LET THERE BE LIGHT

Makeover brightens Glebe home

Joanne Hall spent five years on the hunt for a new home. Her only non-negotiable term was that she remained in the Glebe, where she had spent the last 20 years.

For one reason or another she never found a house that fit the bill, but as it turned out she didn’t need to. Hall was already living in her dream home — it just needed a makeover.

Hall’s biggest concern was the darkness of her home. With other houses situated mere feet from both sides of the house and a large front porch, any available light struggled to find its way inside.

It didn’t reflect the personality of either Hall or her husband, both of whom work in fields where human connection is vital. The home felt dark, isolated and outdated with its traditional layout of separate rooms and many private spaces.

“I had this feeling of being alone all the time. I really wanted it to be a gathering space so that when people were over or even if it was just my husband and I that it was comfortable,” Hall said. So they hired Linebox Studio to transform the home.

After a lengthy year-long renovation, Hall confidently said it was the best decision they have made. “(Now) our home is both a place to gather and be connected with family and friends and also a place for just us to recharge.”

While the interior is now ultra contemporary, the exterior still nods to the home’s historic character with red-orange brick and a matching wooden door and deck.

“This home is charming and familiar and yet clean and refined, like the boy next door wearing a new, finely tailored suit,” Linebox architect Jennifer Jabs said. “It wasn’t about being loud or in-yourface modern on the exterior, it was about hinting that something a little different might be happening within.”

Perhaps the most significant change is the kitchen. What once was isolated in the back of the home now looks like a chic, cosy café taking up most of the main floor.

A lengthy communal table — with plush booth seating on one side and modern chairs on the other — mirrors an extended island with bar stools.

Near the back door is a comfy lounge area and near the front door is a television nook that overlooks the new deck — this one without an overhead cover, allowing natural light to flood the space. Some avocado green-coloured accent walls offset the fresh, white interior.

The contemporary design continues throughout the three-storey home with a see-through, glass-panelled staircase, subtle colours and bare floors.

Essentially, the entire first and second floors were gutted during the project, where new walls, windows, plumbing and stairs were installed. Only the basement and third storey were relatively untouched with a few cosmetic upgrades.

“What makes the project sing is the Glebe shell with the contemporary interior. It’s a delightful surprise when you walk in and meet the modern, poppy and approachable interior,” said Jabs.

This project was a finalist in two categories at the 2018 Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association design awards: contemporary custom kitchen ($75,001 and over) and renovation ($500,001 and over.)

Design firm Linebox Studio said the kitchen remodel, above, is one of the best they have done. Not only does it have modern cabinets and a big island, but it is truly the heart of the home where people can cook, eat, entertain or relax. The homeowners wanted the house to be both a gathering place and personal space to relax and recharge. While the lounge area, below right, is connected to the kitchen and dining room, it still offers a bit of solitude for a private chat or morning coffee. The entryway of the home, below left, is fresh and bright with a contemporary glass-panelled staircase and wooden railing. A window sitting high above the door allows natural light to flood the open space.

In this photo before the renovation, because of the home’s position between two other houses and its front porch configuration, little natural light seeped into the home. A significant portion of the renovation was dedicated to creating spaces where natural light could spill inside.

During the renovation, the existing character of the home was preserved while adding contemporary elements such as a vertical wooden-slated front porch, exterior wooden slates on the window and a rich, wooden door.