COACHING A CAREFUL RENOVATION
A basketball bench boss turns his focus to the family home
The message on the blackboard has a clear-cut goal: “Eat ice cream everyday.”
No doubt Amos Connolly has written dozens of blackboard goals and messages of inspiration in his career. He was coach of the McMaster University men’s basketball team for seven years. This spring he stepped down to spend more time with his kids and explore a new career path.
In his charming home in the Kirkendall South neighbourhood, there is evidence everywhere that backs up his decision.
“I’ve enjoyed the process of taking this house and making it my own; that was pretty organic for me. But all of this, all of the things I’ve made, staying in this house, the design principles, things I’ve done, all have my kids in mind.”
When we meet, Connolly’s nineyear-old son Thomas is away on a trip, so dad and daughter Caitlin, 7, have filled the blackboard with fun things to do. Fun things that include Caitlin picking up a drill and helping her dad with a project.
There have been many projects since the Connollys moved into their 1907 house; every room has been reworked, starting with the entrance. Initially it was dark and cramped, but after Connolly removed a low ceiling, opened up the stairway and added a window above the door, light suddenly spilled deep into the interior. Black and white tile, laid on the diagonal, gives the hallway a classic and fresh look.
“I’ve always liked the combination of black, white and wood,” Connolly says.
Little remains of the original living room. Connolly did keep the placement of the original fireplace but changed it to natural gas, and built bookcases and cabinets around it for display and storage space. Above the mantel, a framed collection of antique mallets and hammers takes on a sculptural quality.
By expanding the entrance from the living room to the kitchen, light from a big front window reaches the recently renovated space. The kitchen got new lighting, a tin ceiling, backsplash, and glass faced upper cabinets. A marble topped island is action central for Connolly and his kids. “They’re really into kids’ cooking shows, it sort of inspires them.”
Across the hall, Connolly removed lath and plaster to expose a brick wall in the dining room.
“That was a big job, but it’s amazing: I’ve never felt a draft in here because it’s double brick.”
The custom dining room table is bar height so that the chairs can also be used at the kitchen island. “Ev-
ery night we have dinner here; I want this room to be used.”
A few steps away is Connolly’s office where posters, signs and skateboards are a whimsical diversion from paperwork.
For a real diversion or escape, the new deck overlooking the back garden is a favourite landing spot. The view down into the yard is relaxing, and a new modernist shed freshly built by Connolly looks as much like a writer’s studio as a place to store tools.
Much thought went into the renovation of the house, a creative process that Connolly loves and hopes to turn into a career.
“Every house I’ve lived in I’ve transformed. If I can do it on a broader scale and make a career out of it, then that’s what I’d like to do.”
By the front door a sign says “You are here.” It’s from his uncle’s cottage. Connolly’s dad and his uncle, both major influences in his life, died young. That’s another reason he stepped down from head coach and took on an assistant coaching job.
“It’s hard to be the coach you want and the parent you want to be when your kids are this age. Being a parent is the most important job in my life.”
And it’s why he’s committed to making his home an anchor for the family, where an instruction to eat ice cream “everyday” is right there on the chalkboard, simple as black and white.