‘Downsize light’ in Songhees
Move to Songhees townhouse brings a more urban lifestyle and freedom from gardening
Downsizing comes in all shapes and sizes, and for this couple it was definitely not about the square footage of a house. Deedrie Ballard’s and Jim Zoellner’s desire to “rightsize” was prompted by the never-ending grind of gardening. Their one-third-acre property in Broadmead was beautiful, but the upkeep was more and more demanding and had become less enjoyable, yet the couple still wanted lots of living space and shied away from the idea of a condo.
They found their solution in a spacious, three storey, newer and much brighter, townhouse in Songhees overlooking the water. It has sunny patios, sea breezes, golden sunsets, easy access walks to town for restaurants, shopping and entertainment — and only a few square metres of garden, which the strata looks after, anyway, if the owners are away or not inclined to garden.
The home is virtually the same size as their previous one — in fact it has four bedrooms compared to three — and neither owner is worried about stairs, especially Jim, a former bodybuilding champion who relishes the exercise.
“Doing stairs is great exercise and keeps you young,” he said, adding it’s one of the best-kept secrets in preventive medicine.
“Our friends thought we were ridiculous doing this, and thought we should put in an elevator,” said Ballard, but they enjoy the home fitness regime.
The couple purchased the 20-yearold townhouse a year ago and before moving in they decided to make some major changes, most notably in the kitchen.
“I cracked the whip and it only took two months,” said Ballard, who is a realtor with RE/MAX.
“Youell Plumbing was great. Gorge Electric was great, but what took the longest was moving a fourfoot, non-bearing wall. The strata insisted we get an engineer in, get a report, go to the city and apply for a permit. That’s what really held us up.”
She said the plumber got creative and brought a camera in to slide down a kitchen wall from upstairs, to check where the pipes were and make sure they were able to install a large four-foot fridge, bar fridge, sink and drawer dishwasher on the former family room wall.
They redesigned the whole kitchen and family room, combining them into one large space with a generous T-shaped island in the middle. Deep-chocolate coloured cabinets in the new bar area and creamy white quartz countertops add a delicious flair, not to mention expanded room for casual entertaining.
“We like to have Sunday night family dinners, so we needed to expand the island,” she said, adding they can seat six at the island now rather than two.
Her son, chef Cory Pelan, who owns the Whole Beast Artisan Salumeria and co-owns the Village Butcher, is an expert at hand crafting, curing and smoking meats, and they love to cook together. He gave her several helpful tips when it came to layout.
Her daughter, Nicole Pelan, also a RE/MAX realtor “was an immense help with the move, a great organizer.”
Ballard, has six sets of dishes, so another requirement was lots of sturdy drawers to store them. She also included three rollout pantries, and a trio of wall ovens including convection/steam/microwave combination, a regular one and warming version.
Another innovation was designing an extra-deep drawer to hold small appliances such as a toaster and mixer on a lift. Nearby electrical outlets ensure they never have to be heaved onto the counter.
A corner kitchen cabinet by the back patio has glass doors, but she used ripple glass rather than see-through, and did the same for interior-lit cabinets high up the ceiling.
She has a large office at work, but also created a corner office in the kitchen, with a “window” into the dining area room and through to the view outside. The L-shaped quartz counter holds her computer, while the printer and files are camouflaged behind cabinet doors and drawers.
Upstairs the couple redid the master ensuite, taking out the old tile and replacing it with white marble. Two small closets in the bedroom were joined into one large one, and a stackable laundry area was added in the main upstairs bathroom.
Moving was a “nightmare … a life-altering experience,” said Ballard, who noted her husband kept nagging her about when she would get it all done.
“So one day I sold a lot of the furniture at the auction and then hired a man with a van to load everything from the crawlspace and Jim’s office into the dining room. When Jim came home he said, ‘What the hell happened here?’
“I explained I sent everything to Lunds and I gave the kids a few days to take their stuff out of the house, and then off it went too.”
She took bags of beautiful designer clothes to her office and also held a garage party.
“I had a lot of really, really good suits in sizes six to 16 that I couldn’t wear anymore,” said Ballard, who is an active volunteer in the community.
She is co-commander of the Sovereign Order of St. John, vice-president of Victoria Hospice, one of 17 women who support several Pacifica Housing Society’s group homes and winner of numerous awards including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal for Volunteers.
Having been involved in everything from the AGGV to the symphony and Broadmead Lodge, while also working full time, means a garden-free life is a welcome change.
“We did a downsize light, we just got rid of the yard,” said Zoellner, who also wanted to turf the gardening yet isn’t afraid of physical exercise.
Almost two decades ago he entered a North American-wide challenge, a 12-week healthy living contest called the Body for Life Contest, and took second place.
“In three months I went from 18 per cent body fat to 6.5 and from 215 pounds to 175.”
Now 82, he goes to the gym almost every day.
“Staying fit is mostly about will power,” said the semi retired financial adviser who used to teach at Seneca College in Toronto and has a degree from Harvard.
Zoellner loves their new home’s open plan and efficient use of space: “Everything is close by and Deedrie and I talk more than we ever did before, because this living room is so comfortable,” he said with a chuckle.
The two, who have been together 20 years, said the hardest part of the move was making up their minds to do it, and then finding a place they liked. The only drawback is, since the move their dog seems to have developed separation anxiety.