A reno for the greater good
Love of food, family, friends cornerstones of Brampton couple’s $800,000 update
When Stephanie Orefice and her husband Tiernan Murphy decided to breathe new life into their 1911 Colonial-style home in Brampton, they considered more than just their own family’s needs.
The parents of Jack, 11, Theo, 9 and Aubrey, 4, have long dubbed their home “Casa Murphy,” and pride themselves on the open-door policy they have for friends and extended family. Making their home even more welcoming to others would be a top priority in the redesign and renovation.
“We’ve always lived with the mentality that there’s always room at the inn and there’s always space at the table,” Orefice, says.
“We think it is good for our kids to grow up in a house where we welcome and embrace family and friends to stay with us.”
“There’s very few nights when there’s nobody staying at our house. It’s a bit of a hotel,” adds Murphy, who owns Making Waves Swim School with his wife.
With their love of food, art, family and friendship as their priorities, the couple set out to overhaul their turn-of-thecentury home in 2012.
They’d jumped at the chance to buy the house five years earlier since it was on the same street as Murphy’s parents’ house — where he’d grown up and taught swimming lessons to neighbourhood kids.
“We had an affinity for older houses,” Orefice, says. “There was a bit of a romance factor.”
But while they loved the character of the old house, the couple had tired of the cold and drafty feel, the compartmentalized layout and the older kitchen.
They set an initial budget of $400,000 — which they ended up doubling. They hired architect Brian Williams, designer Sara Bergsma and Bailey Contracting.
And after planning to live in a nearby, rented house for nine months to a year, they ended up being gone for 18 months.
“I don’t think we realized how major we were going to go!” Orefice says.
“We left with two kids and we came back with three,” Murphy adds.
Originally they’d planned to blow out the back wall of the house and put on a two-storey extension, but once they got into the walls and saw the condition of the roof, it too had to be replaced.
“There was a point where there were literally three walls standing of the original home,” Orefice notes. “It was completely gutted.”
Since the family has a passion for entertaining, they focused a lot of their energy — and budget — on a dream kitchen. They hired Paragon Kitchens to turn their vision into a reality, spending $55,000 plus HST on the design, Miralis cabinetry, installation and Cambria countertops. Appliances were extra.
“They really created a space for us that’s not only functional, because we really love to cook, but it’s also beautiful,” Orefice says. “Honestly, people still comment about the kitchen!”
Murphy adds: ‘Our designer told us early on, ‘This is the space we have to get right, because this is where you are going to spend most of your waking hours.’ And she couldn’t have been more right!”
A giant sliding glass door off the Shaker-style kitchen into the backyard lends a large source of natural light to the kitchen.
“One of the really nice things about that space is that it’s open to the outside,” Orefice says. “We live in that room.”
The family hosts an annual New Year’s Eve party. Two years ago, 150 people congregated for a 1970sthemed 40th birthday bash throughout the main floor and backyard.
“It’s become the house to go to because the space works for entertaining,” says Murphy.
Pre-renovation, the family all shared one tiny bathroom. Now, the couple relishes in the relaxation and the privacy of their master ensuite with its two skylights, 13-foot ceiling, soaker tub and a shower with a window overlooking the backyard.
Original plans called for four bedrooms on the second floor, but the couple decided to combine their sons’ separate bedrooms into one big space. “We wanted our boys to learn how to get along,” says Murphy.
The brothers have built-in bunk beds — built by Murphy’s father, who used to work as a general contractor — and were inspired by similar beds he’d built for his own sons when they were young.
There are guest quarters in the attic, which features a bedroom, bathroom and a studio space for Orefice, who has a fine art degree and displays some of her pieces, as well as others they’ve collected over the years, throughout the house.
“Overall we love a sense of authenticity,” she says of the art and accessories that adorn their home. “I’m not into things that are more for decoration and don’t have a story. The art generally has a story behind it if you see it on the wall.”
The basement now gets plenty of traffic, with a bedroom, bathroom and a big TV room, where their children play with their friends. “They love it!” says Orefice. “Now they really have a place to hang out!”
“There was a point where there were literally three walls standing of the original home. It was completely gutted.” STEPHANIE OREFICE HOMEOWNER