Jessika Aiello
Soon the delicious aroma from this pair of plump, juicy roast chickens, ready for the pizza oven, will tell the Aiello's neighbours that dinner is ready.
Jessika Aiello
This specialty brick-covered pizza oven would make any backyard a neighbourhood destination.
Jessika Aiello
The extreme makeover to this house and garden gives it a new life, transforming it as well as the neighbourhood around it.
Jessika Aiello
A second floor addition modernizes this mid-century Fort Garry home.
Every neighbourhood has one particular house or landscape people naturally gravitate to.
It can be a combination of the open door policy and good nature of the homeowners, the assurance of feeling welcome and the natural ambiance of a well designed outdoor space. In the case of Winnipeggers Mario and Silvia Aiello, it’s all of these things and much more.
Part of the appeal begins with the tantalizing aromas wafting across fence lines from the Aiello’s towering, hand-built brick pizza oven. Other times it’s the chance on a cool evening to sit in front of their roaring outdoor brick fireplace beneath the massive rafters of a western redcedar timber frame pergola. For some in the neighbourhood, it starts with an evening stroll that comes to a stop in front of the Aiello’s house to marvel at the handsome transformation of their mid-century home and complete landscape renovation, which culminates more often than not into a neighbourly invitation to share in some food, drink and conversation.
The Aiello’s purchased their Fort Garry house 27 years ago. "This is our neighbourhood, our community," Mario says. "Our kids grew up here, this is where our friends live."
Mario wants his neighbourhood to be a place where families choose to set down their roots. In their own remarkable way, they have taken the concept of neighbourhood renewal to a whole new level, transforming not only their own home and landscape, but numerous others throughout the neighbourhood.
The Aiello’s property is not a large one by any standard. Prior to renovation, the small front yard had a simple straight walkway with lawn on either side. Today, an s-shaped sidewalk curves around a three-tiered raised bed edged in limestone. Designed by Silvia, who also installed the plant material, the scene-stealing front landscape with its changes in level is full of variety and colour. Barberry bushes (emerald carousel, golden nugget and concorde) combine with Russian sage and a mix of other flowering perennials, dwarf evergreens, succulents and sedums against a backdrop of five Annabelle hydrangea shrubs with oversized, creamy blooms to brighten a shady spot.
It’s the dramatic improvements to the home’s facade, however, that has the greatest impact on curb appeal. At first glance, one sees the new and larger windows, then the addition of pillars and a new chimney clad in natural stone, each piece hand-laid by Mario who cut and chiselled as needed until each piece fit together exactly the way he wanted. Those more familiar with the neighbourhood know too that this 1½-storey house did not originally include a second floor, although the design allowed for expansion of the roof.
Silvia, whose vision and inspiration often fuels Mario’s creativity and innovation, knew she wanted the new upper level to have a cathedral ceiling and octagon-shaped windows. Mario is completing work on the stunningly beautiful new space, which is now the location of their master bedroom and is adding a walk-in closet and luxurious master bathroom.
Owner of Wood ’n’ Stone, Mario, an experienced general contractor, is WETT-certified and specializes in everything from woodburning ovens and cabinet making to installations of brick, stone and glass tile.
Original design, craftsmanship that is built to last and attention to every architectural detail these are all integral parts of the Aiello’s exterior and interior design plan. Mario, who only seems reserved, passionately refuses to take shortcuts or to use inferior materials.
His research of the best products available sometimes starts with an Internet search, however the road to a decision leads him to destinations across Canada and the United States, as well as to Italy and Germany. Case in point – Mario selected the components for his outdoor wood fired oven from Mugnaini in Sonoma, Calif. For the brick that surrounds the oven and also for the fireplace he built, Mario and Silvia travelled to Maine to visit Morin Brick. The natural stone on their chimney and on the new pillars on the front of their house was selected at K2 Stone in Nanaimo, B.C.
Then there are the bespoke wooden doors throughout Mario and Silvia’s home which came from Turin, Italy after a visit there to a company that’s been family-owned for generations. Hardwood flooring was ordered from Germany, and hand-forged wrought iron for their wood and iron staircase was made in Steinbach.
In an age of expediency and non-durable goods, Mario still believes there are people out there who hold onto the traditions of making good quality products.
There is still more work to be done on Mario and Silvia’s house and landscape — after all, even for this highly motivated couple, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Besides, first they have to finish the renovations on several other houses and landscapes in their neighbourhood. To date, Mario has had his hand in 15 home improvement projects on his street alone and many others on neighbouring streets. Word gets out quickly and neighbours come calling for everything from repairs to sagging roofs or decks, stucco or stone repair to modifications to interiors.
The Aiello’s like to design for efficiency and functionality. Working to someone else’s budget, however, brings with it the potential to stifle some of their creativity. The opportunity to modernize a property that has been virtually untouched since it was built, to knock down walls and create a sense of openness, instil character both indoors and out and to have the joy of experimenting with colour and quality materials is what drives Mario and Silvia. Sometimes, Mario says, it’s easier to buy a neighbour’s house if it happens to go up for sale.
They have done exactly that with houses on both sides of their property and across the street. One renovation included a new garage, roofing and new wiring. Mario added new washrooms, backsplashes and countertops and hand-built all the cabinets. He also developed the basement, installed slate tile and added a theatre room. Silvia selected paint colours and finishing materials and designed a low-maintenance landscape.
As projects are completed, Silvia and Mario find a buyer who loves the work they’ve done and then become the new homeowner’s neighbours.
As I sat across from them in their newly contemporary, open concept kitchen, enjoying a delicious slice of pizza baked in their wood fired pizza oven, heated Porcelanosa ceramic floor tiles beneath my feet, I realized that this imaginative husband and wife team could do their own reality home improvement show. No, Mario says, whose main interest is in craftsmanship.
This Thanksgiving weekend, Mario and Silvia will take time to relax with family and friends. Plump, juicy chickens will be roasted in their pizza oven and served with fire-roasted vegetables. Dessert might be a rustic crostada, a fruit filled Italian baked tart that Silvia bakes in the pizza oven until the buttery crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. After the holiday, it will be back to work and more renovation projects.
At one time or another most of us dream of an extreme makeover (and likely wished for a renovation to a neighbour’s house or landscape). It’s fun to think of all the possibilities. Who you gonna call? Mario and Silvia.
colleenizacharias@gmail.com
