RUSTIC SPLENDOUR
Restoring 1835 home a lifelong commitment for St-Eustache handyman
“You have to be passionate, foolhardy and a bit crazy,” Jacques Théorêt declares.
He’s talking about restoring an old house, and he should know: he has been at it for the last 15 years.
The result is remarkable, especially considering when he bought this house in 2001, the beautiful fieldstone walls were hidden behind thick coats of plaster, inside and out. The original wood floors were covered with carpeting, and the windows were made of PVC.
Numerous attempts by previous owners to modernize the place had turned the house into an ugly duckling. But from the start, Théorêt saw its potential and was undaunted by the considerable work that awaited him. A plumber by profession, he already had some talent as a handyman and what he lacked, he learned on the job — literally. “When on a work site, I watched others work and I asked questions,” he said.
This is how he became proficient in carpentry, masonry and other necessary skills. Today, this venerable home has recovered its good looks. Built in 1835, it stands proud on a vast lot (almost 4,000 square metres) near St-Eustache. The architecture is typical of the early 19th century, with overhanging eaves and narrow porches, front and back. The roof is covered with sheet metal in the traditional technique called “tôle à la Canadienne.” This consists of narrow strips of metal folded and nailed in overlapping fashion, like fish scales.
All the former PVC windows have been replaced by handcrafted wood casement windows with indoor shutters that match the 19thcentury style. Only one window, on the back, has yet to be changed and it illustrates how odd and unsightly the other ones must have been. The house is not big, only 10 metres by nine metres, yet it’s spacious enough, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small attic and a fieldstone wall basement, which is a real bonus. Because of the thickness of the walls that keep the air cool, it was the perfect place for a wine cellar and this is exactly what Théorêt did with part of the space.
The interior decor in the house is rustic, as it should be, with vintage furniture and decorations. The thickness of the fieldstone walls shows in the dining area. Théorêt is an avid collector of antiques, like the small dresser painted blue dating from the mid 1800s. The dining-room table is just as old and also shows its original colour.
A striking sideboard separates the dining room area from the kitchen. It is carved with floral motifs and medallions representing Renaissance figures, and includes the date 1547.
It is, of course, a reproduction, but the craftsmanship is exquisite. What is most surprising is it was a gift from one of Théorêt’s clients, obviously a very satisfied client. On top of the sideboard stands a small-scale model of the oceanliner France.
The combination might be odd, but it certainly catches the eye. Next to this peculiar duo, a quaint ensemble of earthenware pots, a jug and other objects brings us back to 19th-century Quebec.
The living room is furnished with massive and austere antiques. The ceiling is quite low, only 2.13 metres or seven feet high. The room would have looked gloomy, were it not for the white upholstered sofas.
A slow wood-burning stove has replaced the original fireplace, but the hot water radiators dating from the 1950s have been retained and are still functional. They have an unusual and unique shape, as illustrated by the one under the window. On the other side of the fireplace, the cupboard built into the wall is typical in these types of old houses. When it was sold, the house was stripped of anything that was movable, so the doors are not original. Théorêt searched long and hard in antique stores to find fitting replacements.
On the ground floor, the floorboards are all the same width and made of a mixture of wood species, pine, spruce and fir. On the second storey, the floorboards are of uneven width and made of pine. One of the major tasks in the house was definitely the floors. After all the carpeting was taken out, the floorboards were also removed so as to clean underneath where decades of dirt, rodent droppings and other unmentionables had accumulated. The boards were sanded, treated, stained and varnished then put back in place. When Théorêt said you have to be passionate, but also a bit crazy to restore an old house, he was thinking back to this painstaking task.
In the master bedroom, we find a brightly painted tall dresser Théorêt bought at an auction. It came with scant information about its origin, just that it dated from the 1950s and it was from the Charlevoix region. This piece of traditional Québécois furniture brings colour and whimsy to the room. The queen-size bed is covered with a bedspread and matching pillowcases in Provençal piqué, also called Boutis.
The door leading to the main bathroom on the ground floor is another item Théorêt received free, this time from a neighbouring farmer. It is adorned with cast-iron panels, which indicates it was most certainly a front door at one time. The old-fashioned wood clothes dryer above the bathtub on which you just hung your wet clothes to dry back then, is quite useful today for drying towels.
Narrow miller’s stairs give access to the attic, where the original timber framework is visible. To keep some of the rafters exposed, only a thin layer of polyurethane was applied to the roof as insulation material. The closet door in the attic room is old, with a rough and patchy distressed look that is in harmony with the overall decor of the house. It is one of the many pieces Théorêt salvaged from a work site and customized to fit.
Théorêt knows restoring an old house is a never-ending process. And as his uncle told him when he bought this place, “you will still be at it in your old age.” That might come to be true, but who really cares about that when you’re passionate about living in a fabulous old house?
The queen-size bed is covered with a bedspread and matching pillowcases in Provençal piqué, also called Boutis.