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A spacious kitchen the renovated and restored Heritage home in Port Hope, Ontario belonging to Sarah Cashman and Carl Swanston. The house won a heritage award for the restoration.Tim Fraser/The Globe and Mail

Soon after moving from Toronto's ultra-hip Beaconsfield neighbourhood to Port Hope, Ont., Carl Swanston and Sarah Cashman met a prominent heritage architect who lives in the historic town on the edge of Lake Ontario.

The couple were just beginning the restoration of one of Port Hope's most storied mansions and Philip Goldsmith gave them a few words of advice.

"Don't overthink it," the architect advised. Just enjoy the house.

That simple wisdom, says the couple, was among the most valuable they received. One year after they took over its stewardship, Helm House appears to have benefited from the laissez-faire approach: The couple's renovation won the 2013 Heritage Port Hope award in the residential category.

And despite undertaking a massive renovation and commuting to work in Toronto, the couple has found time to settle into the community and get to know the neighbours. They enrolled their daughter Neala in junior kindergarten at Ganaraska Trail Public School. At Christmas, they adopted a cat from the local shelter. Now that June has come around again, Ms. Cashman pauses to enjoy the masses of lilacs in the garden. And Mr. Swanston carves out time to ride his vintage motorcycle through the rolling landscape of Northumberland County on Sunday mornings.

It was early 2012 when Ms. Cashman, who has a career in communications, and Mr. Swanston, who works in the news department at CBC, posed the question that many couples in Toronto's high-priced housing market ask: What if we cashed in our investment in Toronto real estate and opted for a different existence? The more they thought about it, the more it made sense to forgo the restaurants and nightlife of Queen Street West and search for a property with stunning architecture and space for their young daughter to run.

They found what they were looking for in a rambling, red-brick dwelling high on a hill above downtown Port Hope. They were introduced to Globe and Mail readers soon after – and right about the time they learned that the house is one of the rare ones protected by heritage conservation rules on the interior as well as the exterior.

After the initial panic – "we thought, let's just forfeit our deposit and walk away," Mr. Swanston said at the time – they plunged ahead.

They consulted Heritage Port Hope and learned that Helm House had been built circa 1858 in the Regency Villa style for a local lumber baron named Robert Charles Smith. After that, the family of John Henry Helm took over for a few generations. The last family to own it had been there since 1968.

The items that were protected – architectural elements like the dramatic oak staircase, the panelled doors and the marble fireplace mantels – were the features that drew them in the first place.

As they began the work, the couple tried to be as non-interventionist as possible.

The renovation began with ripping up the accumulated materials of past attempts at modernization, including a 1970s-era kitchen and wall-to-wall broadloom covering the wood floors. Fixtures, tiles and accessories from a Mamie Eisenhower pink bathroom were carted away.

They pulled acoustic tiles down from the ceilings to uncover the original plaster medallions and mouldings.

Not long into the reno, it became apparent the first contractor wasn't going to work out. That hiring mistake cost them some money and time, says Mr. Swanston, but the couple decided to oversee the project themselves after that. They sought out local experts in carpentry, plastering and painting and quickly came to admire their devotion.

"These people are passionate," says Mr. Swanston.

Mr. Swanston also contributed his own labour as much as he could. He figures that his willingness to pitch in helped to keep that dedication from waning in the later days.

"If they see that you care – and you're sweating and getting your hands dirty – they'll care more," he says.

Heritage Port Hope chairman Rick Brooks dropped by often to provide his expertise in grand houses of the 19th century.

One surprising aspect of small-town living for Mr. Swanston was the number of neighbours who come by just to share memories of the house from years past.

"People knock on your door, out of the blue," he says. "'Hey, did you know a Hollywood actress lived here? She dated Elvis.'"

Sure enough, Mr. Swanston learned that Anne Helm, a descendent of John, had gone off to Los Angeles and become a film star.

After some online searching, Mr. Swanston found her still living in California and wrote to tell her about the rejuvenation of Helm House. The two have kept in touch ever since.

As visitors approach the house now, it doesn't look all that different from years past. The exterior trim has been painted, the fountain in the garden is working again and the wraparound porch has been made welcoming with yellow pansies and wicker chairs.

"As you walk in, nothing will jump at you," says Mr. Swanston. "We did a lot to the house, but it's hardly noticeable."

The biggest change is in a large principal room on the south side.

"It was like a big ballroom," says Ms. Cashman of the daunting space.

Now the room contains a spacious kitchen and an adjacent sitting area in front of the fireplace. The simple cabinets, painted white, are in keeping with those that an older house might have had. Windows look out onto the porch.

Maritime pendant light fixtures hang above the island.

"I learned from this house you buy everything extra, extra-large," says Mr. Swanston.

On the other side of the central hall, the living room has an elaborate plaster ceiling, which has now been repaired except for one or two hard-to-spot pieces missing around the edge. In the dining room, an old barn door was pulled out of the garage and now serves as a table.

Finding the right antique table has been put off to next year's schedule and budget, explains Mr. Swanston.

Upstairs, the couple created a master suite from two smaller rooms. By saving or reusing all of the doors and windows, they didn't run afoul of heritage rules.

In the main bathroom, the pink bathroom tiles have been replaced with more timeless white marble. The 1906 bathtub, made locally, was refinished. And now there's a double walk-in shower.

The second floor needed little else except for a light sanding of the wide pine floors and some paint, the couple explains.

At first the couple tried to choose a paint palette in heritage colours. But a painter recommended that they choose a colour for the darkest winter day. That advice nudged them toward more vibrant hues and they are happy now with the choice.

"Make it happy for the winter – the summer will take care of itself," says Mr. Swanston.

Now that the renovation is finished, the couple is turning their attention to the garden.

But mostly they are enjoying inviting their friends and family for weekends at the big house surrounded by one acre of land. They recently held Neala's fifth birthday party on the lawn and entertained guests with old-fashioned games like pin the tail on the donkey.

Since they've moved to small-town Ontario, the couple has tried to introduce their daughter to some of the simpler things in life, says Mr. Swanston. They walk to the beach for a picnic or visit the village of Roseneath, where kids ride brilliantly painted horses on an antique carousel. The most magical spectacle of the year, says Ms. Cashman, was the display of brightly festooned tractors and farm equipment during the Farmers' Christmas Parade of Lights.

Taking the VIA train to and from Toronto has gone smoothly, they both say, and they're able to accomplish a lot on their laptops during the commute.

The renovation, despite the glitches, produced no big surprises.

"I think every renovation project goes a little bit over budget and ours went a little over budget but not crazily," says Ms. Cashman.

"If I won the lottery, I wouldn't move, I'd put a pool in," says Mr. Swanston. "There are no regrets at all."

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