STORYBOOK STYLE
STORY MADDIE JOHNSON
PHOTOGRAPHY SANDY MACKAY
Step into Steve and Sarah Wall’s Ravenna home and you’re immediately transported through time.
Steve is the owner of Steve’s Masonry, a team of master stonemasons known for their custom and intricate work. His home is no exception. The interior walls of the newly built house are covered in natural stone from floor to ceiling, giving the home an old English feel straight out of the 16th century.
To Steve, stonework is art and his clients’ homes are his canvas. Recently, he was able to turn his own house into a masterpiece. Steve and Sarah purchased the nine-acre property six years ago and built their house, together with son Tristin, from the ground up.
“This is something I always wanted to do but never got the chance until we bought this property,” says Steve.
Unobtrusive from the outside, the blue, barn-like building sits at the end of a long driveway hidden by trees. “Right from day one, the long meandering driveway was the source of many aspects of our inspiration,” says Steve. “We felt it told a story.”
Stone has long been a popular element in home design, valued throughout history for its durability and visual appeal. Widely used for exteriors, Steve loves clients who want to turn back time and use stone throughout the inside as well.
Much of Steve’s inspiration comes from the Cotswold region in England, where Cotswold houses are known for their simple use of stone inside and out, which, when done properly, creates a cosy atmosphere.
“Over the years I have suggested using stone on the interior of many of our projects,” he says. “However, I was often met with feedback that it would create a cold atmosphere, but nothing could be further from the truth.”
The stone inside Steve and Sarah’s home makes it warm and inviting.
“I hope I am having an influence on the mentality that stone isn’t for inside as I welcome many architects, designers and clients through our home,” says Steve.
Light radiates through the 1,000 sq. ft. great room that includes the kitchen, living and dining rooms. The warmth emanating from the large 42-inch masonry Rumford fireplace centring the front wall is a metaphor for the atmosphere Steve, Sarah and their son set out to create.
Every aspect of the interior has been hand-built or sourced from local suppliers, including the pantry, which Sarah and her father built with ash from the trees on the farm her father grew up on. The kitchen showcases a 1,500-pound stone island sourced from Owen Sound Ledgerock, open upper shelves and a 10-foot dining table made of wood Steve rescued at a job site. Old timber from the existing hunting cabin on the property was also salvaged and used as lintels over the windows and painters’ drop cloths have been crafted into curtains.
“To me, this is the best way to live – surrounded by natural elements,” says Steve.
Natural elements continue upstairs where scorched-wood doorways and stone accent walls give the three bedroom, three-and-a- half bath home a cosy, homestead feel.
The other half of the building is a combination of workshop, gym and man-cave living space, with more stonework and reclaimed wood throughout.
“The thought that kept recurring all the way through was that we didn’t want anything treated – just raw materials, with nothing on it,” says Steve.
Outside, the drystone walls crafted by Steve and Tristin were built from stone found in the fence rows left by farmers decades ago. Steve also utilized stone found on the property on the walls inside.
“When people come in, they often don’t notice things like the light fixtures or furniture right away, which is a nice compliment because this style of house does not need to be dressed up with extras,” says Steve. “It’s the house itself and the emotions this space evokes that draw people in. When people visit they immediately feel at ease, they feel like they have come home “
Sarah agrees. “That’s what everybody seems to comment on, that it feels like home, like somewhere they have been long ago.”
For anyone who is after an old-world style of home, Steve says he would consider taking on the entire build. “The key to achieving the truly authentic period-piece home is taking it all the way when it comes to the design,” he says. “Too often I have seen this style fail because it didn’t get carried through to the end.”
Steve says he’s seen a shift in interest in South Georgian Bay as more people are charmed and enchanted by the beauty of the homes from centuries gone by and he’s happy to start building these homes for clients.
“Our design plan was to allow the natural beauty of the various elements to speak for themselves,” he says. “It all has a story.“
Sarah loves her perfectly imperfect home. “We wanted a look that could accommodate knicks and bruises,” she says. “It’s a less stressful way to live.”
