I would like to formally introduce you to the newest addition to our family and our 6th (holy crap) home reno, The Leslie Style Lake House!! I don’t even know where to begin, getting this house was a SAGA y’all! A saga. We first saw it when we were in our second home, and then again last May. I know…how long was this baby listed? hahah…that’s the secret, waiting till it was no longer listed!
My husband and I have a huge history of falling for homes that no one wants. It’s actually my FAVOURITE. I don’t ever want to compete for a house on the open market…that’s actually my least favourite. We’ve bought 5 of our 6 homes privately and I highly recommend it.
Ok so back to buying this lake house. When we first saw this Cape Cod, it was out of our price range and we hadn’t taken on as large of renos as we have now, so it was also out of our comfort zone.
Fast forward to this May when our housing market had just literally been lit on FIRE. I can’t even believe with my own eyes what is selling for the price that we paid for our current home! That’s when the idea to turn our current home into a vacation rental was born. I love our home so much that I couldn’t give it up. It is so special, I can’t even tell you. But I still have a vision of a kitchen in my mind that I need to create AND I have always wanted to live on the water.
I have always wanted to live on the water, but somehow it always seemed out of our price range, or that we would have to move out of the downtown area of our town to be on the water, or that we wouldn’t be able to get a home with enough frontage, because so man houses on the water are on really narrow lots and that didn’t fit with the picture of the home that I wanted.
I don’t even know how we finally found it, but this home checks all the boxes. It’s on a 150ft wide lot, right in the centre of Kingsville, and full of so much potential it’s crazy!! It is not without its challenges, like the fact that it’s been unoccupied for the majority of 17 years and needs SO MUCH love! But the curb appeal is just amazing, something that I’ve learned is really hard to improve. Curb appeal can be such an intrinsic quality that is so hard to put your finger on- why one house has it and another doesn’t and which elements will endure the test of time. That’s why I love really old homes, they are just so classically beautiful. This house was built in 1922.
So, I pitched this whole elaborate idea to my husband. We would make our home a vacation rental and buy the Cape Cod on the lake for us and god-willing own two really special heritage homes in the most special town on this earth. I’m really lucky that the house was taken off the market, and after talking about this idea for 9 months, and endless negotiations with the seller, we made it happen!!!
I can’t even believe how lucky we are. I love my town so much that I can’t even tell you, and now I have the chance to operate a vacation rental out of it….so very fortunate for all that Kingsville has brought our way!!
EEEEEK, now we just have to rally up the courage and drive to put all the work in to run the Vacation Rental and renovate the new place. It is a lot of work, but I have this vision of it all working and that is what is keeping me going through navigating the logistics of both. Imagine one day when we’re retired, we’ll have the rental and even the opportunity to give it to our daughters. OK. I know that is a long way away and honestly, we’ve got to try it first and see what happens. That is all you can do, right? Go after your dreams and hope for the best. We keep asking ourselves, what is the worst thing that could happen? We put one house on the market and sell it. Ok, now let’s put that thought out of our heads and focus on how rocking the vacation rental will be and how to nail this reno, and move forward anchored to hope and F doubts!
Lake House Renovations
So we just started demoing the interior of the lake house and hired an architect to do a drawing for us, so that we can open up the GALLEY Kitchen into the living room and combine both spaces to make one gigantic dreamy kitchen. I can’t wait to introduce you to our architect and explain the process with the engineer and the town. Not to mention our plans for the RENO!
Next, I’ll show you around inside!! It’s so ummm in need of a reno! A.K.A. it has so much potential! A.K.A. there are a ton of wonky problems hahah!
Views for Days
Lastly, a view of the back of the house and a few more views from the backyard! You can the Kingsville docks so clearly and the Jiiman, which is the name of the ferry that you take to Pelee Island. We can see Pelee Island from our house too! Sidebar, Margaret Atwood has a place on Pelee Island- like the Margaret Atwood author of Handmaids Tale….how insane is that?!
Ok, so next post will have an interior tour of #thelesliestylelakehouse, and some demo shots!!! Exciting!
If you would like to see more home tours, in the menu above click home tours and you can see each home!
Holy smokes, it’s amazing, L!!!
Julie!! Thank you…wait till you see the inside… it’s a little less amazing…like hence why we were able to buy it!! lol! It’s all about the potential thought right!!!
This is so exciting!!! I’ve been missing your posts on social media but super happy that you were likely busy with your new design firm. I can’t wait to see this all unfold!!! I’m crossing my fingers it will all turn out just how you hoped .
Hi Stefanie!! I’m sorry I haven’t been posting as much. I am gearing up now to have posts for a long time with everything we need to do to this place! Thank you so much for sticking with me for another project! I’m crossing my fingers too! Thank you for the positive vibes!!
Omg…so beautiful and such an amazing spot! So excited to see what you do with this house!
Thank you so much! We’re feeling so lucky to have this spot, it was my husband’s favourite street growing up, so it’s so special to be able to live on it! I can’t wait to show you what we come up with!!!
Oh wow! So fabulous….I can’t wait to see how you design this beautiful home. I’m hoping you decorate it in a coastal style with lots of blue 😉 I’m sure it’s going to be out of this world gorgeous like all your other homes. Congrats!
Oh wow! What a dream house…..Congrats! I would love it if you design it in a coastal theme with lots of blue but I’m sure going to be fabulous whichever direction you take. The world is your oyster 😉 Exciting!
This home is amazing! I’m in love and I haven’t seen the inside. And this water view + rocking bench belongs in a book or movie scene. I truly am dying to see more!
Leslie, this house is a sleeping beauty just waiting for you and Matt to awaken her. I cannot wait to see the transformation! You are living your dream!
I’m excited for you! I would love to have a home on the ocean but they are sooo expensive! I’ll be following along as you turn this house into a beautiful home.
I can’t even believe you are making us wait!!!!!!!