Nestled into Hamilton’s historic Durand neighbourhood, Mapleside House was not functioning the best it could for its busy family of five. In 2017, mcCallumSather’s Liz Gabaldo completed 3,500 SF of interior renovations to the home, refreshing the kitchen, removing the service staircase, renovating two of the bathrooms, and transforming the master bedroom, dressing room, and ensuite. The home is now perfectly suited to the couple’s three teenage sons, and two dogs while leaving them plenty of space for their own personal retreat.

Many of the older houses in the Durand area have small kitchens, larger front rooms, and service staircases. The service staircase itself, laying bare in the middle of the house, posed the biggest challenge to the home’s layout, and not conducive to the family’s lifestyle. The larger family room had the most light and space, therefore Liz devised a solution that expanded the kitchen, removing the service staircase and chimney in order to open up the existing kitchen into the family room. Once space was opened, Liz used the original kitchen as a television/sitting area for the family, a cozy addition to the existing ample living room on the Southside.

“This family room and the kitchen are where we cluster,” says Dave. He explains having lived in the home for almost 10 years before the renovations really punctuate just what a difference this transformation made. Now, this is the hub of the home, where guests and family gather.

On the second floor, the client requested a dressing room and ensuite off the master bedroom. With the removal of the service stair and chimney, Liz carved out room for a large ensuite with a walkthrough to a one-of-a-kind dressing room, fit with custom closets. The interior renovations made use of a beautiful refurbished pocked door to provide privacy, adding even more charm to this custom closet space.

“Having teenage boys, there is no question having our own ensuite was a game-changer,” says Laura. “And the dressing room is just spectacular.”

Laundry facilities and an additional bathroom were added to the second floor, giving the couple’s children their own bathrooms and the couple even more privacy.

“I truly love this house. When I walked in 11 years ago, I knew it was our house. The renovation really allowed us to put our own stamp and style on the home. We found these great pieces, like our kitchen countertop, that we just loved, and worked around it. Now, the house is a real reflection of who we are,” says Laura.