The owner’s tour | Neighborhood charms in Chelsea

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes to us, offered on the resale market.

The happiness of living in a house sometimes stems as much from its benefits as from those of the neighborhood. This is the case of Amanda Dale and Anja Kessler, a couple from Toronto who came to live in Quebec, in Chelsea, near Ottawa, in 2019.

“Anja, who is a strategic communications advisor, had been working in Ottawa for six years and I had been working in Toronto for six years,” says Amanda. We were tired of traveling between the two cities to see each other. And it was a good time for me to change jobs. »

After running the Barbra Schlifer Toronto clinic for ten years, specializing in the protection and legal aid of women victims of violence, Amanda became a consultant, specializing in human rights, working mainly from home, notably on his research grant at the University of Ottawa.

For this urban couple, united for more than 30 years, living so close to Gatineau Park was a revelation. “Arriving the first time in the middle of January, when there was a lot of snow, we couldn’t imagine how beautiful it was underneath! Amanda exclaims. When we moved in in the spring, the first morning – when the boxes were everywhere – we saw a deer pass through the bay window. My goodness ! It was incredible! »

With an area of ​​8000 m^⁠2, the property’s park is, in summer, populated with lupins and flowers of all colors. “It’s magical,” said Amanda. I planted around fifty trees, birches, weeping willows and an orchard with blackcurrants, gooseberries and plum trees. We also installed bird feeders. My friends tell me we created a “food court” for blue jays, cardinals, orioles and owls! »

The couple created a quiet space behind the house with chairs and a fire pit. That’s without counting the two terraces on two flat roofs. To rest and receive friends for meals in the middle of nature and this neighborhood that Amanda describes as the most pleasant and open she has ever known.

The latter realized the quality of its neighbors during the pandemic. One day, she went skating on the Gatineau River, near their house. She fell, breaking her ankle and shoulder. “My neighbors helped me on the ice, called the ambulance. When I came back from the hospital, I was immobilized for eight weeks and, in the middle of COVID, my neighbors brought me food, including good pastries from the Fidélice bakery in Gatineau! They walked our dog… Well, it was exceptional! Especially when we arrive in a new place, we are always nervous. Tensions with the neighborhood can spoil the pleasure of the most beautiful house. »

The neighborhood is also a more “European” life than what they had known. “We love the proximity to Montreal, a more relaxed city than Toronto and where we have good friends,” says Amanda. And we’re 20 minutes from Ottawa where you can have a cappuccino, Dijon mustard and excellent restaurants! All while living in the peace and tranquility of the countryside. »

This love for this corner of Quebec is the reason why they will stay there, perhaps in Wakefield, after selling this house that has become too big for their needs. “It was a difficult decision to make, but we are going to stay in this region that we love, with the Gatineau hills that are so spectacular in the fall and that we see from our windows. »

An elegant house with 14 rooms – with optimal windows (almost no walls!) and European quality (just like the Italian faucets) – represents a living area of ​​more than 2000 sq. ft.^⁠2 and it therefore requires a lot of maintenance, explains Amanda who will miss the atmosphere of the place. “From the outside, the house is very architectural, almost intimidating, but the interior is so intimate. Like the neighborhood. »

Consult the property file