Canandaigua couple buys Victorian dream home
Stacey Freed
Living – December 4, 2010 - 5:00amProvided by Sonnenberg GardensThe Simmons home at 78 Gibson St.Growing up in Canandaigua, Willie Simmons was always a bit in love with the big Victorians downtown. And he coveted one in particular, on Gibson Street.
As an adult, he says, “I went to every open house in town. And I ‘stalked’ this house.” But when his dream house finally came up for sale, it sold quickly, before Simmons got a chance at it. “I was so sad,” he says. But he wasn’t defeated.
He told his story to every real estate agent in town. “And they called me when it came on the market again,” he says.
His wife, Sandi, also grew up in Canandaigua — and also loved the old Victorian homes.
Christmas is their favorite time of year, so it’s no surprise they volunteered to decorate and be a part of today’s Sonnenberg Gardens Holiday Home Tour.
They already have a head start because they don’t limit the fun to Christmastime. Simmons, who is a senior vice president of finance at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, says that in summer he’ll sometimes go out to the swimming pool and hit a remote switch to light up a Santa that stands sentry in an attic window overlooking the yard. “Then we’ll play Christmas carols while we’re swimming.”
From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, the family has the house decorated and lit up enough to catch the eye of visitors from all around. Each room has at least one tree, decorated with cues taken from the room’s design. Both of their children, Shawn, 13, and Carly, 16, have a themed tree in their bedroom.
It’s not just the trees that make the season special, but the house itself. Built in 1901, the 3,300-square-foot home with its 65-foot wrap-around porch had only two owners before the Simmonses arrived. Rumor has it, says Sandi, that “Katherine Hepburn spent her summers at the house next door.” It was in relatively good shape but needed a lot of updating. It was important, says Simmons, to “keep the integrity of the home.”
After three years of living there, they renovated a few cosmetic things like wallpaper and light fixtures, but did a total rehab on bathrooms, the master bedroom, and the kitchen and dining areas. During the yearlong renovation, the family moved out for five months and lived at Holiday Harbor. While there, two days before Christmas, Simmons’ close friend died of cancer. Before his friend passed away, Simmons promised him they would always decorate their home for the holidays in his honor.
They hired interior designer Heather DeMoras to modernize the home yet keep its Victorian charm. DeMoras took cues from the house’s original elements, like the purple, yellow, pink and green in the stained-glass windows lining the front hall stairway.
In the front parlor and living rooms, a crew of five spent two months stripping years of paint from the gumwood and oak moldings, fireplace and pocket doors.
The bulk of the renovating was in the kitchen, which now boasts a granite breakfast bar, butcher block countertop, farmhouse sink, new “antique” tiled backsplash and cherry cupboards, designed and built by local craftsman Jim Plukas. A small refrigerator, wine cooler and dishwasher are all concealed behind cupboards. The large refrigerator is located in the pantry. Furnishings are modern yet have an old-time charm and comfort to them. Oil paintings by local artist Christopher Wheat hang on the walls.
This was the first renovation project the couple had ever done — and quite possibly their last.
“Someone told me in the middle of the project that the only time you’re ready to do a project this big is when you’re done,” Simmons says. But the Simmonses, who refer to themselves as “Canandaigua lifers,” don’t believe they’ll ever move from this home. And why should they? They’ve got everything set just so: the house lit up, a warm spot by the fire. Every room is cozy and inviting. It will be perfect for a cold winter night waiting for the big guy in the red suit to arrive.
Freed is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
Home tour
The Simmons house will be one of eight Victorian homes in the Sonnenberg Gardens Holiday Home Tour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Tickets are $25 and available at Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion, 151 Charlotte St., Canandaigua; the mansion will be open from 1 to 3 p.m. For more, call (585) 394-4922 or go to www.sonnenberg.org.
MATT WITTMEYERAn interior designer modernized the home yet kept its Victorian charm.
Posted via email from Stuff important and amusing to Rob OBrien
No comments:
Post a Comment