Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A fresh start

Happy New Year!

I'm happy to say that 2013 ended with a welcome flurry of activity at 920 Cedar Brook Road. After three long years on the market, the house was finally sold in October. And almost immediately, the experienced renovation and investment team who bought this wonderful 100-year-old mansion launched into a series of much-needed updates and repairs.

Outside, there's already a new roof and a fresh coat of white paint. The shutters have been properly rehung. The pool was drained, cleaned, and updated with an elegant new brick edging. Inside, the melancholy dark wallpaper in the living room and foyer has been (mercifully) stripped away. Ceilings have been scraped, spackled and painted. The gaping hole in the second floor bedroom where the previous owners installed a home theatre (why??) has been completely and seamlessly repaired. Even better, the original mirrored closet door that had gone missing from that wall was found and replaced.

Naturally, the work is still continuing, but the house has already begun to shine. And when the restoration is complete, the team will put the house back on the market. I think 2014 will be a very good year for 920 Cedar Brook Road!

Here are a few pictures from the early stages of the renovation. I will post more as I get them.

The living room makeover is underway. No more black floral wallpaper!
There was a huge hole in this wall that is now fully repaired. The original closet door has also been re-installed.
The pool early in the restoration process, with new brick coping installed in place of the original concrete.




Below the beautiful new roof, the exterior has been repainted in its original classic white!