Restoration saves a bit of old Scarborough
Built in 1839, the Springfield estate was originally home to James A. Thomson, one of the area’s first European settlers. A painstaking restoration is now complete. Symmetrical window and door placements are somewhat Georgian, a wide, wraparound porch features decorative “trelliages,” and the original, freestanding root house remains.Alin Bugeag
In 1802, Andrew Thomson, brother of Scarborough’s first European settler, David Thomson (after which Thomson Park is named), purchased a huge parcel of land. In 1839, his son, James A., acquired it. The resulting house is designated by the Scarborough Historical Society as the oldest brick dwelling in Scarborough.Alin Bugeag
The two-and-a-half-storey “Romantic style” farmhouse, known as Springfield, was tucked into a natural slope for heating and cooling purposes; because of this, the rear elevation reads as one-and-a-half storeys.Alin Bugeag
Owner Kyle Raino brought in his boss, Lewitt Construction president Ed O’Flanagan, as partner in the restoration project. Lewitt has worked on other on heritage properties such as the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Queen’s Park and the George Brown house.Alin Bugeag
Mr. Raino is quick to point out that “the bones” of the house are original. This includes the wonderfully warped, wide-plank cedar floors on the main and second levels (some of it was hiding under mid-twentieth century thin-strip oak flooring), the fully restored decorative woodwork crowning the wraparound veranda, the heritage windows – which he’s christened “Frankenwindows” because of all the parts it took to restore them – and the gorgeous exposed-brick interior wall that separates the old house from the addition.Alin Bugeag
“We’ve done absolutely everything,” says Mr. Raino, listing behind-the-scenes items such as plumbing, electrical and the attic’s Spacepak heating and cooling unit, as well as in-your-face stuff such as the open floor plan, widened staircase and the modern 12-by-36-foot rear addition that allows for an office, mudroom and breakfast nook on the main floor and a large master bedroom and en suite above.Alin Bugeag
The state-of-the-art kitchen features a massive slab of statuario marble (a clever illusion, there’s an undetectable seam where it’s joined to engineered stone underneath), cabinetry that’s “a little traditional,” and nice 1930s-ish subway tile. “It’s a mishmash, and part of the reason we were totally fine with doing that is the architect of this house [did] a mishmash of styles from the 1840s: some say it’s Romantic, some say it’s Georgian, it goes on and on.”Alin Bugeag
The family room boasts the home’s second fireplace with a mantle made from the original 40-foot-long structural beam: “We cut a chunk out of it because it just looked so cool,” laughs Mr. Raino.Alin Bugeag
Alin Bugeag
Alin Bugeag
Alin Bugeag
Alin Bugeag
Alin Bugeag