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289 LISGAR ST.
WHAT: A century-old Victorian house — designer-owned and renovated — in Beaconsfield Village
LIVING SPACE: 2,477 square feet
LOT SIZE: 21 by 150 feet
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ASKING PRICE: $749,000
TAXES: $4,226 (2008)
AGENT: Nick and Donna Thompson, Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.
AMENITIES: This 2-1/2-storey, semi-detached residence offers 2,477 square feet of space, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a second-floor family room. The basement adds another 947 square feet.
French doors lead from the foyer into a dining room with a bay window and a custom floor-to-ceiling bookcase surrounding a gas fireplace.
The kitchen is outfitted with granite finishes, stainless-steel appliances and a breakfast bar off the peninsula. There also is a pass-through to the living room. A back door opens to a deck, and a butler's staircase leads to the family room upstairs.
Also upstairs are the laundry facilities, main bathroom and two bedrooms, including a master suite with a fireplace. Two more bedrooms are on the top floor.
As it has a fifth bedroom and separate entrance, the lower level was once rented out, but most recently it has been used as a teen retreat. It also contains a kitchen with appliances, living room and two three-piece bathrooms with showers.
In the secluded backyard, there is a children's playset and two-car garage.
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Visitors entering this renovated, century-old Victorian house are greeted with soothing colours, uncluttered spaces, fresh flowers and the smell of freshly baked muffins.
This is a prime example of how to set up a home to entice potential buyers, but actually the owner has regularly created this kind of atmosphere to please and entertain family and friends.
"I'm sure that anyone would walk through the door and say it looks staged, but this is how we live," says Wynter Rosen, who is an interior designer and creative force behind Homegirls Interiors. "I'm always prepared; you never know who's going to come over."
She was once a guest in the semi-detached residence, which was built in the late 1800s. It is seven houses away from her previous home in the heart of the trendy Beaconsfield Village, just steps from the historic Drake and Gladstone hotels.
But the house, then owned by a male friend who was living there by himself, had dark colour schemes and oversized, masculine furniture obscuring its traditional features.
"It was just oozing with potential," Ms. Rosen says. "I just wanted to get my hands on it."
Since Ms. Rosen purchased the home five years ago, there has been a non-stop effort to restore its traditional details and incorporate modern decor and custom pieces.
Ms. Rosen opened a ceramics and design studio in Forest Hill 15 years ago, selling her hand-painted ceramics, fabrics, furniture and custom chandeliers at major retail outlets and boutiques across Canada and the United States. She has now turned her talents to interior design and home staging.
Agent Donna Thompson says the owner's touch is evident.
"The house is gorgeous, yet ultimately functional," she explains. "There's enough space for all of a family's needs, yet the house still impresses its visitors with character and style."
She notes its "super-sexy bathroom" with high-gloss glass tiles that appear wet at all times; a kids' room with a circus theme; and an outdoor play set painted to complement the outdoor furniture.
"I don't necessarily like to have my homes being showpieces," Ms. Rosen says. "I love them to look great, but I love them to feel like you want to walk through the door, kick your shoes off and stay."
In a signature touch, she hand-painted birds and cherry trees in blossom in the foyer. "Sometimes you don't even notice it right away, but you do notice the feeling that something is drawing you in through the door," she says.
Though Ms. Rosen repainted the interior five times — from all white to Indian-inspired chartreuse and hot pink hues — it now displays more calming colours than the original burgundy and blue walls.
"It was very dark," Ms. Rosen says. "When you walk in [now], it almost feels like it's always summertime, and there should be an ocean in the backyard."
She also took the unconventional action of furnishing the long and narrow living room as a dining space.
"You can actually seat 14 people for dinner," she explains. "And it was a much better layout to fit a couch in where the dining room would normally be."
The living room has the original crown mouldings lined with recessed lighting. Energy-saving pot lights were installed in various rooms, and the wiring updating throughout.
"We did anything that needed work in an old house," Ms. Rosen says. "We did it to make sure the bones were perfect, because you don't just want a good-looking shell."
In the kitchen, Ms. Rosen had to peel back several layers of plaster and lathe to expose the brick walls. She added granite floors and countertops, hydraulic drawers, stainless-steel appliances and custom-polished marble backsplashes that extend to the ceiling.
"Most people bring their backsplashes up halfway," she says. "Because we had 12-foot ceilings, it made them feel even taller."
More brick was exposed in the master suite, which features a silver-leafed mantel around the gas fireplace; custom wall-to-wall his and her closets with mirrored doors; and a sitting area by a bay window overlooking tall trees.
"It's a very cozy, really romantic bedroom," she says.
The main four-piece bathroom has a spa atmosphere, with heated floors, flat-panel television, — to entertain adults and kids alike — and white, high-gloss glass tiles covering the walls.
Body jets and an oversized rain showerhead complete the glass steam shower stall, "which is such a great feature, especially with our harsh winters," Ms. Rosen adds.
When she bought the home, the 21- by 150-foot lot reminded her of a junkyard, she says, but, there was "a very big backyard, which is really rare for this area."
She replaced the rusted chain-link fence with wooden fencing. The grounds were professionally landscaped with trees, flowers and open greenspace. A deck with dining and lounging areas was built off the kitchen.
"You want to extend your living space into your outer space … and make it feel like it's all connected," says Ms. Rosen.
"In the summertime, when everything is in bloom … you don't feel like you're in the city."
Leaving nothing overlooked, a children's play area was covered with hanging flower pots and painted to match the furniture. "Usually those things are such an eyesore, but this one blends completely into the backyard," she says.
Special to The Globe and Mail
