F
FEATURE
Refeathering
the empty nest
Extensive renovations
get home ready
for the next stage
By Deirdre Healey
Photography • Jesse Brenneman
Cindy and Jack Gibson’s first house has
been a backdrop for many family memories.
It’s where the couple got married by
candlelight under a tree in the backyard. It’s
where they celebrated decades of birthdays
and anniversaries. And it’s where their son
Ryan took his first steps, got ready for his
first day of school and jammed with his
friends in the basement when he was a
teenager.
But when Ryan began making plans to
go to university and move out, the couple
found the 25-year-old house was no longer
suitable for their new lives as empty-nesters. Not only that, but the home was also
beginning to suffer from structural damage
and was in need of repair.
“We searched for two years for a spot to
build a new home,” Cindy says. “But we
found we just kept coming back to our
house.”
So instead of moving, they decided to
transform their home into a house that
would fit the stage of life they were about to
enter. >>
When their son left home, Cindy and Jack Gibson
didn’t move, they renovated and remodelled — in a
big way. A larger kitchen was just one part of a plan
that took them a year and a half to complete.
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>>“Over the years, our home has changed
to accommodate the point we are at in life,”
says Gibson. “When we had a toddler, there
were toys everywhere and no coffee tables,
and when we had a teenager, the basement
became a perfect spot for entertaining his
friends. It’s the same house only it has
evolved along the way, and now it was time
for the next change.”
This meant gutting the back of the
three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot house
and adding another 800 sq. ft. The couple
wanted the additional room so they could
expand their kitchen and build a new
dining room for entertaining.
“We were finding there were limitations to
our home,” says Gibson. “As empty-nesters,>>
The master bedroom was transformed into an
elegant living space complete with a dramatic closet
(left) and cosy sitting area (right).
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The bedroom’s tasteful décor extends into the large en suite bathroom. Except for the home’s framing,
roofing and windows, Cindy and Jack Gibson did most of the renovations themselves.
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>> you have more time, your circle of
friends gets larger and you do more entertaining. But we didn’t have enough room to
even have a dinner party.”
The extensive renovation plans also
included the second storey. The couple
wanted to use the extra space to create the
luxurious master bedroom and ensuite
bathroom they had always dreamed of.
Despite the complexity of the project,
they weren’t about to hand over their
beloved home to someone else to do all the
work. Gibson, who is an interior design
consultant for Accents for Living in Guelph,
and her husband, who works in industrial
construction, wanted to do it themselves.
“We can both talk construction and for
Jack the renovation was like a hobby,” says
Gibson.
So they drew up the blueprints and began
work on the renovations in 2009. They
had contractors do the framing and roofing
for the additional square footage as well
as install new windows throughout the
home. Cindy and Jack did everything else,
including installing the electrical, putting
up drywall, laying the tile and hardwood,
placing the crown moulding and painting.
Between designing the home, picking out
materials and doing the renovations, the
entire project took a year and a half to
complete.
“We worked on the house every evening
and every weekend,” says Gibson. “And
all our summer vacation went towards
working on the renovations.”
Not only was it non-stop work, but the
project also made for some interesting
living conditions. At one point, the entire
main floor, including the kitchen, was
under construction, and the only rooms the
family could use were the bedrooms and
upstairs bathroom.
“Living in our home while the renovation
was underway was definitely the biggest
challenge. You can only imagine the
amount of construction dust. However, we
never considered moving out during the
process because every spare moment was
valued and needed to get the project to
completion.”
It was a situation that could easily put
strain on a marriage. But Gibson says it
actually brought them closer together.
“It was nice to spend so much time
together and to have this shared experience.
We loved every milestone throughout the
process. When the tile was complete, the
cabinets shortly followed. So every step was
like a little reward.”
This home renovation wasn’t the Gibsons’
first crack at working together on a large
scale construction project. Ten years earlierthe pair built a 2,800-sq.-ft. chalet near
Collingwood and did the majority of the
work themselves.
From that situation, the couple learned a
few strategies to help ensure they maintained a happy working relationship and
marriage. >>
The revamped home now has lots of room for conversation and for entertaining, including the living room (top)
and the family room off the kitchen (above).
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Cindy and Jack Gibson’s renovations added outdoor living space by extending the roof across the back of the
house. This covered area is connected to an open flagstone patio plus the gardens.
>> One strategy was to sit down and
discuss the objective of each week before
getting started.
“We are both driven to the end result so
every night we would set out goals and
timelines,” says Gibson. “That way we
both knew the amount of work that was
expected to get done. Our passion to get it
completed kept us going.”
They also learned the value of effective
time use.
“We are both extremely busy people so
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time is a premium. You have to know your
limitations and accept when you need to let
someone else do the job.”
After eight months of intensive work by
the Gibsons, the end result is a spacious
and contemporary home.
The once cramped kitchen is now double
in size and has all the amenities, from heated
marble floors to granite countertops.
The original dining room was turned into
a study and a new dining room is part of
the addition. It’s a simple yet elegant room.
It has an inset ceiling with mill work detail
setting off a chandelier. A large oak table fills
the room and double french doors provide a
lovely view of the couple’s fully landscaped
backyard filled with mature trees.
While the dining room and kitchen make
up the majority of the space in the new
addition, the couple extended the roof
across the entire back of the house and
made a spot for a covered patio next to
the section where the addition stops. It’s a
comfortable space complete with a ceiling
fan and furniture.
This outdoor living room is connected to a
large flagstone patio that stretches the width
of the yard and is surrounded by giant
limestone boulders. They also changed the
exterior of the home by taking down all the
siding and replacing it with new siding and
stone.
Inside, the couple updated the family
room off the kitchen and also turned the
living room at the front of the house into a
library. The front room had a doorway into
the original dining room, but as part of the
renovations, the couple put up a wall to
make it feel more cosy. They added built-in
shelving, a large armoire scotch bar, soft
leather furniture and lots of books.
“This was the one room in the house that
never got used,” says Gibson. “Now it has a
purpose.”
She describes the style of her home as
“casual traditional with organic elements.”
“In re-doing the home, I wanted it to look
organic and natural. I wanted it to have a
feeling of calmness.”
She did this by incorporating plenty of
wood, stone and linens into the décor.
But the changes don’t stop there. Upstairs
they renovated the bathroom to make it
more up to date and the grand finale of
the entire renovation is the couple’s master
bedroom and ensuite.
When you walk into the bedroom, there is
a sitting area on one side and an enormous
15-by-10-ft. closet on the other. The closet
is essentially its own room with chandeliers
running along the ceiling and wall-to-wall
shelving for shoes, bags, scarves and ties.
The adjoining sitting area has soft chairs
that face a recessed fireplace enclosed in a
wall made of stacked marble.
Beyond the sitting area is a step that leads
up to the bed and the ensuite bathroom.
The large bathroom is the perfect spot for
pampering. It has an oversized jacuzzi tub,
a walk-in shower with two shower heads,
a double sink counter, a chandelier, heated
marble floors and a chair and foot rest
covered in soft white goat fur.
“When designing this part of the house,
we wanted it to be more of a sanctuary,”
says Gibson. “I spend a lot of time up here
now. It’s my favourite spot in the house.”
With this renovation now behind them,
the couple are now looking foward to
updating their basement. Gibson wants it to
become an area where they can host larger
parties. The plan is to create a spacious
sitting area with a big-screen television as
well as a wine-tasting bar.
“We always loved our house, but we
love it more now. It reflects us being older
and having a better understanding of who
we are.”
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