Thirty-five years ago, Susan Down noticed an intriguing advertisement for a summer cottage at Cowichan.
She mentioned it to her husband, Bob, and his first thought was, “I’m not moving,” but he decided to check it out. The rest is, as they say, renovation history.
“As soon as I walked down the drive and saw the view, my mind turned around 180 degrees,” said Bob. “The whole feeling of the land and the estuary was amazing. It was gorgeous. I couldn’t bear not to live there.”
The charming little cottage had been built in 1934 and needed lots of work, but that didn’t deter these seasoned and stylish renovators, neither of whom could resist a location offering pastel expanses and glorious waterscapes that looked as if they’d been painted by old masters.
“Half the time, I feel as if I am living in a bird blind, and upstairs it feels like we’re in a treehouse,” said Susan, who always has binoculars at hand to observe the ever-changing feathered and aquatic life.
Both owners are long-time boating enthusiasts, so it’s hardly surprising they chose to create not only a handcrafted home but one with a dash of nautical flavour, thanks to gleaming woodwork, vintage ship’s lights, oar handrails on every staircase and maritime touches such as the fishing floats in a bowl on the dining table.
“When we first bought the cottage, we didn’t know whether to tear it down and rebuild or renovate,” said Bob.
Eventually, they decided to lift the whole building and add another storey.
The 600-square-foot cottage that used to sit on loose rocks now rests on a new foundation and main level below.
After they jacked it up, they poured new footings and foundations, then walls were constructed above and the upper floor was carefully lowered onto it.
Over the years, Bob has replaced almost everything about the old cabin. “The only original thing left upstairs is the fir flooring and the two-by-four studs,” he said. “We stripped everything out — wire, insulation, plumbing, interior walls — and redesigned on the fly. It’s a very organic house.”
The renovation more than doubled the home’s size, as they also added a new kitchen and front entry with the help of carpenter Robert Flach, bringing the total square footage to 1,850.
When the new kitchen was built, Bob expanded an existing bathroom above it, cutting and laying all the marble floors and walls himself. He extended the guest room, too, adding a romantic-looking sleeping porch.
“When we started, we had no money and a lot to learn,” he said, but over the years, his skills and knowledge grew, along with the renovations and additions.
After the first facelift, the Downs moved back to Victoria in 1988 and lived there for more than 20 years while renting out their up-Island home.
At that time, Susan was boating columnist at the Times Colonist. She then covered arts, culture and homes before heading to Toronto, where she continued in the newspaper biz for four more years. Still in communications, she looks back on her feature-writing days and notes that penning stories about other people’s renovations is very different from going through them yourself.
“It feels as if it goes on and on,” she said with a chuckle. “I used to love doing before-and-after stories, seeing how people applied their creativity to a box.” Now she understands first hand how it feels.
“After a project like this, you appreciate the trials and tribulations others go through, all the decisions and negotiations about every last detail. Bob and I had some heated discussions, but usually came to better decisions together.
“For instance, when we couldn’t agree on spindles for the banister, we just sat down and thought maybe we should do something different, especially as a staircase is such a focal point.”
Having long admired the work of metal artist Mike Mintern, she suggested having him create a unique railing with undulating blades of kelp.
Meanwhile, Bob built coffered ceilings in the living and dining rooms, laid tile in the living room and put eucalyptus floors in the kitchen and dining room.
“That wood is as hard as the hobs of hell and I had to pre-drill every nail hole, but it worked well during the rental years,” said Bob, who has a law degree but would rather be in the hull of an old ship or attic of a heritage home than a courtroom.
He got into commercial fishing years ago, then wooden boat building, and in 1984 worked as chief shipwright for half the construction of the Spirit of Chemainus. He has been a marine surveyor for the last 28 years.
“I’m two-thirds retired, but still enjoy working and seeing cool boats,” said Bob, who recently surveyed a large yacht in the eastern U.S.
The eucalyptus wood he used in the kitchen was left over from one of his boat-building projects and the planks were originally two-by-10 inches wide and 16 feet long. “I ripped them all on my table saw, down to a quarter-inch-by-two inches. Laid the floor and then got a big sander….”
Choosing interior colours involved some trial and error, said Susan.
“We made a few mistakes along the way. At first, I tried the colours we use in eastern Canada, but the waterfront light here is very different. One colour that was absolutely wrong was beige, which would be fine for wintery Quebec.
“My favourite colour ended up being a kind of putty, which is fabulous on the wall, although hideous in a paint chip.”
The areas of the house she’s happiest with are those that are part of their daily ritual.
She loves the open-concept kitchen — “I don’t feel cut off … I can cook and chat and watch birds all at the same time” — and having a great bathroom is really important.
“Because you see it every day. I really appreciate all the work Bob put into our new bathroom.
“I also marvel at the foresightedness of our putting stained-glass windows in the entry early on. It was not a must-have, but a very nice-to-have.”
The Downs have lived in the house for four years now, and are still awed by the views.
“The thrill is always there,” said Bob. “We see all the different ducks, turkey vultures, eagles, mink, otter, all kinds of wildlife. It’s a wonderful feeling when the wind is blowing and the water is sparkling …. and it seems hardly to have changed since 1980, while so much else on this Island has exploded, and it is so relaxing.
“Years ago, when I was in Victoria, hitting it really hard, working 75 hours a week, rebuilding two boats and three heritage houses, I still had to come up here and do maintenance.
“I would drive up to the house, walk across the lawn and after sitting on the deck for a couple of minutes, all the tension would drain out of me.”
