LOVELY LADY BY THE LAKE
Ground-up renovation brings modern glory to 1904 manor
Transforming a classic 1904 home on Vancouver Island's Quamichan Lake Into a modern manor house required a massive renovation that lasted almost a yearand took a lot of elbow grease and vision. 9t was a labour of love.° said Lynn Clark. who bought the prop-erty with husband Allen Brown last year. The result Is a welcoming char-a eter home witha modem interior and a French country flavour.
The Duncan-area home sits on six hectares of landscaped prop-erty that slopes gently down tothe lake, with views across to Mount Provost. It's about a 10-minute walk down to the water. "sold Clark. who added her passion for home design began when she starting moving furniture around her house start-ing at age Ave. Her 26years of experience work-ing in interior des Ign. ho me reno-vations and building In Calgary enabled her to assume the role of general contmctor for this project. She has opent close to $700000 so far to restore the heritage estate. formerly called W'ood cote. She and her husband have renamed It Maple Bay Manor. The renovation included almost everything from the ground up. including all the window ledges. which had to be replaced due to dry rot. She decided to retain all the original single-pane glass windows, however. noting -Some of them have bubbles in them and when the sun comes though, it's like a mosak on the walls." The old knob and tube wiring was removed and the entire house re-plumbed. The kitchen and all the bath rocans were replaced. and anew septic system Installed. The couple sought to retain the homes original character. while adding modem amenities. 'We have finished at last and have the depleted bankaccount to prow It tlarks ald with a chuckle. although she is still adding fumi-ture and putting finishing touches on the decor. -I've been spending like a banshee, so my husband has continued working In Calgary making the money' . . , This; their resklence now. but they both still commute to Calgary. where she also has afew Jobs on the go. I ter husband. who is involved In the oil and gas business, hopes to retire In about flee years. In the meantime, she has started sunning the 4.000-square foot home at an upscale retreat. She treated three spacious bo.1- room suites upstair ceach with pet-vale ...mattes and v taggering tiews "Learning all about the B&B Industry has been fascinating. and meeting so many guests has been wonderfully Interesting; she said. adding th at moving t o ttw Co-wich an Valley has been a tremen-dous adventure. ton a city girl who has gone country. I've even learned how to drive a tractor recently---------
Learning all about the B&B industry has been fascinating, and meeting ... guests has been wonderfully interesting.
While renovating. she opted to reduce the homes size by about 830 square feet by removing some small additions, as well as a rustic cottage that once served as servants' quarters, and was later connected to the big house. Fromanengineering andstruc-tura! point oleic.. they were not in very good shape, and we discovered ivy had grown into the bĖilding there.”
She also restored the kitchen’s centĖry-old character by recreating a large pantry and separate mĖd room on one side, and designing a new layoĖt aroĖnd a beaĖtifĖl Heartland stove.
Now that it’s a fĖll commercial kitchen, she hopes to bring in chefs for cooking classes, or to create special-event meals.
On a brick wall where a potbelly stove Ėsed to stand, she installed a doĖble-sided fireplace from SĖperior, oĖt of QĖebec.
The see-through fire is positioned in a wall between the kitchen and dining room.
“It’s wonderful because you can use it as a fireplace to heat the house and you can also cook on it. And when I’m in the kitchen, I can see through it and out to the lake.”
One of the big surprises in the kitchen was the discovery, once they started opening up the walls, that a large beam running across the space was not supported.
“It was rotted through, so we replaced it and added another faux one to balance the room.”
The old damaged flooring was replaced with slate, and a new island about three times as large as the original was installed.
She wonders now if it isn’t a little too large.
“I’m only five feet tall and wish I had another two inches of height when it comes to washing the middle,” said Clark, who was born in South Africa and came to Canada with her parents as a child.
During an inspection, they discovered the house, which is built on a crawl space, is supported by a couple of 30-inch-diameter tree stumps and old piles, which are “still solid and in great condition.”
Because the crawl space is dry, the couple left the stumps and piles in place, but added concrete skirting around the edge.
Clark complimented the work of several contractors involved in the reno, including Twin Tile, JS Plumbing and Heating, Appleby Electric and Twin Oaks Woodworking.
She said her next project will be to restore the century-old landscaping and vintage gardens.
“The property is stunning, with old-growth forest, a big pond and a little creek, and it has a lot of history, but it was quite overgrown.”
Six gardeners worked there for four months last year, “getting the weeds under control, going after the blackberries and the ivy that is climbing up and killing many trees.
“I couldn’t believe the amount of mulch you need here to keep the weeds down ... Everything grows like crazy here.”
The couple has been told there were once as many as 1,000 rhododendrons on the property and, “apparently, it used to take past owners three months to deadhead them all. So we’ll learn about that, too.”
She plans to add 1,600 lavender plants, which she will dry in the smaller of two old barns. The property also has a large 1904 barn, which she will renovate after engineering and structural reports.
The owners love the Cowichan Valley and have visited once a month for the past 20 years, to see Clark’s parents.
“I’ve always had an affinity for the water and the ocean and it’s so green here,” she said. “We appreciate the quietness and tranquillity, and the way you get to know your neighbours here. It’s a very special valley.”
Ironically, they had originally planned to downsize, Clark added with a laugh.
“But then this property came on the market and we fell in love with it.”