Our Victorian Gem

It was built pre-1886 by George A. Elliot, Sr.

Here is a bit about George A. Elliot, Jr from
the 1909 Brantford Expositor.

George A. Elliott (of G. A. Elliott, Stoves & Tinware, 216 Colborne Street)
is listed as resident in the 1896/97 City Directory.

George A. Elliott Jr. (who also worked at G. A. Elliott, Stoves & Tinware, 216 Colborne Street)
is listed as boarding [at the home] in the 1899-1900 City Directory.

The 1919 Fire Insurance Plan indicates brick and pier construction.

Building permits:

This could be the permit for the addition: 1891, Geo. Elliott owner, brick dwelling, estimated cost $2000.

The addition has several bricks with writing on them. One is inscribed with
George Elliott 1891. Here is a photo of it in black and white so that it is easier
to see the writing on the wall.

April 28, 1947, S.N. Willoughby owner and builder, asbestos sided garage, estimated cost $100.

On October 18th, 2008 Mr. Willoughby (the son of S. N. Willoughby)
stopped by to see the house he grew up in. It was great talking to him and
learning more about the history. We learned that there was a small
bachelor apartment in the upstairs at one time. That explains
the "door to nowhere" as we've been calling the
mysterious door that drops off into the neighbour's drive.

Here is a photo taken a few years ago by the historical society.
Since this photo the roof has been replaced and a great deal of other
work done. If you look closely you can see the old garage
which has been removed.

The before photos were taken on Sunday May 21, 2007 and
the after photos on December 26, 2007 and July 30, 2008

The before photos are from when the last owner was
still living here.

The front of the house on the day we bought it.
The vergeboard (gingerbread) is all original. As
are the shutters. The front bay window has a metal covered truncated hip roof.

After - Bryan and Michael's setup for the vergeboard restoration

After - Bryan has had to rebuild and replace some of the pieces that
we weren't able to restore

The side entrance - before picture.

After - Bryan painting the porch

After - "stained glass" in window above the front door
I took the photo dark on purpose so that you could see
the detail of the window

Before picture - The back of the house and a big back yard

Before picture - Even comes with a swing and an adorable shed

After - the big back yard in winter

After - A small snapshot of the centre garden in May 2008

The interior photos don't do the space justice. It is very beautiful and roomy.

This is the dining room. The wall you see would be the original back wall of
the house prior to the 1891 addition. It makes a cool decor feature.

The before picture...

After - (since this was taken we have changed the light fixture too)...

This is the family room - before picture - the photo was taken from the living room.

After - my office (the big chair is now in the living room because the Christmas tree is gone)

I was standing on the landing of the stairs so the angle is a little strange
and my desk is a big mess - I should have cleaned up a little

view of the office from the living room

Before picture - A big bay window graces the living room

Before picture - This is the front living room as seen from the family room
(it looks much bigger than the photos show)

After - here is the bay window with a 10 foot Christmas tree

our big unit that hides the electronics

Before picture - This is the main floor bathroom.
There is also a 4 pc bath ensuite to the master bedroom
and the loft.

After - not much has changed except the decorations and the hardware on the vanity

Before picture - A small but functional kitchen.

After - it is amazing what some paint and new hardware can do
(I should have cleaned off the counter and done my dishes before the photo)

After - view from another angle

Here are some second floor photos

Before picture - Closet in the Master bedroom

Before picture - Other side of the Master bedroom

After - We still need to hang our art
and I really am not sure about the pink wall color

I love that there are two great big windows (side-by-side) in this room

Before picture - Ensuite - 4 pc

After - we replaced the vanity with one that has a white cultured marble top,
removed the medicine cabinet and replaced it with an oval mirror
and light fixture with a chrome and frosted glass one

Before picture - Loft area - this will become my reading spot/hideaway/guest
sleeping quarters... This room is much bigger than
it looks here.

After - the loft is still "under construction" - actually it has all the boxes we haven't unpacked
so excuse the mess - it will eventually have a garden theme

After - window in the stairs - looks into the loft area

I still don't have a decent picture of Tobias' room before or after. Before it was a hair salon - right now it
is full of boxes of his toys which we have to organize.