The new mudroom closet door was transported across land and sea to reach its destination.
Headingley couple Brenda and Mike Grom are currently mid-reno with just one of the many challenges they’re facing being how to keep their drywall dry while hauling it home. Wouldn’t want it splashed or hit by a big wave en route.
They face that challenge because the house they’re renovating is not their former Marsden Meadows home here in Headingley. Nope. They recently made one of those “Life’s short, let’s do something a little crazy, like live on an island with a rainforest handy,” decisions, which led them to buy, sight unseen on the internet, a gorgeous comfy 1,600 square-foot nest facing the ocean, on Protection Island, two kilometres off the shore from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island.
I mean, Brenda was retiring, Mike can work from home, so … why not?
So just like that they sold or gave away everything they weren’t going to take with them (gave me a cuckoo clock, go figure) and headed west.
Now they’re renovating their new dream home and I thought you might find it interesting just how different it is redoing their digs there as opposed to doing something comparable here.
The house itself is about 25 years old, hardly lived in because the owners spent a lot of time off south somewhere. The exterior has a lot of cedar, which still fits the area and the times, so that can stay, but inside, the wall to wall berber carpet which quickly fills up with sand, pine needles and fir cones from human and animal traffic alike, has to go. Vinyl click flooring, here they come.
And just as we were talking about here a couple of weeks ago, the first project handy guy Mike undertook was to modernize the mudroom, which went from melamine countertops and small cupboards to lots of dog clean up space and closets to hang clothes and store stuff. No question, mudrooms are in. I don’t know where I’d put one.
The old horseshoe kitchen will one day be on the chopping block as well, altered to a more open concept approach that of course so appropriately includes an island.
Brenda also thought we might like to know that along with changing the flooring and the kitchen “we also plan to completely renovate two bathrooms — really need a soaker tub – and plan to modernize the wood burning fireplace by bringing the brickwork up to the ceiling and putting a fir beam as the mantle.”
That … will be gorgeous. However, so far nothing too far off the beaten path as renos go, but here’s the kicker, and it’s all about how they get supplies. Everything, and I mean everything, has to be brought in across the two kilometer stretch of ocean that separates them from Nanaimo, in or on their boat. Then, when back on the island, hauled home by golf cart, the standard mode of travel on Protection.
There are lots of stores in Nanaimo, a Home Depot, Lowes, all the big regular chain shopping destinations, and they even have their vehicles parked permanently, including the truck that used to call Headingley home. But it’s a lot of work heading inland to stock up, then unload and load at the shoreline, the same in reverse when you get back home to dear old Protection Island, which interestingly enough, Brenda tells me is the only island on the North American Pacific Coast that has city water and sewer. And probably the only island whose only business … is a pub, The Dinghy Dock Pub.
Doesn’t get much better than that. And at low tide, you can walk to a neighbouring island that’s all rain forest to enjoy.
I’d say as impromptu decisions go, Brenda and Mike made one of the best there is to be had. Did I mention the island is Pirate Themed? Wow. If you ever need a First Mate mateys, you know where to find me. Avast! Happy weekend folks.
Comments and column ideas welcome at lmustard1948@gmail.com
