If anyone asks for advice about renovating an old home, Aaron and Cynthia Vickar offer one key message: Be patient. The Vickars have lived in their 108-year-old Olivette stone house since 2012. The family, who belong to Kol Rinah, moved from another old house in University City. Renovation of the “new” house took nearly 18 months.
“I would tell anyone to find a really good contractor who’s familiar with old homes,” said Cynthia Vickar. “And don’t be surprised when you get surprised. Even yesterday, we had somebody come in to install smart switches. He opened a wall and the electrical was random. Now we have to make that correction.”
On the positive side, a gut rehab allows a homeowner to begin with a blank slate, she said.
“For me it was exciting because it I could go in and put my touch on it,” she said. “I didn’t feel bad ripping out something that someone had recently done. So, it was the perfect canvas for me.”
Some elements of the house were off-limits for updating, she said. They included the intricate stained-glass windows, which lack energy-efficiency.
“It can get drafty, but I’m not going to get rid of these windows,” she said.
The renovation required finding new materials to match damaged vintage architectural elements, like crown molding.
“A lot of it is original, but some of it was damaged,” Cynthia Vickar said. “There’s a company downtown that created our exact crown molding and kept the template. If we ever need more, they can reference it.”
When the Vickars first looked at the house, it hadn’t been updated in almost 50 years.
“I would say we touched 70%,” said Aaron Vickar. “One of the few areas that we didn’t change was the dining room.”
The formal dining room, like most of the house, has hardwood floors. Under the dining room table is small hole visible on the floor. At one time, it had a small foot switch covered by a brass plate.
“It had a button for the host to push to signal the maid to bring food in from the kitchen,” Cynthia Vickar said. “You could tap it with your foot.”
Around the corner from the dining room is the renovated kitchen space, which in the early 1900s also doubled as servant’s quarters.
The high ceilings, textured plaster walls and arched doorways give the Vickar house the look and feel of a castle. They’ve lightened the mood significantly by carefully curating pieces of art. Some are whimsical like the “V Wall.” It has dozens of treatments of the letter V. Cynthia collected most of the Vs and other pieces when she travels. The house also prominently displays four oil paintings created by Aaron Vickar’s grandmother, who was an accomplished artist.
“One is a portrait she painted of my great-grandparents,” Aaron Vickar said. “I grew up in a house that had lots of artwork.”
Another piece of art that pays homage to the Vickar family is a pair of black-and-white photos Cynthia Vickar modified and framed, then gave to Aaron for Father’s Day. The scene is Vickar Motors, Aaron’s grandfather’s first car dealership in Canada.
The Vickars inherited various paintings from Aaron’s family, and Cynthia has acquired other pieces in their travels. A large piece of art in the master bedroom is a hand-lettered canvas with the lyrics to the Eric Clapton ballad “Wonderful Tonight.” It took Cynthia several weeks of meticulous work to create it. Art can significantly change the mood of a living space, according to Cynthia Vickar.
“For me, art is extremely important—both art and lighting,” she said. “I have a creative mind, and I just like to look at it.”
Cynthia Vickar comes by her art sensibilities because, she said, “I use both my left and right brain. I was a science major and a pharmaceutical rep for 10 years. But I always loved creative things. One day a friend came over and said, ‘Oh, your house is beautiful. Would you help me?’”
Others started asking Cynthia for design help, which she did professionally for a time. She still consults on interior design and art as a favor for friends now that her own house is filled. Cynthia described the dilemma she faces.
“I’m all out of walls!”
