Annual Glebe House Tour September 15
By Suzanne McCarthy
Home descriptions by Stephanie Small
Just when trees and gardens flaunt their full rainbow of colours to tempt you to indulge your senses, along comes the Annual Glebe House Tour and offers you yet another opportunity for a small adventure, a short one, into other worlds. Yes, you are cordially invited into some striking private homes in the neighbourhood. Good design, imaginative decor, and inspired renovation await you. The tour takes place Sunday, September 15, 2013, from 1 to 4 p.m., and includes a complimentary shuttle bus service. Refreshments and sweet nibbles will be served at the Glebe Community Centre from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Tour a modern home that pays homage to the character of older traditional homes. Explore two family havens, each with an artist who really is “in residence.” Get inspiration on how to create beautiful spaces with paint, textiles, flowers, lighting, furniture and art. Behold the good results that come from the hard work and muscle some homeowners have invested in their older homes. With this quality of care and renewal, their homes will last another hundred years.
This event is a volunteer-run fundraiser. So after you enjoy a stroll through the Glebe and tour of beautiful spaces, your entry fee will be put to work supporting the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group, in particular, a fund used for financial assistance to neighbourhood families who need help to pay for child and youth programs.
Please note that this is a self-guided tour. Volunteers will be stationed in each home with information on hand about the details of the home, including sources of materials, names of paint colours and contact information for contractors and designers.
Suzanne McCarthy is chair of the Annual Glebe House Tour. Stephanie Small is a member of the house tour committee.
Annual Glebe House Tour
Sunday, September 15, 2013 1–4 p.m.
Tickets: $30 per person at Bloomfields Flowers, 783 Bank Street or
Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Avenue;
by phone at 613-564-1058 or 613-233-8713.
Adults and children age 11 and up are welcome, as are babes in arms.
Tickets are limited, so buy early!
411 THIRD AVENUE
Working closely with an architect and a woodworker, the owners of this house – one of whom is a ceramic and visual artist – have created a playfully sophisticated home that showcases the delights of asymmetry. As you explore the home’s unexpected angles and curves, keep an eye out for decorative details such as metal inlay in the kitchen cabinetry, homemade mosaic tiles, unique light fixtures and custom features made of Russian plywood.
50 GORDON STREET
The classic modern design of this new home blends harmoniously into the quiet street, thanks to its balanced proportions and warm wood finishes. Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows, an open floor plan and extra-tall doors create airy, soaring spaces that are warm and welcoming, thanks to more beautiful wood features – from the elegant kitchen and living room cabinetry, to the sculptural custom staircase. See how it all came together on the homeowners’ blog, 50gordon.wordpress.com.
328 FIRST AVENUE
For the past few years, through the births of their second and third children, these homeowners have been renovating their 1920s house into a home that is fresh, fabulous and sophisticated. Find out how they are realizing their vision of creating beautiful spaces that are everyday-friendly, through a mix of easy DIY projects and the occasional splurge. You can find before-and-after photos on their blog, KeepItBeautiful1.blogspot.ca.
89 FOURTH AVENUE
These homeowners, one a contractor and the other a natural decorator, won a Glebe Heritage Restoration Award for lovingly preserving the home’s exterior brick work while creating a luxurious urban oasis and party house for the whole family. You will not want to leave the backyard pool paradise. What won’t be visible while touring the gorgeous rooms and backyard is the extensive work that went into the bones of the house, ensuring it will last at least another hundred years.
296 FIRST AVENUE
One of the owners of this house, a jeweller and painter, explains how she and her husband appreciate the patina of things as they age. Explore her creative approach to repurposing other people’s castaways to create beautiful and functional furnishings. Drawers from an old dresser? They’ve become pullout storage under a bed, or colourful shelves in a little girl’s room. A collection of small stones? They’re now drawer pulls. And old cupboards were cut down to make kitchen cabinets, complementing original cabinetry. Together, it’s all curated to create inviting spaces throughout the home.
55 POWELL AVENUE
Discover how to brighten a grand old home with fresh paint and contemporary furnishings, while still preserving elegant, original features. To make this house work for a busy young family, the homeowners added a beautifully integrated mudroom and powder room. Efficient new windows were custom-made to match the originals. They also found antique reproduction light fixtures to match originals – see if you can spot which are which.
