Low Down Articles
Houses of the Gatineau Hills
Low Down Articles
Houses of the Gatineau Hills
Article 31 of 74
This article first appeared in the "Houses of the Gatineau Hills" column in the September 26, 2012 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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Riverside reno makes inside almost as attractive as out
By Trevor Greenway
If Andree Grand-Maitre's oven handle didn't suddenly snap off like it did three years ago, she may still be living in a closed off, dated home at the bottom of Mill Road.
But the oven malfunction started a domino effect for the Wakefield homeowner and her partner Paul O'Neill, that would eventually lead them to completely transform their house into a modern country-rustic home. All they needed was a little kick-start.
"When the oven handle broke I said, 'Do I get a new one? If I get a new one, I would like to move it,'" said Grand-Maitre, refl ecting back on how moving an oven turned into a complete makeover for the house.
"It went from that to knocking down walls and taking down cupboards."
The renovation opened up the entire main fl oor up to one large room that encompasses the kitchen, dining and living room into one airy L-shaped space. And locals mostly did all of the work - everything from Jason Mayer's funky concrete countertops and Carl Steeves' recycled hardwood floors to Denis Tremblay's elegant white cupboards. They even got a couple of Tim Butler's decorative woodcarvings kicking around.
The two bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,700 square foot house, built in the mid-1950s is bright and beautiful and enjoys enviable views over the small bay that pools at the bottom of the La Peche River.
And while the inside of the two-storey family house is attractive, it's the outside that really has Grand-Maitre pinching herself every time she steps out to her screened in porch, or her "summer living room." A few more steps down to her dock where the La Peche and Gatineau Rivers meet is where life really happens.
Despite being in the heart of the village, "it's a little haven, because it has its own ecosystem." She can watch a family of ducks paddle by, a beaver swim past and deer trot along the water's edge all in one afternoon.
"It looks like a little science experiment down here in the summer."
The three-quarter acre property also features hundreds of feet of fl at green space perfect for a summer's game of croquet or bocce ball. The land also boast gardens and a large outdoor eating area that can seat more than 20 hungry barbecue-loving family members.
Grand-Maitre has owned the property since 1999 and plans to retire in her Mill Road digs.
