Whenever I phone my longtime friend Carol, I always ask: “And what’s Wayne up to now?”
And as soon as she says, “Well, let me tell you…” I’m already grinning.
Wayne, you see, is always building something — from cars to houses — and he thrives on a challenge.
He played a key role in the recent renovation of Justine Viske’s SOS Lounge, one of many interesting projects.
But he has also been working on his own home between these client-projects. And what a project!
Wayne and Carol bought their current home several years ago, in the village of Warkworth, a 90-minute drive east of Toronto. Long before they moved in, Wayne had plans.
“First up”, says Wayne, “was Carol’s garden shed (with the stained glass windows, lighting and power).”
And since Carol is a serious gardener, the front landscaping also needed attention.
And since the house was small, they decided to extend it.
“Now it’s 2014 and the addition is starting to take shape”, Wayne recalls. “The foundation and sub-floor are in place. The walls and trusses are up, and it is beginning to look like we know what we are doing!!…LOL.”
The addition houses a family room and more:
“Well, by late summer 2015, we have a washroom for overnight guests. Carol has an office, and I have completed all mechanical necessities in the main entertainment area, including the fireplace, and have built custom cabinetry throughout.”
Wayne carefully designed every bit of space.
It was the same with the new kitchen.
The original was dark and inconvenient for Carol, who is a great cook. So Wayne decided to build her a much better one, in the adjacent room. He redesigned and built the whole thing from scratch.
That’s Wayne. Where other people might see an insurmountable problem, Wayne sees an exciting challenge.
Carol has a say, of course, in both design and decor.
But she’s quick to point out that “It’s all Wayne”, while praising him for his meticulous work.
And it is meticulous – the kind of work that stands up to close inspection, whether it’s indoors or out.
“Early in the nice weather of 2016”, Wayne says, “WE decided to do a little landscaping before starting work on MY pet project, the garage — better known as ‘the Coach House’.
“As you can see, the landscaping involved the acquisition of a considerable number of fair sized rocks (I FOUND them at the sides of the road, and on the outskirts of farmers fields!!)”
“Some rather larger rocks were used in the landscaping of our new driveway, the one leading to the new ‘Coach House’. I have to admit they were very difficult to get into the back of my SUV!!!”
As their friends know, Wayne gets restless without a project. He completed the kitchen just weeks ago, and returned to the project he started last year: the Coach House, with room for his vintage cars and a guest suite.
The Coach House exterior is now complete, while work continues inside.
My family and I can barely wait to see the finished product.
Meanwhile, we’ve dubbed their much-expanded home “The Shaw Estate”.
But we’re betting that one of these days, I’ll call Carol and she’ll say, once again: “Well, let me tell you…”
Bravo, Wayne and Carol!
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Photos provided by Wayne Shaw.
Cynthia Reyes 