This Fixer Upper Once Had “Crooked Floors” and an “Unappealing Smell”

Adrienne Breaux
·11 min read
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White living room with black accent and large circled fabric couch opposite to a black chair.
Dwellers pose for a portrait near their staircase.
Clothes hung up in an entryway next to a stone table.
Stairway with carpet stairs with black railing.
Large framed artwork near a black carpeted staircase
View of a living room from tile floored kitchen
White living room with black accent and large circled fabric couch opposite to a black chair.
Dwellers pose for a portrait in a living room.
White living room with black accent and large circled fabric couch opposite to a black chair.
Living room and dining room area of a large home with wooden floors and black accents.
Living room with white walls black accents and glass and wooden table.
Liqiour displayed on a table.
View into the kitchen from the living room with wooden floors.
Coffee table with velvet green bench.
Coffee table with green fabric stool
Cake on a stone dining table in a white kitchen.
Kitchen with black cabinets and green backsplashes.
Kitchen with black shelves and green tile backsplash.
Coffee maker on a countertop.
Kitchen utensils against a green backsplash.
Red and white tea kit on a shelf.
White living room with black accent and large circled fabric couch opposite to a black chair.
Planted flowers next to a stripped chair
A bed with a burgundy built-in headboard and an orange decorative pillow.
A bed with a burgundy built-in head board and an orange decorative pillow.
Pink bedroom with matching sheets.
Bedroom with built-in headboard and matching side tables.
Woven bag and shirt on a hook with pink walls and framed art.
Planted flowers next to a stripped chair
Planted flowers next to a stripped chair
Desk area with blank lamp and pants next to a large window in a bedroom.
A sitting area with wooden chairs and a glass square-shaped table with candles and a gallery wall of frame art.
A sitting area with wooden chairs and a glass square-shaped table with candles and a gallery wall of frame art.
Wooden desk with black leather chair with large plant atop.
A sitting area with wooden chairs and a glass square-shaped table with candles and a gallery wall of frame art.
Wooden desk with black leather chair with large plant atop.
A bathroom with tile floors and a large glass shower.
White bathroom with a large black mirror with white countertop.
main floor and second floor plans of a remodeled Toronto house

Sasha Faiz and Andrew Ghose had been hunting for a home in Toronto for about six months. “When searching for a new home our goal was to find something close to the city and a house that had some character. We looked at the house we’re in now early on in our search, but the unappealing smell when you first walked in and the crooked floors made us walk right out and never think about the house again,” Faiz explains of this 1750-square-foot, 1920s house.

Backless chairs decorated with fruits and books

“At month five, after losing many offers and seeing homes in very rough shape, we realized quirks are what we are going to find in old Toronto homes,” Faiz admits. “From that point on we started becoming more open to a fixer upper. Coming to this realization, we decided to visit this home again.”

Wooden kitchen utensils hung on a rack below a framed piece of artwork.

“We were early to meet our realtor, so we went for a winter walk, talked to neighbors, and walked by the lake. We both said to each other, ‘Imagine living by the lake!’ The neighborhood and location won us over. Walking into the house this time around, we saw its potential and overlooked the quirks as we envisioned ourselves living in the community,” Faiz writes.

A glass and wood dining table surrounded by wooden chairs with white cushions.

Faiz says that buying an old house that hadn’t been maintained correctly led to a lot of unexpected surprises, like “the beam holding the house together was changed in the ’70s and done incorrectly,” she explains. “This led to the house sagging on the second and main floor. We had to get permits, an architect, and floor plans and correctly change the poorly installed beam to a steel beam that spanned the entire width of the house.”

Planted flowers next to a stripped chair

All the unexpected surprises meant that the “budget for the pretty stuff was small; we had put a lot of money into things you can’t see like new electrical, A/C, a structural beam, and the list goes on!” Faiz explains. “The finishes had to be on a budget so we tried to take on some of the reno ourselves, like tiling the kitchen ourselves, drywalling, and painting.”

A large plant elevated in a living room

Although the couple has made a lot of changes in the home already, Faiz says they’re not done. “I wake up wanting to do something creative each day, so this house will constantly be changing every so often!” she writes. “Although everyone wants their space to be done immediately, collecting over time and finding items that bring a smile to your face is so important in making a space feel authentically like you.”

Resources

Planted flowers next to a stripped chair

PAINT & COLORS

  • Family Room, Dining Room, Hallway, Office — Walls: Benjamin Moore “White Dove” in Eggshell Finish Trim: “White Dove” in Low Lustre Finish

  • Primary Bedroom — Farrow and Ball “Sulking Room Pink” in Estate Emulsion Finish

  • Primary Bedroom Closet Trim — Benjamin Moore “Baja Dunes” in Satin Finish

  • Primary Bedroom Headboard — Benjamin Moore “Cascabel Chile” in Satin Finish

  • Kitchen Walls and Trim — Benjamin Moore “Tapestry Beige” in Eggshell Finish

  • Kitchen Cabinets — Benjamin Moore “Wrought Iron” in Satin Finish

  • Stairs — Benjamin Moore Floor and Patio Paint “Black Jack” in Satin Finish

  • Office Bifold Doors — Minwax Gel Stain in “Black”

Clothes hung up in an entryway next to a stone table.

ENTRY

White living room with black accent and large circled fabric couch opposite to a black chair.

LIVING ROOM

A glass and wood dining table surrounded by wooden chairs with white cushions.

DINING ROOM

Brass hardware sink with a green backsplash

KITCHEN

A bed with a burgundy built-in headboard and an orange decorative pillow.

BEDROOM

Desk area with blank lamp and pants next to a large window in a bedroom.

OFFICE

Bathroom with counter with larger mirror with white backsplash.

BATHROOM

  • Hooks and Brass Holders — Anthropologie

  • Glass Shower Wall — MGC

  • Vanity — Home Depot

  • Mirror — West Mirrors 

  • Accessories — Zara Home, H&M Home, Miscellaneous Antiques

  • Tiles — Saltillo 

  • Baskets — Zara Home

Thanks, Sasha and Andrew!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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