They say that home is where the heart is. While that is undeniably true, this statement can be just as meaningful when we turn it the other way around: home is also where we put our hearts. While no one or anything can take our memories away from us, there is comfort in holding onto the physical mementos of our past. Look around your home now; it is likely filled with markers of your family’s life. A house might just be a physical object, yet it quickly becomes a tapestry, woven together by the reminders that you and your loved ones have lived. All of which makes it so much harder to let go, even when we know that there will always be a day when we will have to do just that.
Cheryl and her brother Mike inherited their childhood home, (built by her parents) in 2011. This was a home that had been built with love, by the people which Cheryl loved. The hope for the future that her parents infused into those floors and walls still lingered within, as concrete as the memories of that very life that was lived, all of which mingled together when Cheryl walked through the halls.
Even being aware that those memories will always be with her, that home will always be in her heart, at that time Cheryl wasn’t ready to part with the house. So, for the next nine years they rented it out. It wasn’t until a year or two ago that she even started thinking that it might finally be time to let that chapter close.
Unfortunately, while it was possibly the biggest emotional hurdle, deciding to sell was only the first step in the long road ahead. While the house had been well loved and cared for over the last 40-50 years, it was still a home that was made in the 1970s – and it looked it. If they were going to sell, they needed to bring it into the 2020s.
Cheryl’s husband, Tom is a contractor and he did all of the work himself. As such, they were aware that it was not going to be a short process; however, when you are working on a house as old as this, it’s inevitable that you will encounter unexpected things to be fixed before you can move forward with what you have planned – which meant that the project took longer than they had anticipated.
Fortunately, the renovation itself went smoothly; they went into it with a general idea of the direction they wanted to take for each room, and while that developed along the way, there were no major setbacks. If you’re familiar with 70s interior design, then you will know that it favours small cozy rooms, with narrow doorways and rich colours. This made the original house feel dark, closed off and, frankly, smaller.
And so, Cheryl and Tom went through brightening and lifting it all up. Where there had previously been dark wooden “board and batten-esque” half siding in the basement, they painted it light gray and bright white to draw more light into the room. On the main floor, where there had previously been narrow doorways, and walls separating the space into individual rooms, they widened those connecting arches, allowing one’s gaze and the sunlight to fill the entire floor. This created a stronger flow, and actually gave the impression of more space than had previously been there.
All of these changes combined to create the final result of a modern, bright and spacious home that was built upon the solid foundations of a timeless classic, sure to be strong enough to hold all of the memories of a new life lived.
Cheryl was surprised at how drastically it changed the look of the house, outside and in; while it now looks almost like an entirely different home, she does not regret the changes. It was time to move forward, and she is confident that if they were here to see it, her parents would have loved the upgrades. Once she made the decision to sell, Cheryl knew that she couldn’t let her sentiments hold her back. It was the right time.
More than anything, it’s the knowledge that a chapter of her life is closing that makes the experience truly bittersweet. Even in its new form the house is still hers; it’s on the last day, that the finality of it will hit the hardest. Still, it’s a comfort to know that while her chapter is closing, someone else’s is just starting. It is her hope that the new owners fill the space with their own memories of warmth and love – and when the time comes for them to move on, they can leave with a heart as filled with warmth as her own.
WRITTEN BY: JILLIAN KENT | PHOTOGRAPHY of RENOVATED HOME: GORD HANDLEY, VIEWPOINT IMAGING | 416-708-5567 | RESOURCES: CHERYL & TOM BOGNAR
