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144 PINEHURST DR.
ASKING PRICE: $2,395,000
TAXES: $13,125 (2007)
AGENTS: Mary Cardamone and Carla Wood, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.
WHAT:
A ranch-style bungalow on a 1.19-acre lot backing on to a park in Oakville. The property includes a 1,024-square-foot pavilion overlooking an in-ground pool in the backyard.AMENITIES: This roughly 3,000-square-foot bungalow contains three bedrooms, four bathrooms and a main-floor den and family room, in addition to a finished basement.
Along the back, there is an open living and dining room with a wood-burning fireplace, a dry bar and a walkout.
The eat-in kitchen features expansive corner windows, an island with a six-burner stovetop and breakfast bar, two built-in ovens, two refrigerators, a freezer, and two walls of pantries.
The family room has a floor-to-ceiling, wood-burning fireplace, and opens to the foyer and kitchen.
Facing the front yard, the master suite has a dressing area featuring wall-to-wall, built-in shelves and drawers, and a four-piece bathroom with one of the home's three soaker tubs, as well as a glass shower stall.
A rear bedroom opens to the backyard pool, hot tub and pavilion, which has a wet bar, fireplace and a bathroom.
Several windows allow plenty of light to flow into the lower level, which includes a nanny suite with a private bathroom and sitting room. There also is a recreation room with a gas fireplace, as well as sewing and games rooms.
The house is outfitted with security and wireless Internet systems. There is a long driveway and a carport.
The natural beauty of this 1.19-acre lot in Oakville so entranced the current owners when they first saw it that they packed up and left a luxurious lifestyle in Australia, where the husband was a chief executive.
The return of Maria and Richard Kinlough to Canada wasn't necessarily a sure thing. When the couple, both Montreal natives, decided to investigate the possibility of coming back after eight years down under, they planned to spend only two weeks searching for their required house: a two-storey on a large piece of land in Toronto. Not finding anything suitable, they would return to Australia.
After searching unsuccessfully for 10 days, they began to think of just that. But a friend pressed them to take a look at a spacious bungalow in a prestigious neighbourhood close to the waterfront in Oakville, about a 30-minute drive west of Toronto.
As it was a bungalow — albeit a 3,000-square-foot one — and located outside Toronto, Ms. Kinlough visited the residence with few expectations. It turned out, however, that she was much taken by the 158- by 327-foot property bordered by tall cedars on one side and nearly 80-year-old pines along the other.
What's more, the landscaped grounds backed on to a park, providing even more privacy, and birds and butterflies were plentiful. Then there was the natural aromas.
"When I was walking down the driveway, the scent of Canada was overwhelming," Ms. Kinlough says, referring to the pine and cedar aroma. "When you go past the hedge in the front, you're alone. You could be in Oakville, you could be in Muskoka, you could be anywhere."
Shortly after her visit, the Kinloughs returned with a real estate agent and made an offer. As a result, Mr. Kinlough left his position as chief executive at a banking group, and the couple prepared to leave Australia, where they had a large home, two boats and three cars.
"It was totally insane," Ms. Kinlough says of their decision. "If it hadn't of been [for] that property, I'd probably be still be in Australia."
While the lush Oakville property stirred the owners' emotions about Canada, its sheer size was a powerful attraction. Most lots in the area average about 75 by 150 feet, according to real estate agent Mary Cardamone.
"There are only a handful of properties available that have this kind of size," Ms. Cardamone says. "And the location is great because it's at the end of a court, so the only traffic you have is to a few homes."
Even with the house set back a significant distance from the street and the in-ground pool and hot tub taking up space in the back, there is still room to add a tennis court or soccer field.
"I've had 200 people just on the patio," Ms. Kinlough notes. "You could easily have 500 people for an event in the backyard."
With the lay of the land so conducive for entertaining, the couple decided a few years ago to add a 1,000-square-foot pavilion in back. They had been inspired by a magazine photo of a similar structure at a Jamaican resort.
"I've never seen a pavilion like this," Ms. Cardamone says. "It reminds me of a lovely cottage that's open on one side."
From the pavilion's open-concept space, Roman columns frame the view of the pool. The structure is fully equipped with a wet bar, surround sound and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and gold-plated faucets. French doors to a rear balcony flank a tumbled marble, wood-burning fireplace that warms the space in cooler months; multiple ceiling fans keep it cool in summer. Other features include ceramic floors and pot lights.
The owners use their backyard three seasons of the year. "We don't have time to trudge up to Muskoka, so we just decided to create it in Oakville," Ms. Kinlough says. "It's like going into Shangri-La."
As for the house, which was built about 85 years ago, the owners spent about $100,000 renovating the entire place in the 1990s.
"It doesn't matter which room you go in, … its bright, happy and comfortable," Ms. Kinlough adds.
One of the major changes made was turning three rooms into a large kitchen, equipping it with several appliances and pantries, but more important, a large island with a six-burner stovetop and breakfast bar.
"I need a big kitchen where people could come and congregate," Ms. Kinlough says.
The combined living and dining area is more than 40 feet long. The focus of the space is a wood-burning fireplace with a tumbled marble surround and mantle.
"I had 40 people at a sit-down dinner," Ms. Kinlough says of the dining area.
While the couple have the approval for a second-story addition, they recently decided to downsize to a smaller property up the street, one they will transform into what Ms. Kinlough calls a "little château."
As for purchasing their current residence, she says, "It's not [just about] buying a house, it's buying a lifestyle. The lifestyle is the magic of the property."
Special to The Globe and Mail
