Balancing City and Country: Evan and Sydney
Evan and Sydney are a dynamic young professional couple that have just made the huge move to the country, just north of Toronto. They were an absolute pleasure to work with and I was thoroughly excited to help them seal the deal on this gorgeous property. I’m thrilled that Evan and Sydney are embracing their cozy gem of a home.
This log cabin features gorgeous stone work, the home is paired with a historical barn, all set against substantial acreage and a thriving pond. I’m excited to share how the couple is enjoying their dream home, what has surprised them along the way, as well as their future plans for the property.
When I first showed you the property, you looked at one another and excitedly said "this place checks all the boxes". What was on your checklist?
When we thought about our dream home and property, we had a couple of must-haves.
For the property itself, we wanted three things. Number one: a pond of our own. Evan is a hockey enthusiast, and he always dreamed of having his very own backyard rink to enjoy during the winter months. For me, as a wildlife lover, a pond was important because I knew that a body of water on the property would attract a more diverse ecosystem - beavers, ducks, fish, herons, and other animals of the like. I envisioned going on a morning kayak before work, sipping my coffee while watching the birds and frogs… rather than sitting on the 401 in traffic!
Number two: a forested area. We’re both avid hikers and campers, and we always dreamed that we would be able to hike right in our own backyard. I figured that was something we’d never actually find, and that the next best thing would be close access to local hiking options… so I’m sure you can imagine our delight when we found this place. Acres of trails of our own to explore, AND so many beautiful options in the surrounding area too. A real dream come true.
And number three: a lawn and deck. I love the forest and the feeling of being surrounded by trees, but there’s also something to be said about wide open grass and bright sun. I wanted a place for kids to play, for a backyard cookout, for sitting in the sun.
As for the home itself, our must-have list was much more vague. The one thing I always told Evan was that I wanted a "warm” home. Nowadays, it’s all the rage for new/stylish homes to be minimalist, contemporary, clean. While I love the crisp feeling of a new home, I never wanted my home to be this way. It looks pretty, but feels sterile to me. I wanted a place that felt comfortable and cozy, a place with character, something timeless rather than trendy. I didn’t know exactly what that would look like, but when we found this place, it was like everything I wanted jumped out from my mind and into reality.
I think the reason why our must-have list for the home itself was a little less defined is that overall, we were seeking a place that has so much to offer outside that you wouldn’t want to spend much time indoors. A large home on a small property– like what you’d find in most urban areas– was the opposite of what we wanted. A big, wild property full of possibilities for work and play, and a cozy place to lay our heads at night– that’s what we were looking for, and what we found here.
What are your three favourite characteristics of your home and property?
We absolutely love that the historic cabin is still the centerpiece of the home, and that it perfectly complements the newer parts of the house. The combination of old and new is really unique. The wood burning fire is a major plus as well!
As for the property, we love that we have so many different places to go and hang out! Between decks, docks, gazebos and the forest, it sometimes feels like we’re living at our own summer camp. :)
And lastly, the barn. Right now, it’s just a barn, but we see so much potential and possibility. Every time we go in, I look at it in a new way. We’ve already had so much fun dreaming of what we could someday do with the space. It’ll be a long time before we get there, but having something like that to look forward to is really special.
Since moving in, have there been any challenges with the property? What home improvement projects lay ahead?
I think we did a good job of managing our expectations coming in. We knew that by taking on a property like this we’d be in for a lot of work, so we mentally prepared ourselves for that. Lawn care and general house maintenance (roof, well, etc) are probably our two biggest tasks, but we’re taking them step by step.
Our approach is to come at everything with a “rookie mindset.” We know we’re new at this stuff (property, house, forest and pond maintenance), and that there will be challenges and a big learning curve, but we’re excited to learn together. It feels like the best kind of challenge and we know it will be super rewarding.
How do you balance your time between the country and the city?
Syd: Living away from the city has been okay for me. The offices I work at are a fair drive away from our new home, but the commute is SO much nicer on the back roads than on the highways. Driving in the city is tough because you never know how much traffic you’re going to hit. An hour’s commute can easily turn into two hours with traffic and accidents. The commute from Caledon to the other small towns I work in is much more predictable– and enjoyable, too. The roads are scenic and the drive can actually be quite relaxing… unless there’s snow, of course, but I can plan to leave early and take my time when I know a storm is coming.
Evan: Working in tech, one of the silver linings of COVID is that my work life has gone remote-first and we haven’t skipped a beat. If anything, I’ve gotten more done in the last year than ever. I actually like working from home for many reasons– I can cook more, switch up my workspaces during the day, and minimize distractions. I won’t ever be going into the office five days a week again, so it is incredibly important that home feels like a place where I can be productive, active, and motivated. A country home makes for the ideal office space– when I need a break, I can walk outside for five minutes and come back feeling refreshed and inspired. You just can’t get that living in the city.
I often hear from young clients "we will move to the country when we are older, after we have kids.” What would you say to others your age who are inspired but worried about leaving the big city?
We would be lying if we said we didn’t worry about what the transition would be like, and if it would impact our social lives. We wondered whether leaving the city would leave us feeling isolated and alone out in the country by ourselves– but we took a hard look at what actually makes us happy, and decided to double down on those elements.
Living in the city, we always found ourselves counting down the hours until the weekend… we couldn’t wait to get out of the city and into nature. The city is great on a Saturday night when you want to meet friends at a restaurant, but what about all the other days of the week? We realized that you can commute to that weekend dinner party and spend the rest of the week having your morning coffee by the pond or going to a nature walk after work, but you can’t do it the other way around.
And as for feeling isolated– not the case in the slightest. COVID has obviously put a stop to this for now, but we already have many friends who are excited to come spend the weekend with us when it is safe again. It is a great opportunity for our friends to escape the city, and it works for us because we love hosting!
On your property, you have a fabulous heritage barn built right into the bank of your pond. What are your plans for it?
We’ve got a lot of dreams right now, that’s for sure! Long term, we’d really like to completely renovate it and make it into a livable space… but it will be a while before we can make that happen.
In the short term, we’re looking forward to cleaning it up and using it for our wedding. We’re going to get married on the property in a few years– although we haven’t decided what role the barn will play yet, we know that it will definitely be part of the big day.
Finally, any words you have for people looking to work with me and the rest of the Sotheby’s team?
To keep it simple… go for it. This was without a doubt the biggest and most stressful decision of our lives to date, but it was all worth it. This property has unlocked a new level of happiness for us that we hardly knew existed.
Major thanks go to Val for helping us make our dream a reality. She was not only a trusted consultant and expert on country homes, but also a friend and confidant who calmly supported us through the entire process. We highly recommend working with Val and her team at Sotheby’s!