May 16, 2015
Buyers We Love // Will + Heather’s Rothesay Home Tour
Full disclosure as it pertains to the title of this blog post, we appreciate all our clients, so please don’t get too hung-up on the catchy title above.
Will + Heather came to our team last Fall, looking to buy a home. They had just moved back to the area from the West Coast and were pretty excited to put their mark on a dwelling. Meaning, they were not afraid of overseeing expansive reno work, themselves.
We caught-up with this couple and asked them a few questions as to how they came about finding then creating a space to call their own, and of course getting the seal of approval from their poodle, Ginny.
How would you describe your home style?
Eclectic midcentury modern(ish).
When you began the buying process, what were some of the “must haves” on your home list?
Our original “must-haves” are not exactly what we ended up with. We thought our top priority was to be in Uptown Saint John, with a yard for our fur-child Ginny, in a house that didn’t require too much work to get it to where we wanted it (open concept with an awesome kitchen). We quickly found out that this wasn’t the easiest thing to find. When Jeff suggested we expand our search to “the valley”, we agreed. When we walked into this one, the view took our breaths away and we knew it had to be ours! Of course it helped that it had a large kitchen, and a layout that was conducive to open style living, which were on our “must-have” list since day one.
When you entered your home for the first time, what initially caught your eye?
Once again – the view.
How did you approach the renovation and designing a new space? Did you begin with a full vision in mind or allow it to take shape gradually?
We jumped into renovations quite quickly. It was pretty obvious to us what needed to be done to open things up and make the space more functional (by creating a powder room and mud room). We also knew that we wanted a bright, white kitchen. What proved to be trickier was furnishing the space, as we’d come from living in 800 square feet or less for the past several years, so needless to say, our original furniture didn’t suffice. In the end, the final product is fairly close to our inital vision – perhaps even better!
How long did it take for your home to look the way it does now?
We took possession of the house on Halloween. On November 1, we knocked out the first wall, with the intention of completing renos by Christmas when Heather’s family was coming to visit. Things didn’t exactly go according to plan – the final touches to our kitchen were just completed the first week of April! Although this phase of the renos are done, it’s definitely a work in progress – we’re already planning for the next phases of renos, which include the basement (goodbye pink carpet!), the bathrooms and the master wing.
Now that renovations are completed, what do you love most about your home?
We are loving the kitchen and open space for entertaining. We love to cook and host dinner parties, and it’s the perfect space to do so. We also can’t wait for the warmer weather so we can also take advantage of the deck and the view.