How a renovation transformed a dull Wychwood craftsman home into a sparkling home

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Before and After: A reno transformed an old Wychwood craftsman home into a sparkling home

Goodbye to cavernous rooms and dusty shutters. Hello, floral lounges and fabric curtains.

The place

A four-bedroom, four-bathroom detached craftsman home in Wychwood.

The history

The current owners—a University of Toronto professor and the founder of a law firm—In 1999, they bought this house to raise their children. They reached out to designer Megan CrosbieGive the place a new look. This would be A new project to start a new chapter of their lives. Initially, the couple planned to renovate only their kitchen and basement. The project grew to include every room of the house.

The goal was to honour the heritage of the home by keeping its gumwood walls and retaining the main level’s closed layout. Crosbie enhanced the earthy palette of colours with floral prints. “I tried to straddle the line between old world and new, so the end result doesn’t feel like a total jump,”She says

The tour

With the kitchen’s layout set, Crosbie’s job was to update the design features. She replaced the old wall cabinetry with a more modern set and added open shelving to the corner. “It makes the room feel bigger and guides your eyes upward to the ceiling,” Crosbie says. She then installed a camouflaging garage for the coffee maker, toaster, and microwave.

The kitchen, before renovations.

The new kitchen, with a brighter palette.

The kitchen bar has been rearranged slightly. The sink was moved to the left to create more counter space, and the wine refrigerator was moved to the right. There are also new countertops and a porcelain tiled backsplash. The owners also wanted to keep the saloon style door on the right.

The bar, before Crosbie began upgrades.

The new bar, with its brass faucet accent.

Crosbie appreciated the dining room’s gumwood walls but thought they were too dark and heavy for the space. She brightened up the dining room by removing the popcorn-textured ceiling (which creates more shadows, making the room appear smaller), and adding wallpaper with a cream-coloured pattern by William Morris. She then re-finished the table with a walnut stain and installed a light fixture from Montreal’s Lambert & Fils.

The old dining hall looked like something out of a period drama.

The new light fixture is from Lambert et Fils.

This garage was used as a storage area. Now it’s a screened-in three-season room with a lounge, a dining area, a sink and a gas grill. The furniture is all made for outdoor use. The counters are polished cement, and the flooring is flagstone. Shiplap panelling gives the room a cottage-like feel. “My clients spend a lot of time in this space,” Crosbie says. “It makes you feel like you’re on vacation.”

The three-season room was being used as a garage before.

Now the three-season room is a stunning dining area.

Crosbie repainted a vanity and a mirror in a light gray hue and paired the pieces with floral wallpaper – this time by Lewis and Wood. She did, however, remove the shutters. “I have a personal vendetta against California shutters,”She says “They’re dated and dusty, and they block all the light.”She then replaced them with draperies to soften up the vibe.

The powder felt more like a bunker before.

The new powder room is all about bright lighting and floral motifs.

The bed in the guest room used to be under the window. This made the room feel crowded. Crosbie turned her bed sideways, and added wall-mounted plug in sconces both sides.

The old guest room felt cramped.

Note the wall-mounted sconces in the new guest room.

“My clients are in love with the blue crackle tiles in the secondary bathroom,” Crosbie says. The designer also commissioned a dresser-style vanity, added a wall mounted faucet and oversized honeycomb tile to the shower.

The old bathroom.

The new bathroom is defined by its rainfall shower head and bright blue tiles.

The new main bathroom features round penny-tile flooring, and vertical subway tiles for the walk-in-shower. There’s also a new medicine cabinet and a soaker tub.

The main bathroom before renovations.

Crosbie brought even more tiles and a soaker tub to the main bathroom.

Crosbie took out the shelving that was built into the basement. The family loves video games, so the new storage is ideal for concealing equipment. The spindle shelves in 1970s style are a nice addition.

Goodbye basement carpet.

Here, the new fabric blinds bring in more light and add a gentle accent.

The old basement was equipped with an open wine rack. Now there’s a proper temperature-controlled pegboard-style cellar in its place. “We really wanted a show-stopping feature,” says Crosbie. “It’s the first thing you see when you walk downstairs.”

The old wine rack was nothing to write home about.

The new wine cellar is chic temperature-controlled showcase.

The laundry room, which was once dull and uninviting, now has a sink and Caesarstone quartz counters. There’s even a raised dog shower, which continues the new tiled motif.

The laundry room, before renovations.