I mentioned my name is Kim and my fiancé is George. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Pat, in spring 2015. We both play pool but on totally different levels. I like the social aspect of the game and enjoy going out to play with friends so joined a league. He loves to play, and would strongly prefer to play in complete silence for hours on end, but was persuaded by Pat to join our team for a session to get us to a championship. While we didn’t win a spot to the APA championship in Vegas, in fall 2015 George and I went to see the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series against Kansas City Royals game 5. What a series that was, with the infamous bat flip, the energy in the crowd was incredible! The rest, as they say, is history. Although #ourstory is my favourite, here I will endeavour to share with you our trials and tribulations as we take a botched renovation and build something together that we love and are proud to call home.
Neither of us are home improvement professionals. George is a Supervisor in drilling and shoring and I’m a Loss Prevention Manager in retail distribution. So what makes us think we’re qualified to do a full scale renovation? Absolutely nothing. My Dad was a Millwright and true craftsman. He could build a home from the foundation up, and the quality of his work was 2nd to none. I grew up watching him closely, and even worked for him briefly as a teenager. Over the years I’ve done several minor home decorating projects in homes I’ve lived in and have a passion for decor and crafting. George is the son of a lumberjack and he did the same in his early years while he was still in Cape Breton, but he’s even more skilled at building with wood than cutting it down. None of this qualifies us and we’re smart enough to know what we can do ourselves and when to hire a professional.
I thought I would document our journey through the renovation because the house is an interesting story. We purchased it in June 2020 recognizing that there were some definite cosmetic issues with a renovation that had been done. There’s so much more we learned as we were trying to close on the sale 2 months later that was definitely not cosmetic and we’re still peeling back layers and learning more. You’re welcome to join us through out the process.
Why #frenchcountry? I’m best described as a Heinz 57, truly Canadian, from a family that’s been here for hundreds of years, but my father’s side is mostly French. George is an east coaster, from Cape Breton, where his roots run deep. I have a strong affinity for the Mediterranean though, especially the south of France and this house seems to have a provincial soul longing to be uncovered. And so we begin.
Et ainsi nous commençons…
Chateau D’Avignon 