Stone Homes Mean Privacy sometimes
It’s interesting, in all the years we’ve been helping people find stone homes in Ontario – we’ve never met anyone who wanted a stone home on a busy street. Or near the tracks.
Everyone has a vision of their stone home. No matter what style of stone home they imagine … it’s always on a quiet street. Back from the road and either surrounded by trees or pastures.
(some folks even imagine the sheep)
And there are times when we find stone homes just like that.
The First Stone Home
This is the stone home that started the whole thing going. It was about 700 feet off the road. Down a long drive on what we call a lollipop lot. A long drive that opens onto a 2 -3 acre lot. The lot was mostly open but the lot lines were lined with walnut trees – can you imagine. It was truly the dream come true – to the point that the neighbour famer who owned both sides of the drive would pasture his cattle out front all summer.
Classic Beauty
This home was built by a retiring soldier north of Brockville. Clearly an important person of means it was set well back from the road. Passing along the highway you got just enough of a glimpse to make you want to slow down. These homes are always much larger than they appear.
It’s important to remember that these Ontario Stone Homes were built when roads were little more than trails along the way. They were never sited based on the proximity to the road. Rather, they were sited to exploit the view, or to be closer to water. Always on the high ground for safety and practicality. Therefore, as time went by the road may have moved a bit.
Sometimes that’s good – sometimes not so much.
Just A Little Close
This was a wonderful stone home with some really neat details. Look at the arched windows and gentle slope of the roof. The ceilings were high and much of the original wood remained. However, over time the roads had developed in an unfortunate way. What was surely little more than a surveyors marker when the house was built became a busy road running very close to the left side of the house. It made for an easy driveway to snow shovel. But the traffic had a definite impact on buyers perception of out door use in the summer. In the end the families that had lived here, and the new owners were still very much in love with the space they found. When buying a stone home there are always compromises – sometimes it’s how close to the road you are. In the end, with plantings and landscaping it’s possible to mitigate the situation and have a lovely environment to enjoy.
Sometimes It Makes A Difference
This stately home was located on several acres of what ended up being a major county road. The traffic had a definite impact on how people could enjoy the outside. In this case the most likely buyer was not a family – but rather a business that could use the home for offices and the rest of the property as well.
These types of properties are more of a challenge – but still very marketable.
It’s Important To Explore
This is a classic example of how someones dream can influence decisions. This lovely stone church has been gutted and put back together to create one of the most unique spaces we’ve ever seen. Really something special. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding and the atmosphere is one of a kind. Unfortunately, like most churches is was built very close to the road. Hence, I believe many buyers pass it by without taking a look. Which is unfortunate because this could be a legacy property for generations.
Most Important
If you’re looking for a stone home, and you’ve been dreaming of what it’s going to be like. At A Stone Home .com we understand how important that is. But we’ve seen how families can make their dreams come true in ways they never expected. It’s all about marrying the vision with reality. That’s where we come in.
