Thirty-five years ago, Susan Down noticed an intriguing advertisement for a summer cottage at Cowichan.
She mentioned it to her husband, Bob, and his first thought was, 鈥淚鈥檓 not moving,鈥� but he decided to check it out. The rest is, as they say, renovation history.
鈥淎s soon as I walked down the drive and saw the view, my mind turned around 180 degrees,鈥� said Bob. 鈥淭he whole feeling of the land and the estuary was amazing. It was gorgeous. I couldn鈥檛 bear not to live there.鈥�
The charming little cottage had been built in 1934 and needed lots of work, but that didn鈥檛 deter these seasoned and stylish renovators, neither of whom could resist a location offering pastel expanses and glorious waterscapes that looked as if they鈥檇 been painted by old masters.
鈥淗alf the time, I feel as if I am living in a bird blind, and upstairs it feels like we鈥檙e in a treehouse,鈥� said Susan, who always has binoculars at hand to observe the ever-changing feathered and aquatic life.
Both owners are long-time boating enthusiasts, so it鈥檚 hardly surprising they chose to create not only a handcrafted home but one with a dash of nautical flavour, thanks to gleaming woodwork, vintage ship鈥檚 lights, oar handrails on every staircase and maritime touches such as the fishing floats in a bowl on the dining table.
鈥淲hen we first bought the cottage, we didn鈥檛 know whether to tear it down and rebuild or renovate,鈥� said Bob.
Eventually, they decided to lift the whole building and add another storey.
The 600-square-foot cottage that used to sit on loose rocks now rests on a new foundation and main level below.
After they jacked it up, they poured new footings and foundations, then walls were constructed above and the upper floor was carefully lowered onto it.
Over the years, Bob has replaced almost everything about the old cabin. 鈥淭he only original thing left upstairs is the fir flooring and the two-by-four studs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e stripped everything out 鈥� wire, insulation, plumbing, interior walls 鈥� and redesigned on the fly. It鈥檚 a very organic house.鈥�
The renovation more than doubled the home鈥檚 size, as they also added a new kitchen and front entry with the help of carpenter Robert Flach, bringing the total square footage to 1,850.
When the new kitchen was built, Bob expanded an existing bathroom above it, cutting and laying all the marble floors and walls himself. He extended the guest room, too, adding a romantic-looking sleeping porch.
鈥淲hen we started, we had no money and a lot to learn,鈥� he said, but over the years, his skills and knowledge grew, along with the renovations and additions.
After the first facelift, the Downs moved back to Victoria in 1988 and lived there for more than 20 years while renting out their up-Island home.
At that time, Susan was boating columnist at the sa国际传媒. She then covered arts, culture and homes before heading to Toronto, where she continued in the newspaper biz for four more years. Still in communications, she looks back on her feature-writing days and notes that penning stories about other people鈥檚 renovations is very different from going through them yourself.
鈥淚t feels as if it goes on and on,鈥� she said with a chuckle. 鈥淚 used to love doing before-and-after stories, seeing how people applied their creativity to a box.鈥� Now she understands first hand how it feels.
鈥淎fter a project like this, you appreciate the trials and tribulations others go through, all the decisions and negotiations about every last detail. Bob and I had some heated discussions, but usually came to better decisions together.
鈥淔or instance, when we couldn鈥檛 agree on spindles for the banister, we just sat down and thought maybe we should do something different, especially as a staircase is such a focal point.鈥�
Having long admired the work of metal artist Mike Mintern, she suggested having him create a unique railing with undulating blades of kelp.
Meanwhile, Bob built coffered ceilings in the living and dining rooms, laid tile in the living room and put eucalyptus floors in the kitchen and dining room.
鈥淭hat wood is as hard as the hobs of hell and I had to pre-drill every nail hole, but it worked well during the rental years,鈥� said Bob, who has a law degree but would rather be in the hull of an old ship or attic of a heritage home than a courtroom.
He got into commercial fishing years ago, then wooden boat building, and in 1984 worked as chief shipwright for half the construction of the Spirit of Chemainus. He has been a marine surveyor for the last 28 years.
鈥淚鈥檓 two-thirds retired, but still enjoy working and seeing cool boats,鈥� said Bob, who recently surveyed a large yacht in the eastern U.S.
The eucalyptus wood he used in the kitchen was left over from one of his boat-building projects and the planks were originally two-by-10 inches wide and 16 feet long. 鈥淚 ripped them all on my table saw, down to a quarter-inch-by-two inches. Laid the floor and then got a big sander鈥�.鈥�
Choosing interior colours involved some trial and error, said Susan.
鈥淲e made a few mistakes along the way. At first, I tried the colours we use in eastern sa国际传媒, but the waterfront light here is very different. One colour that was absolutely wrong was beige, which would be fine for wintery Quebec.
鈥淢y favourite colour ended up being a kind of putty, which is fabulous on the wall, although hideous in a paint chip.鈥�
The areas of the house she鈥檚 happiest with are those that are part of their daily ritual.
She loves the open-concept kitchen 鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel cut off 鈥� I can cook and chat and watch birds all at the same time鈥� 鈥� and having a great bathroom is really important.
鈥淏ecause you see it every day. I really appreciate all the work Bob put into our new bathroom.
鈥淚 also marvel at the foresightedness of our putting stained-glass windows in the entry early on. It was not a must-have, but a very nice-to-have.鈥�
The Downs have lived in the house for four years now, and are still awed by the views.
鈥淭he thrill is always there,鈥� said Bob. 鈥淲e see all the different ducks, turkey vultures, eagles, mink, otter, all kinds of wildlife. It鈥檚 a wonderful feeling when the wind is blowing and the water is sparkling 鈥�. and it seems hardly to have changed since 1980, while so much else on this Island has exploded, and it is so relaxing.
鈥淵ears ago, when I was in Victoria, hitting it really hard, working 75 hours a week, rebuilding two boats and three heritage houses, I still had to come up here and do maintenance.
鈥淚 would drive up to the house, walk across the lawn and after sitting on the deck for a couple of minutes, all the tension would drain out of me.鈥�
