Campbellville home from 1868 restored by owner-stewards

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499 Carlisle Rd., Campbellville, Ont.

Asking price: $2,697,000

Taxes: $8,440 (2023)

Lot size: 175 by 338 feet

Agent: Kristiana Cope and Michael Phinney, Phinney Real Estate

The backstory

Lloyd and Julie Nakaza’s first home was in Dundas, Ont. But after feeling that the house “wasn’t warm enough,” they moved to their second home in Carlisle. But after a year and a half of living there, the two felt that it wasn’t the right place for them either.

“That was like Wisteria Lane,” she said, referring to the setting of the Desperate Housewives TV show. “Like it’s so cookie cutter, and there’s no sense of community. And even though there’s like 60 homes in that little place, it’s just very cold.”

The search for a third home took the couple to five or six historic properties. They had put in offers for some of them, but they withdrew after home inspections revealed that it would require a lot of work to restore or maintain.

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Finally, their search took them to a property built in 1868 known locally as the Van Norman House. The Nakazas agreed they wanted this to be their new home.

“It’s like one of those moments where you just realize, ‘Oh, my God, this is it,’” Mrs. Nakaza said.

The 156-year-old home has suffered some indignities over the decades. Most of the doors in the house were trimmed by about two inches to accommodate trendy shag carpeting some time in the 1970s, covering up beautiful pumpkin pine flooring. But the people the Nakazas bought the house from, who had owned the house for nine years, did much to restore the property as close as possible to its original state.

Because of the amount of work those previous owners did, the Nakazas estimate they’ve only had to spend about $200,000 on their own restorations.

“We didn’t need to do anything,” Mrs. Nakaza said. “They poured so much love into the house. They were literally the people who took it from where it was to where it needed to be.

“Everything that they could preserve when they redid the house, they preserved to a tee,” she said. “It is almost in its original state.”

Since owning the house, the two have tried to look up what they could of William VanNorman, the man who originally built the property, through the Heritage Society of Hamilton. They haven’t been able to uncover a lot beyond finding out that the property, of more than 150 acres, used to be a potato farm. Most of that land was sold off in the 1970s to create the Carlisle Golf Course. They’ve also found Mr. VanNorman’s headstone in the Hamilton Cemetery.

Mr. VanNorman’s brother-in-law built an almost identical-looking house using the same plans just across the street.

The house today

From the outside, the house looks unchanged from the Victorian era and is surrounded by lush green space. The home is situated right next to the Carlisle golf course and features “all the amenities of city life but in a country setting,” Mr. Nakaza said.

Because of the extensive restoration work done by the previous owner, the changes the Nakazas made were largely cosmetic, including repainting a lot of the house to what they think are the original colours. They have also upgraded the electrical work to remove the remnants of the original knob and tube wiring, which can be a fire hazard in older homes.

The other major exception to the house’s original state are the bathrooms, which are modern and were redone by the previous owner.

Entering the front door, a visitor sees the centre hall with a grand staircase to the upper floor to the left, which is graced by an elegantly carved handrail. To the right of the staircase is a throughway to the dining hall and the kitchen, which is outfitted with upscale appliances and a deep sink with plenty of natural light streaming in from mullioned windows. Millwork that dates back a century adorns most of the walls in the house.

There is also a formal living room, with a fireplace and wooden mantel bordered on either side by tall windows.

Upstairs, the principal bedroom has a large ensuite bathroom with a soaker tub and walk-in shower. The rear of the home in what was once the coach house offers a second-level loft space that is currently used as an office. In the backyard, a wooden deck surrounds a large in-ground pool.

The three-bedroom and two-and-a-half bathroom home is spacious enough to host a large number of people for events, as the Nakazas were able to have 26 people over for Christmas dinner.

Like the previous owners they bought the house from, the Nakazas see themselves as caretakers of the historic property and want to see the home endure for generations to come.

“We don’t see ourselves as the owners, [we’re the] caretakers of this heritage home to ensure that we sell it to another set of people that are going to take on that responsibility to ensure the longevity of this historic home,” he said.

The best feature

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One highlight of the house is the front door, original to the house. The dark four-panelled door has an antique-finish brass door handle and letterbox flap.

“I love that you can look at it and know that it’s original. It’s been there for every single owner,” she said.

Mr. Nakaza also mentioned the transom above the front door which still has the original leaded glass from the 1800s.

Another highlight are the windows throughout the house, which Mrs. Nakaza said is her favourite feature.

“They flood the house with light. They are pretty special,” she said in an e-mail.