A River Runs By It
A stone’s throw away from the Kissing Bridge in Montrose, Dee Brun’s home and B&B exudes romantic country charm
WITH HER TWO YOUNGEST KIDS in tow, Dee Brun grabs some coins out of the change jar by the door and walks a few footsteps up her street to the neighbourhood corner store.
The only sound is the soft shuffling of hooves against the gravel coming from a horse hooked up to a buggy, patiently waiting next to the small shop. When Brun opens the door and steps in, she is immediately greeted by the owner, her Mennonite neighbour who knows what she has come for and darts to the back returning with a couple bags of freshly made apple fritters.
The fritters, along with a homemade loaf of bread, some pumpkin-shaped cookies and a tomato are the finishing touches Brun needs to complete the breakfast tray she has prepared for her guests.
Brun is the owner of the Olde Bridge Place Bed and Breakfast, which is located right next to the historical West Montrose Covered Bridge in Woolwich Township. The bed and breakfast sits on two acres of property in the heart of Mennonite country with the Grand River flowing along the edge of the front yard.
The village’s downtown consists of just two stop signs and the traffic is mostly neighbours passing through on horse and buggies and tourists visiting the picturesque bridge, which is the last wooden covered bridge left in Ontario.
“Being here feels like you are worlds away,” says the 44-year-old. “It’s like stepping back in time, only you have Wi-Fi.”
It’s a change of pace for this mother of
four, who not long ago spent her days working long hours climbing the corporate ladder in restaurant sales. All that changed, however, when she met her husband Chris.
“He encouraged me to stay at home and dabble in whatever it was I wanted to do,” she says. “It was amazing. How many times do you get to turn it all off and start fresh?”
Brun had two children from a previous marriage when she quit her job and moved to Kitchener with Chris. The couple added two more children to the family and during that time, while at home with the kids, Brun also fulfilled her dream of writing a book.
The book, Libations of Life: A Girl’s Guide to Life One Cocktail at a Time, is a humorous read filled with various cocktail recipes she learned during her days bartending while attending university. It led to Brun becoming an award-winning author,
speaker and a regular mixology expert on CBC’s Steven and Chris show. She did five seasons and was supposed to continue with her sixth until the show was cancelled recently following the untimely death of co-host Chris Hyndman.
Between looking after her children, now ages 18,17, eight and six, writing blogs, doing talks and travelling to Toronto to film the show, Brun had a full schedule. But last year she decided to embark on yet another adventure — running her own bed and breakfast.
Brun and her husband Chris had been talking about moving to a home that offered all the escape and relaxation of a cottage without the long drive so they began searching for spots in the country.
Brun had visited the West Montrose Covered Bridge, also known as the Kissing Bridge, 11 years ago while out for a drive with Chris and her two older children. She fell in love with the house, which had once been a bed and breakfast, with its panoramic view of the river and charming wraparound porch. So when her husband told her it was for sale, they decided to make the move.
“We have a river in our front yard where we can go swimming, fishing and canoeing. We have a fire pit where we can have cookouts and there is plenty of space for the kids to run around. We have the feel of a cottage without ever having to leave home.”
The house, which was built in 1890, was originally a gas station and the second building on the property next to the bridge was the mechanic’s shop. At some point, both buildings were turned into a bed and breakfast.
When Brun and her husband bought the property, the owners had closed down the bed and breakfast a few years earlier and were living in the house. Brun wanted to reopen the bed and breakfast, limit it to the building next to that was next to the bridge and already set up with two suites, and have the house as her family’s home.
Although she had no experience running a bed and breakfast before, Brun has always
enjoyed entertaining.
“So when we found this place and I saw that each suite had its own kitchen, which meant I didn’t have to cook, and we didn’t have to have any guests staying in our house, it became the dream bed and breakfast.”
But before the family could move into the house, there were some extensive renovations that needed to be done. The family stayed in the bed and breakfast suites while the three-month construction project was underway throughout the main floor of the home.
“We gutted it right down to the studs,” says Brun. “The whole kitchen, dining room, bathroom and laundry room are all brand new.”
The renovation was an interesting one for the contractors because it seemed there were surprises with every wall they knocked down and every floor they pulled up.
“When you are working in an old house, you never know what you will find when you open up walls and floors,” says Brian Walls, owner of Bricon Contracting Incorporated. “It was always a surprise. Essentially when renovating an old home you need to expect the unexpected.”
Walls and his team discovered the structural integrity of the main load-bearing wall in the living room had been compromised so it had to be redone. The plumbing throughout the entire house wasn’t properly sloped, causing backups, so it had to be redone. And the electrical wasn’t to code, so it had to be redone.
After all that was complete, they had to replace the heating in the house because the previous owner had only one gas heater in the kitchen for the entire home. Walls installed a boiler system that connects to piping running underneath the flooring throughout the main floor of the house and to radiators in the bedrooms.
Then it was time for the design and decor. Brun, who picked out everything herself, calls the style of her home modern country. Her passion for antiques and her desire to connect the home to the iconic covered bridge next to her front yard were her inspiration.
Her favourite piece in the house is her Ferrari-red Bertazzoni stove, which came straight from Italy. She chose red because it matches the colour of the bridge. The kitchen is designed around this luxurious six-burner stove, as well as the view of the Grand River in her front yard.
“When we bought the house, the kitchen was set up so that you were never facing the river. You washed dishes with your back to the river, you cooked on the stove with your back to the river. So I changed the design and made everything facing out.”
Brun can stare out at the scenic view from the front of her house, which is lined with windows, when she is washing dishes at her island or eating at the banquette she designed for the corner of the room. She can even see the river from the fancy walk-in pantry she had custom built — complete with a chandelier.
“Every girl needs a walk-in pantry with a chandelier,” she says smiling. “It’s where I keep my red wine and my books. If you need me, this is where I will be.”
On the one side of the kitchen is a large mud room with a warm yellow fireplace and a huge wooden table Brun aged using a distressed-painting technique. When they bought the house, this room was one of the bed and breakfast suites, but Brun converted it into a space where the kids hang out after school and do their homework.
On the other side of the kitchen is the front door, which like the stove is also red to match the bridge. There is the original staircase leading upstairs and next to that is the living room and dining room. When Brun and her husband bought the home, there was a wall separating the two rooms, but they had it knocked down to create a more open space.
In the living room, Brun had bench seating built along the large front bay window. She also redid the fireplace by painting the brick white and adding a large wood mantel.
In these two rooms you will find many pieces that have undergone the distressed-painting technique to look more like antiques, including the dining room table, hutch and a vintage dresser. Beyond the dining room is a powder room, laundry room and an office along the back of the house.
Hints of history are evident throughout the home. At the top of the stairs, there is a stained-glass window with an image of the bridge and the words “Olde Bridge Place” that came with the house.
Attached to the bedroom doors are small metal name plates, which were used when the entire house was a bed and breakfast. Brun’s son’s bedroom is the Willow Suite, her daughter’s room is the Mariner, the master bedroom is the Diana and a fourth door just off the kitchen that once led to a suite is named Memory Lane. There are also antique typewriters, clocks, plates, dishes and other treasures Brun has found during her thrift store hunts while decorating the entire home.
As for the bed and breakfast suites in the separate building, she kept them the same structurally, but changed the furniture and added her love of antiques to the decor with vintage telephones, wool blankets and historical photos of the area.
It’s been a year since the bed and breakfast reopened and Brun has guests staying at the two suites most weekends. Some come because they want to attend the theatre or the market in St. Jacob’s. Others head to Elora to take in the art galleries or check out a festival that is underway.
Other guests choose her place because the bridge has meaning to them, whether it’s where they got married or had their first kiss. Brun’s suites are also often occupied during the week with guests who are retired or in the area for business.
The Christmas holidays are a particularly busy time for her, with guests coming to stay to do some shopping or take part in winter outdoor activities, such as sleigh rides, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or skating.
Although operating a bed and breakfast means spending her mornings tidying rooms, making beds and assembling breakfast trays, she has no regrets. In fact, she plans to write a book about her experience, the history of the bridge and all the stories her guests have shared with her about their memories of the bridge.
“There’s so much history in this place,” she says. “I feel like by running this bed and breakfast, I am leaving my family’s name on it. When I’m gone, the bridge will still be here and the bed and breakfast will still be here and we will be a part of that history and those stories.”