Escaping To The Escarpment
Story Tiffany Mayer | Photography Kelly Horkoff
Marlene Ouwendyk was well aware of her husband Bill’s loyalty to St. Catharines’ north end when she broached the subject of moving to Fonthill.
The couple had lived in the same home near Lakeshore Road and Vine Street for 24 years, so a move wasn’t top of mind for Bill, who conceded that if his wife could find a lot where he could build a house with a three-car garage, he’d consider it.
Some people might have seen that request as a tough one to fulfill. But as a realtor for McGarr Realty Corp., Marlene was undaunted. She had been showing homes in Fonthill and was quickly learning the lay of the land.
One “beautiful, sunny January day” in 2017, she phoned Bill from an empty swath to tell him she found his lot. There was another contender, too, but in the end, a parcel set above Haist Street won them both over and convinced Bill to leave the Garden City for life atop the Niagara Escarpment.
“What drew us to this one is the fact we’re never going to have neighbours,” Marlene says, pointing to a serene backyard shrouded in mature trees. “When it’s nice out, we’re outside. We use the covered porch all the time. We’re just real outside people.”
Inside, the couple created the biggest house they’ve ever lived in, a deliberate choice to ensure space for their two sons and their families, which include eight grandchildren. “If we had four grandkids, we still might be (in St. Catharines) but it was just so tight. There’s 14 of us and it was eight babies in eight years.”
Before breaking ground, they needed plans, which they hammered out together, including Bill’s requisite three-car garage and tapping into Marlene’s previous work in interior design. Home designer Hank Nauta of Nauta Home Designs fine-tuned their efforts, and also ensured nothing infringed on local bylaws or zoning rules. “Having been in interior design, I really understand square footage,” Marlene says. “Bill gave me the designs of his heart and I gave him the designs of mine. We spent hours drawing it out, erasing, shifting this, moving that.”
They built their 2,390 sq. ft. home themselves over the next 11 months, sub-contracting the work. Marlene decorated the home, including a cosy den, painted in Vintage Pewter by Benjamin Moore from Lakeport Paint and Wallpaper, with gorgeous natural light spilling from a large Lepage window dressed with window covering from The Drapery Workroom. The den is where Marlene often retreats to catch up with her girlfriends, or reads on quieter days. “It’s prettier than the rest of the place,” she notes.
The foyer leads into an open-concept great room with a pitched ceiling that’s given a rustic, European countryside flair with wood beams by Next Step Niagara and forged metal City Lightz chandeliers installed by Verhoef Electric. The space, painted in Thunder, a dramatic Benjamin Moore colour that changes with the light of the day, also flows into the kitchen and dining areas. The couple left lots of room for everyone to move about on wide-plank hardwood from Peninsula Flooring.
“We wanted space to eat together and be together. We wanted them to have space to move around, and we wanted a house that people would feel comfortable in, and not walk in and feel this was pretentious, ” Marlene explained.
As someone who loves to cook, Marlene paid close attention to the details in the kitchen. The cabinets by Fijn Woodworking feature spacious drawers to access her pots and pans, and pop-out spice and oil racks. An oversize island capped in quartz from Kirkpatrick Stoneworks gives her room to work when making meals. A large pantry with open shelving, closed off from view by a sliding barn door from Niagara Pre-Hung Doors, keeps staples and small appliances organized and within reach. The crowning touch is a separate bar and barista area to make specialty coffee or seek a favourite vintage from the wine fridge.
“When I have a girlfriend who hasn’t been here before, I think seeing the walk-in closet (in the master) and the walk-in pantry are ‘Oh my gosh’ moments.”
As for that swoon-worthy walk-in closet, it’s cleverly tucked off a small hallway leading from the bright, airy master bedroom to an opulent en suite with walls covered in Benjamin Moore’s soft grey Collingwood. The bathroom’s spacious quartz counters, stand-alone tub and large shower with rain head are the kind of standards common in a high-end hotel, which is what Marlene wanted to channel.
But it’s the covered deck overlooking the peaceful backyard that’s the couple’s “favourite square footage.” It’s protected, so as the weather turns cooler, they remain comfortable, listening to the birds and catching glimpses of wildlife passing through their yard designed by Landscapes by Bill Nieuwenhuysen.
In that three-car garage, with its wide doors and high ceilings, Bill has plans for a workshop alongside his boat storage and space for a car.
Every corner of the house is reflective of how he and Marlene live, yet it was designed with as much pragmatism about the future. “It’s important to follow the desires of your heart but it’s also important to think if we sell it 10 or 15 years down the road, that your choices appeal to others and make your home more marketable,” Marlene says.
Really, though, they’re just enjoying the present in Fonthill.
“It’s the peace, the tranquility,” says Marlene. “By the time I come home from St. Catharines, I’m totally unwound. I love Fonthill.” OH
