Behold the backyard
When a creative couple bought a 30-year-old split-level home in Transcona's Lakeside Meadows 10 years ago, they knew they had taken on a project.
To put it mildly, the home was in dire need of updating.
Undeterred, they set about bringing the 1,776 sq. ft. residence up to contemporary standards.
The 1,776 sq. ft. split level has been tastefully remodelled and comes with an added bonus: an amazing backyard.
The decade-long reno journey was a labour of love, says Shona Scappaticci of Vivico Real Estate.
'They knew the home had a good design and layout, it just needed to be taken from the '80s and brought up to modern standards,' she says. 'It wasn't just a partial renovation — they had to redo the home from top to bottom.'
She notes that their first product was the ceiling in the main living area.
'The whole area — kitchen, dining room and family room — sits under a gorgeous, vaulted ceiling. However, when they bought the home, it was finished with stucco, which didn't look good, and dated the home. So, they took everything out, putting in a new ceiling. It's now a contemporary painted ceiling and looks amazing.'
That was only the start of the renos in the main living area.
'When I say it and the rest of the home was totally redone, that's what literally happened, especially in the main living area.'
Photos by Todd Lewys / Free Press
A gorgeous in-ground pool is the centrepiece of the resort-like backyard at 214 Lynn Lake Dr., Lakeside Meadows in Transcona.
As might be expected, the first project was the kitchen.
'It was totally redone with a quartz waterfall island that seats three, quartz countertops, espresso maple and Euro-style cabinets, a lovely tile backsplash and stainless vent over the range that matches the appliances,' Scappaticci says. 'Gorgeous laminate flooring was installed, and there's a pantry with tons of pull-outs and even a hidden spice rack and hidden dishwasher.'
Once the kitchen makeover was complete, the next project was the dining area.
'What can you say — it was totally transformed. A cultured stone feature wall was placed on the rear wall along with an electric fireplace — I love the light fixture they chose — and a sliding patio door was installed on the side wall to make way for a barbecuing deck in the lovely, fenced side yard.'
That left the family room to take care of, and take care of it they did.
The dining area, which is next to a sliding patio door that leads out to an elevated barbecuing deck in the side yard, is framed perfectly by an elegant cultured stone feature wall.
'So much thought went into the redesign of the home, and the family room speaks to that. It's a very simple space with a newer bay window that lets in lots of natural light, and a simple area to hang a huge TV on the wall over an entertainment unit. There's plenty of room for a sectional.'
The rest of the like-new home unfolds in logical, family-friendly fashion.
Ascend a brief set of stairs to the home's upper level and you find two spaces: a masterfully remodelled main bath that offers a tile floor, tub with matching tile surround, contemporary grey vanity and a newer low-flush toilet.
That gives way to the primary bedroom.
'Parents will love that it's in its own private area away from the other bedrooms,' says Scappaticci, noting that the home has five bedrooms in total. 'It's a very peaceful, private space that comes with an updated two-piece ensuite, large bay window and a double closet with mod sliding doors and loads of built-in storage.'
Meanwhile, the first of the home's two lower levels offers all kinds of function.
Modern and functional, the island kitchen offers quartz countertops, espresso maple and stainless Euro cabinets, a tile backsplash, newer flooring and a pantry with pullouts.
Its centre portion houses an office area with a garden door to the
resort-like backyard — more on that shortly — while a hallway to the right leads to two large bedrooms.
A three-piece bath and hidden laundry area complete the transformation, making for a fabulously functional, kid-friendly refuge.
Finally, there's the home's final (and lowest) level, which is dedicated to one thing: entertainment.
'It's a media room that would probably be claimed by the kids,' she says. 'It has a laminate plank floor with a dry core sub-floor underneath, a niche for your TV between two closets, and pot lights above. It's just a wonderful space.'
Scappaticci adds that the home's backyard is its ace-in-the-hole.
The remodelled main bath is as contemporary as they come.
'The only word to describe it is spectacular. It's a private oasis with an in-ground pool, gazebo area, lounging areas and gorgeous landscaping. It's great for family fun or for kids to have friends over for a swim,' she says. 'It puts the finishing touch on an amazing home that lives like a new home. With all the updates inside and out, all you need to do is move in and enjoy.'
lewys@mymts.net
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Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Behold the backyard
When a creative couple bought a 30-year-old split-level home in Transcona's Lakeside Meadows 10 years ago, they knew they had taken on a project. To put it mildly, the home was in dire need of updating. Undeterred, they set about bringing the 1,776 sq. ft. residence up to contemporary standards. The 1,776 sq. ft. split level has been tastefully remodelled and comes with an added bonus: an amazing backyard. The decade-long reno journey was a labour of love, says Shona Scappaticci of Vivico Real Estate. 'They knew the home had a good design and layout, it just needed to be taken from the '80s and brought up to modern standards,' she says. 'It wasn't just a partial renovation — they had to redo the home from top to bottom.' She notes that their first product was the ceiling in the main living area. 'The whole area — kitchen, dining room and family room — sits under a gorgeous, vaulted ceiling. However, when they bought the home, it was finished with stucco, which didn't look good, and dated the home. So, they took everything out, putting in a new ceiling. It's now a contemporary painted ceiling and looks amazing.' That was only the start of the renos in the main living area. 'When I say it and the rest of the home was totally redone, that's what literally happened, especially in the main living area.' Photos by Todd Lewys / Free Press A gorgeous in-ground pool is the centrepiece of the resort-like backyard at 214 Lynn Lake Dr., Lakeside Meadows in Transcona. As might be expected, the first project was the kitchen. 'It was totally redone with a quartz waterfall island that seats three, quartz countertops, espresso maple and Euro-style cabinets, a lovely tile backsplash and stainless vent over the range that matches the appliances,' Scappaticci says. 'Gorgeous laminate flooring was installed, and there's a pantry with tons of pull-outs and even a hidden spice rack and hidden dishwasher.' Once the kitchen makeover was complete, the next project was the dining area. 'What can you say — it was totally transformed. A cultured stone feature wall was placed on the rear wall along with an electric fireplace — I love the light fixture they chose — and a sliding patio door was installed on the side wall to make way for a barbecuing deck in the lovely, fenced side yard.' That left the family room to take care of, and take care of it they did. The dining area, which is next to a sliding patio door that leads out to an elevated barbecuing deck in the side yard, is framed perfectly by an elegant cultured stone feature wall. 'So much thought went into the redesign of the home, and the family room speaks to that. It's a very simple space with a newer bay window that lets in lots of natural light, and a simple area to hang a huge TV on the wall over an entertainment unit. There's plenty of room for a sectional.' The rest of the like-new home unfolds in logical, family-friendly fashion. Ascend a brief set of stairs to the home's upper level and you find two spaces: a masterfully remodelled main bath that offers a tile floor, tub with matching tile surround, contemporary grey vanity and a newer low-flush toilet. That gives way to the primary bedroom. 'Parents will love that it's in its own private area away from the other bedrooms,' says Scappaticci, noting that the home has five bedrooms in total. 'It's a very peaceful, private space that comes with an updated two-piece ensuite, large bay window and a double closet with mod sliding doors and loads of built-in storage.' Meanwhile, the first of the home's two lower levels offers all kinds of function. Modern and functional, the island kitchen offers quartz countertops, espresso maple and stainless Euro cabinets, a tile backsplash, newer flooring and a pantry with pullouts. Its centre portion houses an office area with a garden door to the resort-like backyard — more on that shortly — while a hallway to the right leads to two large bedrooms. A three-piece bath and hidden laundry area complete the transformation, making for a fabulously functional, kid-friendly refuge. Finally, there's the home's final (and lowest) level, which is dedicated to one thing: entertainment. 'It's a media room that would probably be claimed by the kids,' she says. 'It has a laminate plank floor with a dry core sub-floor underneath, a niche for your TV between two closets, and pot lights above. It's just a wonderful space.' Scappaticci adds that the home's backyard is its ace-in-the-hole. The remodelled main bath is as contemporary as they come. 'The only word to describe it is spectacular. It's a private oasis with an in-ground pool, gazebo area, lounging areas and gorgeous landscaping. It's great for family fun or for kids to have friends over for a swim,' she says. 'It puts the finishing touch on an amazing home that lives like a new home. With all the updates inside and out, all you need to do is move in and enjoy.' lewys@
Winnipeg Free Press
18 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
After nearly five decades, crosswalk traffic is about to return to Winnipeg's Portage and Main
Since immigrating to Canada two weeks ago from Romania, Andrew Vlad and Vanessa Chira have been impressed by their newly adopted home of Winnipeg. But on Wednesday afternoon, the engaged tech workers stood at one corner of the city's most famous intersection, attempting for the first time to solve the riddle of crossing Portage Avenue and Main Street. Vlad shook his head, overwhelmed in confusion: he could see from 201 Portage Ave. at the northwest corner his ultimate destination — the CIBC branch on the other side of the street — but for a building so close, it was still so far out of reach. The pair of new Winnipeggers were experiencing a rite of circuitous passage that will soon be eliminated for all downtown pedestrians. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press New Winnipeg resident Andrew Vlad and his fiancé Vanessa Chirh laugh about the confusion over how to get across the street. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press New Winnipeg resident Andrew Vlad and his fiancé Vanessa Chirh laugh about the confusion over how to get across the street. The following morning, Mayor Scott Gillingham announced pedestrians will be able to legally traverse Portage and Main in all directions at controlled, street-level crosswalks in a matter of days. For the first time in 46 years, a pedestrian won't need to play chicken to cross at the juncture of this city's most iconic roads. 'June 27,' Gillingham told CBC during his monthly radio interview. 'There will be a media event, but as I've said all along: Portage and Main, it's important to Winnipeg's history, it's important to our future, but as I've said all along, at the end of the day, it's just an intersection.' In a literal sense, the mayor is correct, but that simple intersection — below grade, on the sidewalk and in downtown boardrooms with an eagle-eyed view of the thrum below — has been the source of intense multi-generational debate, taking on an almost mythic stature at the heart of city life while defining the tenor of civic conversation. As early as 1971, Jack Willis, the chairman of Metro Winnipeg, was advocating for the closure of the intersection to pedestrians, should the city begin construction on an underground walkway. Eight years before the intersection's eventual closure, legendary Winnipeg Tribune columnist Val Werier was already sounding the alarm — or honking the horn — considering the idea of barring pedestrians as a harbinger of a car-centric city to come. 'I have no quarrel with Mr. Willis' proposal that an underground connection is required, for it is the busiest corner in Winnipeg and traffic will be more hectic with new buildings planned. In addition, pedestrians need some protection for the weather,' wrote Werier, who died in 2014 after 70 years covering the city for the Tribune and Free Press. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Portage and Main will reopen to pedestrian traffic on June 27. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Portage and Main will reopen to pedestrian traffic on June 27. 'However, I would like to make a plea that instead of banning pedestrians, we ban the cars,' he continued. 'Instead of designing a city based on the needs of the car, we should think of people. Unless some dramatic action is taken in these terms, Winnipeg will be like other large centres where the car determines the downtown character. 'If anything is to be banned, it should be the cars,' he concluded. 'After all, people are far more interesting.' The decision to shut down sidewalk traffic was preceded by a protracted debate, with the city council's executive policy committee submitting a proposal for the total ban in September 1975, nearly four years before the underground circular concourse (officially called the Portage and Main Circus) opened in February 1979. While the change was considered a concession to the growing needs of vehicular traffic, it wasn't met with unanimous support. Among the loudest — and boldest — detractors were the participants of the burgeoning disability rights movement, who argued the erection of concrete barriers and the funnelling of pedestrians into underground channels were violations of their rights to an accessible downtown. In the winter of 1979, wheelchair users and their allies breached the barricades to bring traffic to a standstill in protest. 'Portage and Main is an iconic, symbolic place,' the late disability rights advocate Jim Derksen told this reporter in 2018, when the re-opening of the intersection was considered by plebiscite on the day of the civic election. 'If we don't take measures to update it according to our new values, in a sense we are recommitting the errors of the past,' added Derksen, a multiple barricade-skirting scofflaw. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press A person makes their way down the stairs to the escalator. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press A person makes their way down the stairs to the escalator. Former mayor Brian Bowman, who supported the idea of re-establishing pedestrian traffic at Portage and Main, vowed to honour the results of the plebiscite, which ultimately ended with a two-thirds majority opposing the reopening despite a vocal 'Vote Open' movement. (Analysis showed the bulk of that majority were commuters who didn't reside in the city's core). However, a city report soon found that the cost of repairing the underground's leaky membrane could cost $73 million and result in four to five years of traffic delays. Those anticipated costs were ultimately enough to tip Gillingham, who did not support opening the intersection in 2018 as a councillor, toward crossing the political aisle when it came to Portage and Main. It's a decision that will not only help to improve the city's image, but one which will encourage the development of a more accessible, welcoming downtown, says Melissa Graham, the executive director of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities. 'It changes who that space is for,' Graham says. 'It won't just be for people who use cars. It will be for everybody.' 'This is good for pedestrians, it's good for businesses and it's good for the entire city,' says Kirby Cote, the executive director of Accessible Sport Connection Manitoba. 'As a city we should be celebrating our ability to be welcomed,' adds Cote, who is vision impaired and cycles through the area daily. 'We designed a downtown to move cars through it as fast as possible and that's not the reality of how it's used.' JAKE GIROUARD PHOTO A window cleaner's veiew of Portage and Main. JAKE GIROUARD PHOTO A window cleaner's veiew of Portage and Main. Window cleaning supervisor Don MacKinnon has for 15 years enjoyed an unparalleled vantage point of the intersection. At the end of their shift, cleaners often give in to the temptation to snap photographs from their platform outside the highest floors of the Richardson Building, which anchors the intersection's northeast corner at 1 Lombard Place. 'I never thought in my lifetime they'd open it up again,' says the 53-year-old swing stage supervisor, who was too young to remember crossing at the time of the closure. A longtime Jets fan, MacKinnon says he eagerly anticipates a Stanley Cup celebration at Portage and Main next season. For some downtown workers, the reopening is something they've been looking forward to for years. On her lunch break at her usual spot outside the Fairmont Hotel, just a stone's throw away from the intersection, Joanna Oznowicz reflected on how much better the downtown looked without the barricades. But she also thinks the reopening will make life safer for pedestrians, so long as drivers give them proper attention. 'I see people walking in the middle of the street before and I think, you're going to get killed,' says Oznowicz, 60. 'So I hope there will be caution on both sides as we get used to it.' Paralegal Cheri Harasym is less optimistic. 'Horrible idea,' she says. 'Too busy. There's a reason they've been closed for 46 years. The drivers are already looking for too many things, and that's just more distractions. (Around the office) we think people will end up getting hit, that there will be too many accidents.' Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Area office worker Cheri Harasym takes a break from work. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Area office worker Cheri Harasym takes a break from work. Harasym also expressed concern about the status of the underground circus, which she says downtown workers rely on for relief from the harsh winter weather when going from corner to corner. 'The long-term future of the concourse has not yet been determined,' says Julie Dooley, the city's acting manager of corporate communications. 'We have hired a consultant to assess any requirements of potentially decommissioning it.' For businesses operating in and around the underground concourse, there's been very little clarity as to when such a change might occur. 'The unknown is tough,' says Donavan Robinson, a co-owner of Pop CoLab, a corporate creative workshop business that opened two years ago in Lombard Place. 'I don't know that anyone really has an answer.' Still, Robinson says crossing at street level will help businesses such as his because pedestrians will have an easier time accessing the Portage and Main nexus as a whole. 'Right now people just get confused,' he adds. Outside the former Bank of Montreal building, now owned by the Manitoba Métis Federation, road crews were putting the finishing touches on the pedestrian island at the midway point of Main Street. Standing next to them, a young woman stared across to the southwest corner. Seeing no northbound traffic, she ran to the median and, a few moments later, arrived at the opposing corner. 'I had to run my errands,' reasoned Elsie Isiche. It was thrilling to watch. Come next Friday, it's an experience every pedestrian can legally enjoy for the first time since 1979. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Market Online
a day ago
- The Market Online
TSX Futures Climb as U.S. Holds Off on Mideast Military Move
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