When it comes to location and lifestyle, it’s hard to beat sunny South Oak Bay and that’s what sold Edmonton transplant Kristopher Ricci on his Monterey Avenue character home.
“I love the central location,” says Kris, a realtor with The Agency. “We walk with the kids to Ottavio to have gelato or the Penny Farthing for a bite. We’re close to Windsor Park and when I go for a run, I just head down Monterey to Beach Drive and run along the water.”
Kris bought the 1911 Samuel Maclure home in the summer of 2021 and then embarked on an ambitious reno to restore the home’s old-world charm while bringing it into the modern era.
“I didn’t really know what I was getting into with a 1911 home,” Kris laughs. “I did a '60s home in Edmonton prior, but this was totally different. I had to replace all the guts but I also wanted to preserve a lot of the original pieces that make the home special and pay respect to the Maclure style and the architecture.”
As I walk through the custom wrought iron gate, I’m transported to a private oasis with an inviting fire pit out front and a beautiful Camellia tree that started to bud in January. Laurel and cedar hedges ring the large lot, which is dotted with established fruit trees and has laneway access.
“It’s a rare double lot in South Oak Bay and I was told that originally, it was a fruit orchard back there, so there's really cool plums and apple trees. I did some climbing hydrangeas, too, that will fill in and flower.”
Inside, the almost 4,600-square-foot home oozes with character. From the wood mouldings, fireplace mantles and built-in cabinets to the stained glass windows and white oak parquet flooring with walnut inlay, the home's original beauty has been brought back to life.
“All the woodwork on the main level is original – along with the floors that I sanded down and take pride in – and all the windows, including the stained glass, have been restored and have new hardware,” Kris explains. “Most of them were painted shut or the sashes were snapped off or the weights inside were broken.”
The transformation of the main floor – with a living room, family room, an extra bedroom and a powder room (constructed during a 1930s addition) – along with the upstairs took two years and wasn’t easy.
“It was a rigorous two years and to be honest, I’m not sure I would do an old house again because it was so involved and very challenging,” Kris admits. “People thought we were crazy because it was in pretty rough shape. I had to remove all the knob and tube wiring so it's new electrical, do the plumbing, perimeter drains on the outside, and restore all the radiators.”
Modernizing the old kitchen, which included ripping up layer upon layer of flooring, was also a big challenge.
“At first, I was going to change it and blow it all open because it’s not that big, but I decided to respect the traditional four-box layout of the home and work with it,” Kris says.
The result is a high-end and timeless grey and white gourmet kitchen with Calcutta marble countertops, a Sub Zero fridge and a show-stopper La Cornue stove.
"I kind of wanted that old-world European influence,” explains Kris. That's why he removed a washer and dryer between the kitchen and dining room and converted the area back to a butler’s pantry.
“It’s great for extra storage and we also added a sink, wine fridge, and fridge drawers so it’s really functional. What’s cool is that there’s also a second stairwell at the back that the servants would have used.”
Italian marble and European fixtures are used throughout the home. On the top level, there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, along with a large landing that was big enough to accommodate a new laundry area.
“They only had coal-burning fireplaces upstairs so I brought in a heat pump to fire every room with heat and AC,” Kris says. “We also added a lot of the picture rail mouldings to keep it with the esthetic and we bleached the original fir floors, which usually have red tones, to match the main floor.”
The biggest transformation upstairs is the primary suite: Kris renovated a fourth bedroom and turned it into a huge bathroom with a wall of custom closet cabinets.
“We really wanted it to be a retreat,” Kris says. “The original bathroom is on the other side, which the kids use, and all the rooms are a really good size.”
With main floor and upstairs renovations completed, Kris turned his attention to the basement, where he created a three-bedroom, two-bathroom in-law or nanny suite with private access.
“The basement was such a challenge to figure out not just the layout, but how to get it up to par,” Kris explains. “It was pretty gross with mouldy flooring and rat poop so I demoed everything and repoured the slab after I replaced the sewage lines.”
Kris also sanded and restored the fir beams and highlighted the original brickwork, which adds character to the open-concept living room and large kitchen area in the 1,500-square-foot suite.
But after all the work he’s poured in, Kris is putting the house on the market because he’s keen to do another project.
“I have passion for it, for sure,” the father of three says. “Just taking something and getting excited about what it could be like, and having the vision and transforming it into something is really special.”
This article is from the spring edition of Tweed.
