After After

the original door bell. Strangely enough, the windows and doors were in excellent condition, too.

A Keeper

“Most homes in Caswell Hill of similar style and age haven’t been structurally so well taken care of.”

The house was 1800 square feet, and an addition was made in the early 1980s. As they dug in, they discovered a solid build with bones in perfect condition. They loved it so much they had to call it home for themselves.

“We are both extremely passionate about history and architecture, so we knew we wanted an older home with a lot of history.This can be tricky in Saskatoon; it’s a harsh climate. So many of the homes we looked at were in knock-down condition with dirt basements, slanted… I was going to say floors, but, well, everything slanted. This one was different.”

Getting Down to Work

“We were so excited to see that the previous owner had not painted the doors and trim,” says Candyce. Often new homeowners either live with the fact original wood was painted, or they tackle the mind-numbing task of scraping layers of paint.

“We did refinish all the woodwork. There was a significant amount of smoke residue. We stripped and restained absolutely everything. The walls are all plaster and painted with an oil-base paint. So we had to wash, remove and re-paint using the same product. If we used a latex-based paint, it wouldn’t stick or it would bubble and create problems down the road.”

Candyce recalls the suspense and excitement as they removed all the carpet and discovered original hardwood flooring. The carpet had done an excellent job to protect it.

“It was all in mint condition. This is also very rare,” she says. “It’s funny how excited you can get over old flooring!”

The renovation took roughly six months, and Candyce says the most extensive and challenging aspect was working with existing openings.

“We like to maintain the original character as much as possible.The kitchen had three windows and four doors. It took so much creativity to design a kitchen that would work with traffic flow, the ideal cooking triangle and our wish list. It was tight, but we made it happen!”

Rosy Retrospection

One thing definitely not included in that original character was the colour pink.

“So much pink!” Candyce laughs. “I’m not kidding. Everything!” Candyce laughs. “She—I started calling the house a she. When I say pink, I mean pink walls, head to toe pink carpet, layers and layers of old pink wallpaper.”

Glad to see the last of that hue, Candyce chose lighter paint colours like Chantilly Lace throughout to create an illusion of more space. And to give the house back a little dignity.

“Paint can be so, so tricky in these character homes,” she cautions. “The lighting is older, the red wood tones and yellow wood floors can be difficult to work with. A bright white was ideal against the woods, since the paint actually seems warmer that it actually is. For bedrooms, we went with neutral colours and a funky wallpaper.”

Down Through Generations

The Saskatoon Henderson Directory lists “a new home” built at this location in 1928 with City tax records referring to the

“effective ag e,” meaning substantial renovations were done in 1933. In 1929, the homeowner, Robert Seddon, managed the Canadian Government Elevator on 11th Street West. He and wife Clara had two children, Thomas and Ena.The Seddons had lived in Saskatoon from 1915. Presumably, they were not responsible for the pink decor.

Thomas went on to medical school. He posed for a commemorative photo with fellow students of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1938. It appears Tom and his wife Marion took over the home after the parents died. Tom passed away suddenly in 1996 and Marion, a 1942 St. Paul’s Nursing School alumna, died in 2006. The home was vacant when Candyce and Scott bought it.

“We believe the house stayed in the Seddon family for three generations,” says Candyce.

Structural Constraints

Sometimes blowing out walls and gaining square footage isn’t an option, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t seriously upgrade the finishes and improve the overall use of space,” Candyce says. The couple wanted to maintain the original layout, believing that to be part of its charm.

“We stayed true to the original details, refinishing hardwood floors, fir casing and doors. We wanted to keep as much of the character we could,” she says. “We wanted to stay true to the original design of the late 1920s and early 1930s.” It was customary then to design homes with smaller separate spaces. “People had less clothing, less ‘stuff.’”

Candyce grounded the interior design in that look and added “a few modern twists.”

They fully upgraded the main floor kitchen with custom grey cabinetry and granite countertops, added some “killer bright white subway tile and new lighting,” says Candyce. “We scraped layers of wallpaper and it was fascinating to peel away the years.”

One new element in keeping with that aesthetic is Candyce’s favourite feature. The new custom coffered ceiling in the dining room is striking, but seems in keeping with the house’s character.

“The dining room needed a key feature,” says Candyce. “This led us to create the coffered ceiling. It took some major convincing, since our drywaller is a family friend. I am happy to say that a good ol’ case of beer still goes a long way!” The result, she adds, is stunning. it’s the best burglar system in town. But there’s absolutely nothing better than snowy nights spent in front of the old wood burning fireplace, probably just like the Seddons did back in the 1930s.Today, the home has a wonderful blend of old charm and contemporary. We miss her.”

Though the couple had planned to stay in the house, but in 2022, with growing children Beau and Nova, cats Kitty and Lady, they made the difficult decision to sell. They bought another property just outside the city.

When The Walls Talk

Candyce and Scott came across numerous little treasures buried by time behind casings and under floorboards: Co-op Dairy glass milk bottles, old flyers and coupons dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, tickets to the Manhattan ballroom (nibbled at the edges by mice) and so many skeleton keys! Behind a piece of trim, Scott found a 1932 coin, perhaps hidden there by one of the Seddon children. As they excavated a garden, they found the perimeter of an old foundation. Digging further, they wondered if a cookhouse or summer kitchen may have stood there as they unearthed old dishware and cooking utensils.