Sunday Snaps: Ten Years in This Old House

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

Last week on December 7th, Paul and I celebrated our tenth anniversary of living here on Perry’s Point in Newtown. We had left the city behind in 2010 for the rural life and a new adventure.

Our house, which was newly built for Paul’s grandfather Perry in 1923, was in dire need of restoration and renovation before we could move in. The work that went into these first stages is clearly illustrated in these photos.

The beginning: gutting out the old
This one and the one below show the rot. We’d started not a moment too soon. 
Yikes!
We chose to keep the original staircase and the three stained-glass windows.
Stripping down the old kitchen for new counters and cabinets.
On the left, a view of the living room through the wall where the old chimney had been removed. On the right is a view of the front hall from the dining room.
The old porch was dismantled to make way for a new one and a half-bath. Goodbye, old appliances!
Construction begins on the new porch and half-bath extension. Pictured: cousin and neighbour Wayne, one of our carpenters.
Wayne and Paul hard at work. Fun fact: Paul lost 25 pounds that summer and fall. That happens when you’re constantly working and running to the lumber yard and hardware store for new materials. He’s kept the weight off ever since.
“A little help from my friends.” Pictured: Paul, neighbour Ben (may he rest in peace ♥), Randy (our other carpenter), and my husband’s Uncle Harold.
Many hands make light work!
Three brothers (Paul’s cousins): Randy, Wayne, and along comes Winston to inspect. 😉
Getting a shot of the first new windows. Reflection of yours truly with the Atlantic ocean behind me.
The roofers came next.
Layer on top of layer…
Insulation, clapboard, and paint. Colour name: Dipped in Sugar. We’ve painted the house blue since then.
Getting there!
Back view. Looks bare before the deck was added. New backdoor window broke and had to be replaced.
Tons more to do, but getting hooked up to the internet can’t wait another minute. 

In 2023, this old house will be one hundred years old, which coincides with our 25th wedding anniversary. Sounds like a great excuse for a party!

38 thoughts on “Sunday Snaps: Ten Years in This Old House”

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  7. Wow – that was a huge job! It’s so wonderful that you had the means and energy to bring the house into modern times. My house is only 2 years younger than yours. Previous owners updated it in the 1980s and I’ve been tackling the first floor over the past few years. We are working on the kitchen right now — that will be the last update to the first floor, then it’s onto the second!

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  8. What a brilliant post that takes us back 100 years. I am envisioning when the house came into being and thinking about all the great stories that are held safe within the walls. Happy 10 years and 25 years!!!

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  10. Jennifer, how wonderful that you could keep the family home and do such an amazing renovation. An incredible amount of hard work and I’m impressed with all you achieved. It’s lovely that you could keep the staircase and window, very special. I wish you many more happy years of joy and contentment in your cosy, gale-proof house. btw. your post has reassured me a lot as we are due to undertake a project of a new garden office for myself. Much smaller on scale but still a bit daunting, your achievements here have put my mind at rest. Now we just need to get the electrics sorted! Who knew they would be this tricky! xx

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Annika. I hope we do get to enjoy many more years here. Those stained-glass windows and all the wallpaper (and perhaps more) were shipped over from your country way back in the day.
      A garden office! That sounds like a delightful project. I hope all goes well and you keep us updated about it. It’s nice to have something like that to look forward to, isn’t it? 💕

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    1. From Paradise, a suburb of St. John’s NL, but it’s really like one big city. I think much of the success was due to Paul’s vision of how he wanted it to be. It’s part of what he does for a living, renovating or updating existing homes. Thanks so much, Darlene!

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