood staircase; and oak wood floors.
It even had an original claw foot tub in the only bathroom in the house, with a separate “water closet” for the toilet – which was literally a closet – and a room for the sink and tub.
Worn from years of neglect, all of it needed love, care, restoration, and – of course – renovation. Making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Time to get out the magic wand!
We started making magic on the main floor by sanding all the wood floors and coating them with Minwax oil polyurethane in high gloss. This oil brought out the colourful, aged beauty and made it sparkle. All of the electrical was upgraded, too.
To add textural interest in the front hall, we added Anaglypta paper to the ceiling, a green faux-paint job, and a vintage brass chandelier. We stripped the old paint from the original staircase and built-in bench and repainted them in our new colour. An artful upholstery job was added to this bench in a green jester design, featuring golden pillows with embroidered fantastical creatures!
A bold living room colour in Benjamin Moore Persimmon #2088-40 brought blossoming vibrancy. A family gift of a two-level, mirrored wood Victorian fireplace mantle was installed to replace the ugly brick fireplace, while the dining room offered a gentle two-tone balance in Benjamin Moore Butter Cream #CC-260 and Seaspray #CC-250. An original plate rail was hand-gilded and antiqued to highlight the two-tone colour palette.
The original kitchen area had three doorways, a window, a table, stove, and fridge – and that’s it. This challenged kitchen became our own version of a functional European-style loft kitchen. We added a large pantry, an island with the sink, and a custom stainless steel countertop. Open upper shelving in both stainless steel and wood held all dishes and glassware, accompanying stainless appliances and new floors. Benjamin Moore Timothy Straw #2149-40 gave it the finishing touch.
BEFORE
A small room off this area, the original butler kitchen, is where the sink and original cabinets were. This room had a window and a door leading outside to a backyard of weeds with a small flight of cement stairs. What to do? We demolished this room to the studs, removing all plumbing and cabinetry. French doors, crown moulding, new floors, and a wrought iron art chandelier were installed.
A vintage café table was placed with reupholstered vintage wrought iron chairs. Benjamin Moore Sesame (formally Lemon Grass) #CC-638 graced the new walls. A large outdoor deck was built with stairs leading to our new beautifully landscaped, magical secret garden. She made sure to add a rose bush to the garden to appease the old lady’s ghost!
BEFORE
On the second floor, we found three bedrooms, an adjoining playroom, and the only bathroom in the house. The smallest bedroom became a TV room where movies and video games could entertain without encroaching on anyone’s space.
A large bedroom with an adjoining room had panoramic windows facing the back garden. An ancient lilac tree reached this second floor space. This was to be her daughter’s bedroom and playroom. Both rooms had water damage and floors with layers of ancient linoleum. We fixed the leaks, pulled up the floors to reveal a beautiful oak floor, updated the electrical, and re-plastered the original walls.
BEFORE
Our magical paintbrushes created a faux Italian fresco look to the walls, an impressionistic sky to the ceilings, a white-washed stain to the bedroom floors, and a peaceful pond on the playroom floor.
BEFORE
We decorated this princess boudoir with vintage Victorian bedroom furniture, a Victorian door made into a mirror, a vintage 1950s green metal chandelier with roses, custom curtains and bedding, and various other antique pieces including stained glass windows.
The next bedroom, larger in size, became her son’s bedroom and was transformed with art deco 1920s furniture inspired by a family heirloom – a vintage 1920s radio.
BEFORE
An armoire with clothing drawers and storage was made from a vintage closet salvaged from another home, then hand-painted with a deco beryl design just like the vintage radio.
Art deco patterns on a custom duvet and pillows dressed the bed, complete with a 1920s headboard that was also salvaged from a cottage.
An enchanting artist painted the sky on the cove ceiling, to embrace the space with a hint of illustrator, Maxfield Parrish.
And now the bathroom! Once the walls to a separate water closet came down and the entire room was demolished, we had a lovely open space.
New electrical, plumbing, floors, wainscotting, Anaglypta wallpaper, decorative moulding, and a chrome chandelier assisted in the transformation.
BEFORE
Benjamin Moore Natural Linen #CC-90 and Ivory White #CC-130 expanded the breadth of the space. The original cast iron clawfoot tub was re-glazed, painted black, and held a sentimental place in this new goddess bathroom.
On the third floor, originally two bedrooms with lowered ceilings, we demolished it all – opening the space for our new creation. With ceilings heightened and three new skylights installed, in came the heaven energy.
As a horseshoe shaped space, it was easy to achieve separate areas for a home office, a master bedroom, much-needed closets, and a sexy master ensuite.
BEFORE
This exotic third floor fairytale space has visual influences as well as materials, from India, China, and Tibet.
The original walk-in closet was made into a luxurious spa-like master ensuite, complete with a European cast iron soaker tub topped with black and gold Kohler faucets!
BEFORE
A tub niche with starfire glass shelves and custom forged iron scroll pegs held all those special spa products.
A falling water faucet cascading from a stone wall into the cast iron Kohler vessel sink.
Imported stone from India, China, and Spain with a hand-cut mosaic pattern to create the exquisite floor, walls, and tub skirt.
A custom built medicine cabinet and lotus look sconces were painted in black with gold accents.
A colour palette of Benjamin Moore Venetian Gold #2158-20, Bryant Gold #HC-7, and Philadelphia Cream #HC-30 played with light and created a sensual ambiance.
And now, a home where fairytales are real. Dreams do come true with the magic of Your Sacred Space!