Blog

From West To East - Trade Roots In Victoria

June 27, 2012 | Retail, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough, Travel

  I'm sure a lot of you might be surprised to read I'm not really a big shopper, though I can't resist peeking into the windows of home furnishing and accessory shops when I'm taking a stroll. In Toronto, a good window display is necessary to get me to cross the threshold, though…
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Knob And Tube Wiring

June 12, 2012 | Real Estate, Renovation, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

  Like so many property owners doing renovations, we were surprised to find old knob and tube wiring throughout parts of our triplex when the home inspection completed as part of the due diligence for our purchase a few years ago listed all the wiring as ‘upgraded’. Sadly, this isn’t…
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Good Night Charlottetown

June 11, 2012 | Landscape, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough, Travel

Charlottetown has a stunning collection of century homes. The other evening, as we strolled home from an exceptional dinner at Sim's, I found myself mesmerized by how striking the domestic architecture looks in the night light. Good thing I'm almost always camera-ready! Here are some of my favourite photos showcasing…
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Hello Prince Edward Island

June 08, 2012 | Tales Of Upper Hillsborough, Travel

Within a matter of hours of arriving to Prince Edward Island I made a beeline to the ocean. As a water sign boy who grew up a short stroll from Willows Beach in Victoria, feeling 'at home' begins when I hear the surf crashing on the beach. No matter where…
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Renovation Razing & Inspiration

May 17, 2012 | Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

  In my most recent 'Tales Of Upper Hillsborough' installments, I shared with you some of the details that made our third floor atelier so charmingly bijou, and how we reworked the space plan to create a light and airy luxury rental suite. Click HERE and HERE for those posts.…
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Attention Is In The Details

March 30, 2012 | Design, Renovation, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

  In my last post on the Tales of Upper Hillsborough, I shared with you the renovation of our third floor attic atelier suite in our vintage Charlottetown triplex. Click HERE to read the whole post. Today I wanted to share with you a few tips on how to create…
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Home, East Home Investment

September 26, 2011 | Real Estate, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

  In my last instalment of the 'Tales of Upper Hillsborough', I shared with you some of the properties my friend James and I considered purchasing in our effort to find an affordable property in downtown Charlottetown that could generate a reliable income when we weren't occupying it ourselves. Click HERE…
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The Income Property Proposal

August 26, 2011 | Real Estate, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

Above is a photo from the 1986 movie 'The Money Pit' starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. Cast as two optimistic homebuyers seduced by the charm of a vintage house being sold for cheap "under distress", the property and their ordeal turns into a madcap nightmare complete with corny ending. For all its…
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House Hunting In Charlottetown

August 22, 2011 | Real Estate, Tales Of Upper Hillsborough

My friend James has made Charlottetown his residence each summer for over a decade, where he plays in the orchestra for the Anne Of Green Gables Musical. It's a great gig for James, where the complexity of his artistic craft is counteracted by the simplicity of island life. Prince Edward Island embodies all the caricatures of storybook…
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Charlottetown’s Charm

August 10, 2011 | Tales Of Upper Hillsborough, Travel

I first passed through Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 2005 enroute to the celebratory union of my journalist friend Stephanie to her filmaker beau Meril at his family's farm in Meat Cove, Cape Breton. It was one stop of several on a circuitous road trip beginning and ending in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that would see me loop around the…
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