Although they have lived in many places around the world, from Indonesia to Korea to Czechoslovakia, when it came time to retire, Lisa Rogers and husband Hazen Gauthier knew the only place they wanted to be was Victoria.
鈥淰ictoria is a beautiful city, great walking, lots of parks,鈥� says Rogers, an avid gardener who has created her own park-like setting in their spacious yard.
As for the home itself, the couple chose a character-filled, turn-of-the-century house that is listed in the City of Victoria archives.
Their 1892 Victorian home, built in the Queen Anne Revival style, was once called the Colbert Residence after its original owners. It鈥檚 described in the city archives as a significant example of Victorian-era housing in Fernwood, and is valued as a reminder of the 鈥渆astward expansion of one of Victoria鈥檚 oldest residential neighbourhoods.鈥�
Rogers, formerly an information technology project manager and Gauthier, who retired as an instrument engineer, bought the house as an investment in 1994 and rented it out before moving in three years ago, after a major renovation.
鈥淥lder houses have a warmth to them that the new style [of housing] can鈥檛 seem to replicate,鈥� says Rogers. 鈥淭hey have nooks and crannies and interesting architectural detail.鈥�
For instance, the exterior of their sunny yellow house has elaborate decorative embellishments on the wooden facade, including a sunburst motif in the gable peak, a detail the couple duplicated on the garage gable peak. The garage had to be completely rebuilt, since the original had deteriorated too much to be saved.
Other character features in the two-storey house include an inviting corner verandah and a transom ground-floor window.
While the 3,000-square-foot house might seem large for the couple, who have no children, every room is used by them and by visiting friends and family, says Rogers 鈥� from a television room on the upper floor to the main floor open-concept living room and kitchen to the elegant music room, with its dark-slate-surround fireplace. The surround was found in an architectural salvage store in 颅Calgary 鈥� another city where the couple once resided.
Another prominent piece in the music room are the doors that lead into it, which are historic Bank of Canada doors from Toronto that came with a bullet mark.
The couple found the doors while shopping at Scott Landon Antiques in 91原创, the last city they called home before moving to Victoria.
While the music room is the ideal entertainment space, it鈥檚 also where the couple spend most of their time at home when it鈥檚 just the two of them.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 tend to watch a lot of TV. We prefer to sit and listen to music, jazz at night. It鈥檚 a wonderful place to relax and have a scotch,鈥� Rogers says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 large, but it鈥檚 used and it鈥檚 loved. It鈥檚 a place to enjoy.
鈥淭here really is no useless space in the house. We鈥檝e had friends come and stay with us and say they feel the same way.鈥�
Rogers says she credits her interior designer, Maria Alvarez, from Jenny Martin Design in Victoria, for helping the couple make their historic home into an inviting, comfortable space.
鈥淪he was very instrumental with taking my ideas and making them cohesive and useful as well as bringing her own ideas. It鈥檚 no use having a place that鈥檚 just pretty 鈥� it has to be functional,鈥� says Rogers.
As an example, she says when their home, which had two suites when they purchased it, was restored as a single-family dwelling, pipes were needed in the kitchen, but it meant either the 11-foot ceiling height would have to be lowered or an unsightly square box built around the pipes.
Alvarez came up with the idea of creating coffered ceilings in the room to hide the pipes. The result is a ceiling that looks authentic to the house and hides the pipes, says Rogers.
The main renovation to the three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath house took a year and a half to complete and included raising the house to build a proper foundation.
Recently, the couple hired Jenny Martin Design to give their interior rooms a decorative refresh. Some of the new touches include a green velvet couch, two white chairs, Gustav coffee tables and a new rug in the living room. The master bedroom was also updated, but its feature wrought-iron-gate headboard was maintained.
While the house is Victorian, Rogers didn鈥檛 want to be tied to decorating the interior in the style of that time period. Instead, she opted for touches of Art Nouveau, which the designer was able to work into the home seamlessly.
The new rug, with the curves of the Art Nouveau style, blends well with one of the room鈥檚 main art pieces 鈥� an Erte female figurine created by Russian artist Romain de Tirtoff. The couple bought the flowing figurine at an estate sale in Panama, where they once lived for four months.
The Erte statue is just one of many treasures the couple has collected over the years on their travels. Rogers says Alvarez found them the perfect cabinet in the living room to display some of their favourite items.
It seems everything has a story 鈥� such as the hand-painted and handmade Herend glass ducks the couple bought while travelling through Europe in a van in their late 20s, and the Prado Museum book they picked up in Spain.
There are also sentimental items displayed throughout the home, including a jug that once belonged to Rogers鈥� grandmother and a tea set from their time in Czechoslovakia.
鈥淭he house has got its history, but it鈥檚 also got some of my 颅family鈥檚 history and Hazen鈥檚 family history,鈥� says Rogers. 鈥淭hese are really what make a home comfortable for us. It really is a family home.鈥�
