The renovated 1950s bungalow on Oak Street has evolved into a stunning, transitional design with all the amenities of a modern home.
It began in the fall of 2012 when Tony Teunis of All Canadian Renovations was hired by Diana to help her compile some of her reno ideas into a plan.
"From the moment I bought the house in 1997, I knew a renovation was in order, but it took me 16 years to work up the courage to hire a contractor," said Diana, adding she chose All Canadian Renovations because they kept winning awards for their work.
This spring, drawings in hand, Teunis and his crew began to knock down walls in the bungalow, opening the cramped rooms to create a large living space that includes the former living, dining and kitchen areas.
"We removed several structural walls and replaced them with three separate engineered beams to carry the load the walls had shouldered," said Teunis, who also noted that studs in a kitchen wall had to be exposed so new wiring, a vent for appliances and other necessary equipment could be installed.
"Getting all that into such a small space was a challenging task," he said, "but then that's the nature of renovating."
The ceiling was replaced with a hung-ceiling that allows electricians room for wiring and boxes for pot lights, as well as levelling the old ceiling, which sagged in some spots and crowned in others.
A wall-to-wall carpet was torn out, as were two layers of linoleum, to reveal a T&G red oak floor.
The red oak was refinished; holes left by the removed walls were seamlessly feathered over with new oak flooring by sub-contractor Jeff Wood.
Diana was so impressed she decided to extend the oak floor from the dining room down the hallway and into a guest room and main bedroom.
The north wall of the kitchen was boxed out to create extra room for a new sink with a white thermofoil cabinet, including two soft-close drawers and a garburator; more black granite countertop space and a modern, high-efficiency window completed the interior of the box out. The exterior was plastered and stuccoed to match the rest of the home.
The original kitchen design had black-and-white floor tiles and two stools covered with bright red leather.
Diana nixed the red stools and checkerboard tiles in favour of a natural cork floor inlaid with a black frame surrounding a stylized star.
"The tiles were too busy for my eye, and the red leather limited the choice of colours in the rest of the open-area concept," she said.
The kitchen appliances are black, white or stainless steel; a black fridge is the only appliance that was not replaced during the reno.
A tempered-glass backsplash that will let the dark-brown wall behind show through will be sandblasted to match the pattern on a new front-entrance door.
An eye-catching feature of the kitchen is a stand with a white pedestal and a round, black granite top that can function as either a breakfast table or a serving counter for guests.
Diana rejected an earlier choice to paint the living/dining room walls with a pale-yellow base and light-sage accent, choosing instead taupe walls and white baseboards and mouldings.
Teunis said taupe is a good colour for a transitional design because it will not clash with an eclectic mix of furnishings and, in this case, adds a touch of warmth to the black-and-white kitchen because taupe complements the cork floor in the cooking area.
Diana elected to go with wide, thick baseboards reminiscent of floor mouldings in River Heights homes constructed in the 1950s.
"They make a statement about the transitional look that is so important to my design concept," she said.
Indeed, the former dining room that is now part of the open floor plan contains an antique sideboard and china hutch, both veneered with highly figured walnut and mahogany.
The living room has a potpourri of more modern furniture, including two white leather sofas with a band of stained birch across the back. Other furniture includes plush purple chairs from the '90s, and maple and stainless steel bookcases and cupboards that look ultra-modern, but, at the same time, could have been designed by Le Corbusier in the 1920s or 30s.
Aside from the purple covered chairs, the only other splash of colour in the room is provided by two throw pillows with a black background and a bold turquoise flower motif.
New living room and dining room windows with almost flat sills were installed to add a little more space to the rooms and allow more exterior light to illuminate the entire area.
A spare room continues the black-and-white motif of the rest of the house with a black leather easy chair, black bookcases and white mouldings and baseboards; the floor is new T&G red oak, stained to match the original wood floors in the living/dining rooms.
"I am really pleased with the final outcome," said Diana, adding her cat Taz seems comfortable.
There is still one small renovation required -- the addition of a ladder that will allow Taz to climb to the top of the kitchen wall and watch his owner at work from a little niche created especially for him.
"I feel I got my money's worth in terms of quality workmanship by Tony and his crews, as well as being accommodated without a fuss when I changed my plans," said Diana, saying the reno cost about $80,000 to $90,000.
Final words of advice: "Don't rush into a renovation. Find a contractor you feel you can work with and be prepared for the reno to take longer than expected. I stayed in my father's home for the duration; some folks end up living out of their basements. Whatever you decide, make sure you're prepared for a long haul; the wait is worth it."
