She wasn't planning to buy a stately diamond-in-therough in Glenbrooke North.
Deanna Tan Francoeur was just browsing through real estate listings online, when she came across a huge house at 925 Fifth Street.
"I did the typical thing - I was trolling the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) to see how much our house was worth. When I expanded it out by just a couple of kilometres, I saw this one for sale. When I saw the square footage (about 4,500), it was like double what ours was, for less than what ours cost, I was intrigued," she says.
Deanna and her husband, David Francoeur, visited the house and were so smitten, they bought it within two weeks.
"We weren't even looking," David says, laughing.
Since they bought the house just two years ago, they have already undertaken a bundle of renos - redoing everything from plumbing to the electrical, ripping up carpets and stripping the wood. One of the highlights of the home is the intricate hand-drawn stained-glass windows, which are located throughout the home - not just on the main level. The stunning stained-glass windows were what drew them to the house, and after they bought, the couple had the windows encased in glass to preserve them.
The previous owner had the property for about 40 years and used the spacious home as a rooming house for income.
The couple bought the house in 2011 for about $760,000. "Our dinky bungalow in Burnaby sold for $100,000 more, so that money poured into this one," Deanna says.
The plan is to plug away at restoring and renovating the home over the next several years.
"I told (my husband) I wouldn't have committed to a 15-year renovation to a house that wasn't worth it,"
Deanna says, looking at David while sitting in their bright dining room. "This house was truly a labour of love, and I also told him I'm not moving out of this house until I'm in a body bag," she adds cheekily.
According to the City of New Westminster planning department, the house was built for Ms. Matthews in 1911.
A city staffer said that often permits at that time were issued in a wife's name because husbands were off working away from the home.
The architect for the house was E.G.W. Sait, who built a number city buildings and prominent homes in New Westminster, including the Kirk house at 321 Fourth Ave. in Queen's Park.
One of the unique features of Fifth Street is its wide grassy boulevards, which were mapped out because it was supposed to be the city's ceremonial street - the place to host formal events, but that never came to be.
As for Deanna, she's thrilled with the shape her house is taking, though she and David admit they are going to ease up on renovations for a while and enjoy the home they plan to own for many years to come.
Larry Wright, The Record / Sweet home: Deanna Tan Francoeur and her husband, David Francoeur, with their kids, Nyalo, 4, and Maceio, 6, in their 100-year-old house in Glenbrooke. The couple, who weren't even in the market for a new house, snatched up the heritage gem in 2011.;
