vintage spaces
stayed in a badly heated airstream in her sister-in-law’s yard. No one doubted her dedication to the project. “I knew exactly what I wanted for this home and what I needed to do to get there,” said Winnie. “I had kept a notebook for a long time with ideas. I had no desire to modernize this house at all. I wanted it to be as close to the original as possible.” Kevin’s great grandparents had been the first to live in the house, and with the exception of a few renters over the years, the home had stayed in the family. That family tie was imperative to keep in the house for Winnie. She wanted to respect those who had come before her. That respect is captured in every square inch of the home as it sits today.
Built in 1903, the house is called a Prairie Four Square, largely due to the fact that the original floor plan is an actual square. Four rooms upstairs, four rooms downstairs — simple. But as plans for the home began to take shape in February of 2011, Winnie real- ized that simplicity wasn’t going to be an option in her renovations. Her aspirations to keep the original windows, woodwork, brick and floors were non negotiable, but the house needed a complete gut job, including new drywall, wiring, plumbing and heating. It was going to be a delicate dance to essentially rebuild the home without damaging the original portions, but Winnie was up to the challenge and the sacrifice. In fact, as renovations were underway, Winnie
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