When the Wilson's purchased this beautiful 55 year old home in Lake Bonavista, it was clear that they were buying a home that's been loved for the last half-century. Sure, certain things just didn't work. There were unnecessary walls everywhere, a tiny kitchen, and no storage. The light didn't fill the home as it could have. But the home had bones.

Buying this home was not just an investment in the home itself, but a vote for the legacy of the community. Rather than tearing down Calgary's history, we as the designers and contractors for this project were tasked with finding a way to preserve it.

After removing walls and redesigning the space, we saw an opportunity to preserve the existing brick fireplace, and incorporate it into the new kitchen space. The new kitchen space would be much larger, feature far more storage, and the half-century old brick fireplace would anchor the design firmly with one foot in the past, and one in the present. Visitors often ask the Wilsons if we added this feature to the kitchen. The preserving of this feature gives the Wilsons a story to tell - something lacking in new-built homes.

The new chapter for the home is not yet fully written of course. It will take years of memories to do so. But for now, this home with good bones has had a major facelift, and its ready for whatever the Wilsons will make of it. For us at Urban Abode, we're just so thankful to have been able to play a role in it.