ENCHANTING VICTORIAN
Country house and garden offer oasis of scenic vistas
From the bay window of their living room, Mike Stone and Susan Wallet have a stunning view of Mont-Orford, Mont- Glen and Mont-Foster. On a clear day, they can even distinguish the Appalachian Mountains in the distance. If that was not enough to delight the eye, their scenic vista includes their beautifully landscaped garden, which surrounds their Victorian countrystyle residence in Lac-Brome.
It took Stone, a professional landscape gardener, 24 years to create the formal garden, complete with three ponds, stone retaining walls and many species of trees including maples, now mature. Still, it takes talent and dedication to achieve such a serene and understated perfection. His passion for gardening was so strong that he started landscaping the grounds around the house as a tenant. Finally, after four years and having met Wallet to share his life with, he bought the property, which included the house and 6½ acres of land, some of it wooded.
The house was just seven me- tres by eight metres (24 feet x 26 feet), in good condition but definitely outdated, and too small to raise a family. So they expanded it on both sides, while bringing the insulation, wiring and plumbing up to modern standards. The main building is now 18.2 metres by 9.75 metres (60 feet x 32 feet) and includes five bedrooms. There is also a wing in the back with a screened veranda. For this extensive renovation, the couple was assisted by architect Johanne Béland from the nearby town of Sutton.
The façade is covered with painted spruce horizontal siding from Goodfellow, a Quebec company, and the foundation is studded with grey stones. Terracotta-coloured asphalt shingles cover the gabled roof and awnings.
For the interior, the couple collaborated with Kirk Lawrence, a decorator based in Knowlton.
“He was very helpful,” says Wallet, “giving us good advice and staging tips that really transformed the interior.”
It was Lawrence who suggested the grey colour scheme that runs throughout the house, Moonshine (Benjamin Moore) on the walls and the Revere Pewter for the wainscotting.
Before, the entrance and kitchen cupboards were of knotty pine, which darkened both areas. The makeover gave the kitchen a bright, modern look and equipped it with ample counter and storage space. The counters are covered with dark blue ceramic tiles.
The vinyl floor was chosen to match with the colour of the window casing and sash. Additional lighting is provided by a series of recessed spotlights in the ceiling.
All the door and window frames in the house were constructed with B.C. fir recovered from an old mansion that was to be torn down. At that time, Stone was working on the site and salvaged the wood for the wainscotting now found throughout the ground floor.
In the living room he built the stone wall and hearth surrounding the propane stove. Future owners will be able to install a wood-burning stove if desired as the chimney conduit was preserved. The opening is visible in the ceiling above the stove.
Here, as well as in the other rooms of the ground level, the floor is warm cherry wood. The Lshaped beams in the ceiling show where the original house ended.
The dining room set is composed of a beautiful pine table the couple bought at a local antique store. It is a reproduction, as are the press- back chairs. But the china cabinet standing between the table and the kitchen divider is a real antique. It belonged to Stone’s parents and is at least 100 years old. Adorned with delicate stained glass, it was kept in mint condition and never needed refurbishing. French doors open up onto the spacious family room overlooking the wooded part of the property. Next to the living room is a small sunroom just big enough for the round table with a mosaic top and two wrought iron armchairs. Two large windows overlook one of the three ponds. The walls are covered with the same wood siding as on the outside and the floor with Brazilian slate. This is where the couple enjoy having breakfast while watching the bass and trout leap out of the water to catch insects. The staircase leading to the second floor is part of the old house. Made of knotted pine, it was reconditioned, then sanded, stained and varnished to match the cherry wood floor. The work was done by Stone, of course. “My profession leaves me a lot of spare time in winter,” he declares. He also made the headboard for the king-sized bed in the master suite. The slanted ceiling and halfmoon window give this room quite a romantic feeling. It is quite large, 4.9 mx6m(16ft.x 20 ft .), with pine floorboards. At the foot of the bed is a beautiful wooden trunk with handcarved scenery, bought in Hong Kong by Stone’s parents. The en suite looks deceptively small, but it’s actually 2.5 m x 3 m (8 ft. x 10 ft.), with ample room for a deep claw-foot bathtub, a shower stall and the usual amenities. Although Stone and Wallet enjoy their home and garden immensely, the time has come to think about retirement and the couple have other dreams to fulfil. Their property is listed for sale with Johanne Meunier of So theby’s at jmeunier@sothebysrealty.ca. If you would like your home considered for an article in the Montreal Gazette’s Homefront section, please contact pmastro@look.ca