NEW LISTING TODAY - 318 QUEEN ST

LISTED AT $499,000. I’m very fond of the well-restored cottages in Kingston’s downtown core. They sit well with me, feel like small, perfect treasures sewn into the city’s tapestry. 318 Queen St is a fine example, a star pupil. You are right downtown, of course, which means all your favourite shops and restaurants are right around the corner, and the university and hospitals are only a short walk.

COMING APRIL 3 - 12 REDAN ST

On April 3rd I’ll list what I suspect will prove one of the prettiest Inner Harbour homes that we’ll see this season. Three beds, two baths, a deep breath from the park. It’s very good indeed. The list of fine renovations is longer than anything I’ve written in months. Stay tuned.

ALSO ON THE HORIZON:

I have a two-and-a-half storey brick and limestone home coming in the Inner Harbour. And a detached white stucco home just off McBurney’s shoulder. And an Amherstview side-split set back from a long curve, which means a huge pie-shaped lot and enough mature trees to start your own newspaper. I’ll have a mid-century bungalow in the Aylesworth subdivision too. And a log home or cottage (or corporate retreat, it’s about 4000 s.f. over three fairytale floors) on the wild northern reaches of Sydenham Lake.

There are others, and as prospects become leading lights, I’ll add to this list.

(You can, of course, reach out any time, to talk about your own house search, or your own home.)

66 COWDY ST - $449,000

A semi-detached three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom Inner Harbour home built in 2018, which makes it more than a century younger than most of its neighbours, and a worry- and maintenance-free option for those wanting to be downtown without a care in the world.

I thought it would be snapped up immediately, and the fact that we’re re-listing the house today at $449,000 isn’t something I thought we’d need to do. Opportunity knocks.

NOW PRICED AT $449,000.

4 BOOTH AVENUE - $599,999

4 BOOTH AVENUE IS RE-LISTED AT $599,999

The jet-black exterior of this very stylish home set among tall trees above the St Lawrence River, just ten minutes from Kingston’s downtown core and with access to community waterfront, is like something dreamed up for the next Bond film. There is even a spot for the Aston Martin, two of them in fact, at the bottom of the stone steps. The house is elegant and minimalist in its design, private as a hilltop fort. The living and dining rooms are open to the ridiculously pretty loft and adjacent to two bedrooms. The ceiling is just shy of a mile high, we’ve measured it, and the light, wherever you poke your head, pours in from all sides. The galley kitchen, with its stone counters and its open shelves, its head-height porthole to the woods, is properly connected to that main space, so as not to isolate whoever prepares dinner. We might use one of those bedrooms as an office, and save the splendid studio/shed for garden tools and a small workshop, a secret spot to crack codes. There is a bathroom on the main level of the house (kitted out with subway tile and a rainfall shower!), and another two-piece in the loft. We keep saying loft, but it is surely the third bedroom, the principal suite, complete with dressing area and a private, elevated deck. You will feel, I swear, as if you've arrived at an exclusive hotel. The renovations are recent and extensive (we can send you a list), and the heating and cooling are top-notch. There really is nothing here that needs your attention. Which is the point, isn't it, when you decide to leave behind the run-of-the-mill and live extraordinarily?

If you’ve been following along you may know that this property was initially offered last year at $885,000. The new price is not a misprint.

ON WHAT PASSES FOR STAGING

I’ve been asking Susan Poffley at Design Style Kingston to stage quite a few recent listings. More are lined up. Not every house needs staging. Some are ready to go. Others just need thinning out and re-arranging, brightening up, rather like a garden after a long winter (Susan offers guidance there too), and sometimes a consultation and a to-do list are enough. But very often it’s best if she goes in and does her thing. I try to stay out of the way because Susan knows best. Most recently she helped with 38 Alwington Avenue and the house sold in two days. The difference between a professionally staged house and a DIY effort can be pretty stark. Here’s proof:

RECENTLY SOLD

MUSINGS