32 ST.CLAIR AVENUE CIRCA 1911 I knew opportunity was knocking when this house came on the market last year for $179,000. It was not on the more desired end of St.Clair, or even on the Boulevard, but it was a gorgeous character home with an amazing suspended, 2-story staircase...the only one of its kind in Hamilton (or so I recall reading in the listing). Anyway, some lovely family with 5 older kids bought it, reno'd it and now call it home. I love their passion to preserve and live in this beautiful character home. I only wish there were more people like this in the 60s and 70s when gorgeous heritage treasures were being torn down left, right and centre in our city for no good reason other than to build tacky low rise apartment buildings.
122 Park Street West, Dundas, Ontario At quick glance this 13-year old home could be mistaken for an 1860s stone cottage. I prefer the "real deal" but this house does a great job at embracing the old for those buyers who want the historic look but the modern guts and amenities. This stone & stucco, custom built beauty just one block to village shopping & amenities, including a short stroll to the amazing Dundas Driving Park.
FRESH FEATURES:
9' ceiling & open concept main floor will impress
Gourmet kitchen with island, granite counters & stainless appliances
Gas fireplace
Rear wrap around porch with hook up for gas bbq
Hand scraped hardwood floors
Mosaic inlay in front foyer
3 upstairs bedrooms, all have their own 4 pce ensuites
Mature lot with fully fenced yard
Detached garage/coach house with stairs to storage loft & double drive
42 Inverness Avenue West, Hamilton, Ontario Check out this FRESH BRICK in a fabulous west mountain location. Incredible curb appeal and character architectural details including built-ins, inlaid hardwood, carved oak staircase, and much more. Not yet listed on realtor.ca but found it on one of my go to house hunting sites. Check out the photo gallery here courtesy of Vogel Creative.
599 Stone Church Road West, Hamilton, Ontario Although not my style I can definitely appreciate the architectural uniqueness of this mid-century home. I love the eclectic wallpaper, open and multi-level living spaces, stained glass, and incredible entertaining space outdoors. unbelievable! Check out the photos and video tour below. Imagine how bright and airy this place would be edited down with light walls, modern furniture with clean lines, statement art pieces and a few antique pieces to create some juxtaposition and richness. This is the second time on the market for this place, currently offered on realtor.ca at $499,900. I believe it was originally listed in the high sevens. I get why they tried - this place is so unique - but that is also its vice. Definitely not for everyone, but whoever has vision could get a deal and turn this stale BRICK, FRESH!
99 Hillcrest Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario NOT YET LISTED ON REALTOR.CA. I found this soon to be listing on Tom Vogel's site...nice all brick century home in a popular south of Aberdeen neighbourhood. Families will flock to this classic nest, surrounded by nature - backing onto the Chedoke trails and a short stroll to Locke Street amenities. Expect an open house this weekend...
1537 Jerseyville Road West, Ancaster, Ontario This storybook beauty has languished on the market for years but an undeniably gorgeous piece of brick for the buyer who has $1.599MM to spare!
FRESH FEATURES:
Edwardian Beauty circa 1906
Situated on 73 acres
Steps to Ancaster Village
5 bedrooms & 3.5 baths
In ground pool
Large master with fantastic 5 piece glamorous ensuite
Fabulous French country kitchen with beautiful granite countertops, built in Thermador 6 burner stove, double Gaggenau built in ovens & custom cabinets
Separate dining room with gas fireplace & lovely plaster cove mouldings
There is a great room for everyone's enjoyment that boasts a marble faced wood burning fireplace 109 " retractable theater screen with surround sound
Large barn, 3 acre pond with country house
Photos Courtesy of Tom Vogel Listing with Judy Marsales Realty Limited
Durand Neighbourhood: Spotlight on Markland Street Living in a historic neighbourhood has it perks - a big one being all the surrounding eye candy which literally translates into strolls on steroids! Seriously, picking up dog poop is a heck of a lot more exciting when you bend up to face a stone cut entryway, a brass lion door knocker, beveled glass sidelights and a Gothic porch lantern.
Anyway, check out some pics below taken on beautiful Markland Street in Hamilton. This gorgeous east-west strip extends from James Street South to Queen Street South with the grander homes east of Bay Street. Its undoubtedly one of the prettiest, "historically stacked" streets in the city.
147 Hyde Park Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario This one languished and now its back at a lower price. $589,000 should do the trick this time around. I first blogged about this flip in early January when they tried to sell this for $619,000 after purchasing 6 months earlier in the low 300s. View before and afters HERE.
1 SPRINGHILL FLAMBOROUGH, ONTARIO, CIRCA 1830 This rare 15.45 acre property is home to one of the most magnificent 8000 sf. Georgian Gothic Manor's around. Springhill was built for Dr. James Hamilton on a mountaintop west of Spencer Creek ravine. Dr. Hamilton served in the militia at the time of the Upper Canada Rebellion.
FRESH FEATURES:
Featured in many Hollywood movies & commercials with visitors such as Donald Sutherland, Shirley McLean and Katie Holmes to name a few.
Property also includes a 2 storey,2 bedroom Georgian home PLUS a 1 bedroom apartment above a 4 car coach house.
Overlooks the Dundas Valley and the Hamilton Bay.
4 Grand fireplaces all with original marble surround & mantles
Original hardwood & mosaic tile throughout
All original baseboards, trim & moldings
The Master has its own wing
Gorgeous sunroom surrounded with windows with the interior floor to ceiling hand crafted in Georgia Pine
2nd story tower with another sun filled room and a winding staircase
To say this is the home of my dreams would be an understatement. My jaw dropped when I first came across this FRESH piece of BRICK a few years ago. It was listed for nearly $4.0MM then and it is now back on the market for $2.689MM. Time to buy some lotto max tickets!
RELATED ARTICLE FROM THE GLOBE & MAIL, OCTOBER 2009
Since 1840, the road that climbs from the Dundas Valley to the Niagara Escarpment above has curved past the genteel gates of Springhill.
In all of those years, few passersby have had more than a glimpse beyond the stone walls of the storied estate in Flamborough, Ont.
The family that has lived at Springhill for the past 70 years has always maintained a veil of privacy around the house that dates to circa 1830. Even the home's tower has remained partly obscured by the surrounding 200-year-old trees.
Fred Simpson has been very deliberate in his restraint on progress since he took over as the owner and guiding spirit of Springhill in 1963. The former banker first arrived as a boy after his mother bought the house at auction in 1938. His family is only the third to reside there, and Mr. Simpson remains mindful of that legacy.
The Simpson clan has always preferred family gatherings to grand parties and they cherished the seclusion afforded by the stone walls, tall trees and the property's perch on the mountaintop above Dundas, Ont.
The property has shrunk considerably over the years: 140 acres have been whittled down to 15 today. But those acres still include a fruit orchard, perennial gardens and majestic stands of maples and oak trees.
The original barn, circa 1830, still stands. In the main house, fine woodwork, pedestal sinks and stained glass windows imported from England have all been preserved. Fresh air comes from the breeze blowing across the top of the Niagara Escarpment.
"You don't have air conditioning in a 150-year-old house," Mr. Simpson says. "You sort of have to learn the old style."
The house was originally built as a 1-1/2-storey cottage by James Hamilton and Ann Hatt. Dr. Hamilton, who was born in Scotland in 1797, immigrated to the area and delivered most of the babies in Dundas for many years. The house was set on the mountaintop just west of Spencer Creek ravine. Inspired by the many springs that flowed from the mountain's face, Dr. Hamilton named the house Springhill, according to the Dundas Historical Society Museum.
The illustrious Dr. Hamilton also served in the militia at the time of the Upper Canada Rebellion and, in one of his more notorious ventures, was convicted for the tarring and feathering of a local man whom the doctor and his cohorts accused of adultery.
After Dr. Hamilton's death, Springhill was sold to John and Catherine Fisher in the 1870s. Mr. Fisher, the prosperous owner of a local paper mill and other holdings, began to revamp the house in about 1880 by building a stone addition at the rear.
A few years later, the Fishers had a 3-1/2-storey tower constructed in the Romanesque Revival style. The tower's mansard style roof is crowned with iron railings.
In 1938, the Fisher family put the house up for sale. The catalogue of auctioneers Ward Price Ltd. describes the house as a pioneer homestead "brought up to the luxury of the present day living standards of the country gentleman. …
"One may gaze from the lawns of Springhill over the beautiful Dundas Valley and, on a clear day, see ships passing through the cantilever span at Burlington Beach," the auction house said. Mr. Simpson's mother triumphed at the auction and soon took her father for a drive to see the property. "He told her she was crazy," Mr. Simpson relates.
Despite the patriarch's reservations about the Depression-era economy, the Simpson family moved there in 1938.
"She knew what she was doing," says Mr. Simpson, who brought his own wife and three daughters back to the house in 1963.
As a boy, Mr. Simpson remembers roaming pastures, streams and trails that zigzagged down the escarpment.
Four gardeners were employed at the time to work on the grounds and in a greenhouse on the property. About 50 acres were dedicated to farming, Mr. Simpson says, and his mother kept horses, cattle and a milking herd of eight Guernsey cows.
The property stretched right to the tiered waterfalls that are today part of the Spencer Gorge and Webster's Falls Conservation Area.
"I can remember swimming in the pool at the bottom of Webster's Falls," Mr. Simpson says. Eventually much of the property was appropriated by the government for parkland. Mr. Simpson's parents also divided off some parcels for his three siblings.
With so many family members close by, Mr. Simpson's three daughters grew up surrounded by cousins.
And Mr. Simpson says he has taken on the roles of chauffeur, gardener, handyman and stable boy for the past four decades.
He describes the previous owners, Dr. Hamilton and Mr. Fisher, as fanatics for maintaining the trees. When his daughter reminds him that he has been no less vigilant in trimming and tending, he allows that, "I guess I'm a bit of a tree buff."
Mr. Simpson currently has the house listed for sale with Lesley Cumming of Sotheby's Realty, with an asking price of $3.599-million.
The property includes a stone guest house, a refurbished carriage house and the original barn. These days, Flamborough is home to many hobby farmers and commuters in the Golden Horseshoe. Mr. Simpson has found the house popular with film directors in recent years.
Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was filmed there by Sullivan Entertainment. Mr. Simpson walked into the den one day to find Ms. MacLaine eating pizza.
"We got to know her pretty well," he says.
Ms. Davis filmed The Long Kiss Goodnight at Springhill. And the producers of Murdoch Mysteries often use the house as a backdrop.
Mr. Simpson says he enjoys the movie shoots and has never moved out of the house to accommodate them. The production companies make some changes, but little has to be done because the woodwork is unpainted and the fixtures are appropriate to the period.
The cash, he says, allows him to invest in keeping the landmark and its aged plaster, stone and wood in top form. The grounds are manicured and nothing is allowed to deteriorate.
"Everybody thinks you make lots of money, but 90 per cent I put back in."
21 Chilton Place Hamilton, Ontario Gorgeous century home on quiet south west cul de sac. This home boasts 10' ceilings, large principal rooms, many updates, quiet garden area, sun room, 2 full baths & much more. Purchaser to acknowledge historical designation in offer. No offers will be considered by executors until May 15th, 2013.
53 Markland Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario Amazing how much prices have increased in a few short years. The house below (53 Markland Avenue) was sold in November 2006 for $589,900 on the south east corner of Markland and Chilton. That's $9,000 less than the above listing and it doesn't even compare. 2.5 storeys, huge corner lot, green house, walled English garden, and flat out, WAY MORE HOUSE! Would easily sell in the high $800s today. Proves that real estate is definitely your best investment.
146 Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario This early 20th century Edwardian home sold last year for $504,000 after being listed for $549,900. At the time it was a large 5 bedroom home with great bones but it was in need of a reFRESH. And that it got! Finished to the nines. NOW ASKING $789,900! Check out the amazing photos below from Tom Vogel of Vogel Creative. I love the master bathroom with the vanity facets built into the wall...so cool! One of the original features that I am not sure still exists, was a built-in wall safe in one of the 2nd floor bedrooms. Not yet on realtor.ca ...Click here for iGallery tour
Undeniably gorgeous, but I feel the market has boomed here in Hamilton. Case and point - all these listings sold for less than what the above property is listed for - all less than 3 years ago:
52 Barton Street West, Hamilton, Ontario Its not the best neighbourhood but then again, if it was, this Barton Street beauty would be twice the price. Listed at $319,000 on realtor.ca. Check it out online or this weekend at the open house (Sunday May 12, 2013). This grand family home boasts hardwood and pine floors, 10' ceilings with ornate crown molding, and a marble fireplace. Walking distance to waterfront park and the arts district and just minutes to highway access.
Just came across these two pieces of FRESH SOUTHWEST BRICK. Neither are currently listed on realtor.ca, but I found the stunning photos on the always amazing Tom Vogel's website. Enjoy the eye candy...
165 Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario I remember looking at this house when we were selling our second home about 4 years ago. It sold for $399,000 back then. It was always a nice house but the current owners have upped the ante big time. This stunning Georgian has undergone an extensive renovation including a 2-storey addition at the rear, lush landscaping, a brand new kitchen, updated bathrooms, and an exterior face lift with awnings and the addition of a vestibule and curvy concrete stairway. I'm pretty sure this house has a huge unfinished attic space too if my memory serves me correct. The property also has the bonus feature of a long side driveway plus garage off of Hess St South. This is one of 3 twin houses built on what was the original lot for the large white Queen Anne Victorian on the southeast corner of Queen & Aberdeen.
I am a bit surprised to see this go for sale as it looks like the current owners put a lot of personal passion into the place. Its definitely not a flip. My guess is they are cashing in on the RED HOT southwest market. The house immediately west of 165 Aberdeen sold for over $500,000 about a year after this one first sold, so its obvious this one would sell for more than that. But $899,900! That's crazy! But then again 146 Aberdeen is asking $789,900 so from that perspective - not so crazy. My guess is that #167 Aberdeen will be following suit shortly after...they actually "discussed" selling to us when we were selling our 2nd house 4 years ago.
324 Bay Street South, Hamilton, Ontario LISTED FOR $899,000. 146 and 165 Aberdeen were recently listed for way out there prices but this out of this world house is priced just right. Not that I can afford it but if you have almost $1.MM you'd be a fool to buy the others when you can get this. You get location, house and character galore and its surrounded by some of the most prestigious abodes in Hamilton. This is a house that you'll be proud to call home. I'll be sure to post pictures when I find them...not yet listed on realtor. ca.
Listing described as: Breathtaking character home located in exclusive south west neighborhood. Gorgeous unique features; leaded glass, transom windows, black and white marble flooring, loft ceilings on main floor, turned staircase, 4 gas fireplaces, extensive hardwood and ornate trim work. Stunning two storey modern kitchen is open to sunroom with walk-out to charming landscaped yard and gazebo. Third floor is large featuring a family room and a bedroom.
1632 2ND CONCESSION Road West, ORKNEY This early American centre hall plan is located on the edge of the West Flamborough village of Orkney. Circa 1855 triple brick heritage home, well sited on a paved road 15 minutes from downtown Hamilton. The home is set 400' back from the road on an am amazing 2 1/2 acre lot. Listed for $659,000 on realtor.ca. CLICK HERE TO VIEW. Scroll down to get a preview. PS~ I want the dining room mirror and table/chairs:)
