All The Right Moves

STORY SOPHIA LEMON
PHOTOGRAPHY SANDY MACKAY
FLORALS COLLINGWOOD FLOWERS & HOME DECOR

Ashley Kelly has been visiting Collingwood since childhood.

“My grandfather had a chalet on Chamonix Crescent,” she says, “so I’ve been fortunate to be coming here my whole
life.” Like many others, she wanted to share the area with the person she loved. “So I’ve been bringing Rob up here since we met. Before we were even married, I told him that we were going to move to Collingwood and live in a house with a wraparound porch.”

When a stranger knocked on the door of their Toronto home with an offer to buy it, the couple saw it as the perfect opportunity to take the leap.

Ashley and Rob had watched their future Collingwood home come on and off the market several times while considering the move. “We were always really intrigued because it looked like it had great bones on the outside but there were no photos of the interior,” says Ashley. “When it came back on the market after we sold our old home, we decided to finally pull the trigger and purchased the house in October 2016, sight unseen.”

At the time, Rob worked full time in the city. “We orchestrated the renovation of the house over a rather aggressive six-month period,” says Ashley. “There were a lot of trips up to do as much of the heavy lifting on weekends, and once we got the major projects out of the way, we moved in April of 2017.”

Under normal circumstances, a six-month renovation sounds ambitious. They strategically subcontracted out the big projects like replacing the roof, doors and windows. But Rob kept some of the work for himself. He laid the floors and tile, and installed cabinets, railings, trim and mouldings.

Originally built in the 1880s, the home features three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,400 square feet. Ashley designed the interior to combine their contemporary tastes with the home’s classic features, and their need for a warm family living space. The couple moved to the area with their two daughters, Addison (Addy) and Penelope (Penny), and soon after welcomed Chase, their miniature goldendoodle.

The girls’ bedrooms at the front of the house feature white walls, hardwood floors and big windows. Addy, who chose her room first says, “It just seemed nice and bright to me.” Penny, on the other hand, admits she prefers to live in a mess. Like her older sister’s, Penny’s room includes unique lighting and walls decorated with art, plus her ukulele.

Just down the hall, the master bedroom features a gallery wall of the girls’ artwork, including large paintings given to Ashley on Mother’s Day. The room also features an accent wall constructed of reclaimed boards pulled from boats disassembled in Collingwood’s shipyards in the late 1800s.

They modernized their en suite with a backlit mirror and skylight, and an electric fireplace adds a bit of warmth on snowy evenings. They also added a sliding glass door to the flat roof, which now features a large, private deck. With a view of the pine trees in the backyard, it is the perfect private getaway at home.

When it comes to entertaining, however, the kitchen is the place to be. It features ample room for guests with black cabinets, white quartz countertops and hexagon marble backsplash. Measuring in at just over five feet, Ashley was insistent she did not want upper cabinets. Instead they opted to add modern open shelving that complements the acacia engineered hardwood floors throughout. To provide additional storage, they also converted an adjacent area of the house, which was previously only accessible from outside, into a dream pantry. 

The predominant colour scheme throughout the home is black and white with pops of colour, like those found in the stunning paintings from local artist and friend Chris Roberts. While the smallest, the family room is the Kellys’ favourite. It includes
a gas fireplace and a family photo wall painted Hale Navy (Robinson’s Paint & Wallpaper) – a colour found throughout the home. Iron accents are found in every room – including the main staircase railing, built at the former Dey’s Body Shop in Collingwood, light fixtures in the family room and the climbing men sourced from At Home Interiors.

The pair wanted a year-round outdoor living space. An eight-foot sliding glass door opens to the backyard, where the couple installed a heated swim spa so the girls can swim all year. The yard also includes the girls’ playhouse, complete with running water, and the raised vegetable gardens. Finally, they painted the exterior Hale Navy and removed the railings to highlight the wraparound porch Ashley always dreamed of.

“We moved up here believing it would all work out,” says Ashley, and they were right. “We just decided that we would find a way to make it work. We’re really happy that it’s all fallen into place.”