Woman Completely Transforms Grandparents' Home of 38 Years with 'Modern' Touches After She Buys the Property (Exclusive)

In September 2022, Chiara Plastina fulfilled her puerility dream of becoming nan proud caller proprietor of her grandparents’ beloved location successful Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

After years of considering a move but uncovering thing that felt right, her grandparents, Sara and Alvaro Giorgi, accepted an connection to unrecorded pinch Plastina’s father, allowing her nan chance to return complete nan location that had meant truthful overmuch to her increasing up. 

With attraction and intention, she renovated nan space, giving it a "modern" refresh while preserving nan specifications that held heavy family meaning. 

Today, it stands arsenic some a tribute to her past and a instauration for nan early she and her husband, Jason, are building together.

“My siblings and I ever casually told my Nonni that we ne'er wanted them to waste nan house,” Plastina tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It’s been specified a typical spot for america –we slept complete each Friday and had luncheon location each Sunday. I learned to thrust a motorcycle there, helped Nonno successful nan garden, and baked pinch Nonna.”

Her grandma is primitively from a mini municipality successful nan mountains of Tuscany, conscionable extracurricular of Florence. Her grandfather, for his part, was calved successful Rome but was later adopted by a family successful nan aforesaid municipality arsenic Sara. The brace person been together since gathering astatine nan property of 17. 

After getting married, Sara and Alvaro moved to Switzerland, wherever they welcomed copy daughters. In September 1967, they immigrated to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, successful hopes of a amended future.

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“Nonno worked arsenic a mill worker, while Nonna held respective different jobs – from cleaning homes to moving successful a restaurant. When they first arrived, they lived pinch family, redeeming each penny they could,” Plastina explains. 

“Eventually, they were capable to acquisition a semi-detached home, and galore years later, they upgraded to a tiny small backsplit connected Jasper Court, still successful Kitchener.” 

While Sara and Alvaro loved surviving successful Kitchener, aft nan patriarch started moving astatine a mill successful Vaughan, nan agelong commute started taking a toll connected nan family.

“Nonno didn’t want to move. He loved Kitchener. Leaving meant taking a monolithic leap of religion – and a important financial risk,” Plastina shares. “But Nonna and her daughters were truthful assured successful nan determination that they bought nan location successful Vaughan without Nonno moreover knowing.”

In 1987, Plastina’s grandparents bought their location successful Vaughan, putting down a $10,000 deposit connected nan $250,000 property, which pushed nan limits of their fund but proved to beryllium a worthy investment.

The move was difficult. Living connected a tight budget, they counted each dollar and couldn’t spend a stove correct away, redeeming for it complete time. His grandma felt embarrassed erstwhile guests noticed its absence, but to them, nan location was still their castle.

“Over nan years, they worked tirelessly to make it their own. They treated it for illustration nan top blessing – saving, investing, and pouring emotion into each corner,” Plastina says. “38 years later, my Nonni cognize it was nan top and astir rewarding consequence they ever took.”

However, Plastina’s grandparents first started reasoning astir downsizing astir 2016. The location was starting to consciousness excessively large, and family gatherings were happening little often nether their roof. 

As nan family grew and schedules shifted, it became easier for her grandparents to subordinate meals astatine their children and grandchildren’s homes alternatively than host. 

By 2020, they began touring apartments and townhomes, but nary felt for illustration nan correct fit. Some were excessively large for their needs, while others were excessively expensive. 

Eventually, Plastina’s begetter projected a applicable solution: they could move successful pinch him and her mother, who had an other room and had agelong planned to adhd a 2nd kitchen. 

As a result, Plastina and Jason had an opportunity to bargain nan house. “I don’t deliberation I ever really thought it would happen,” she tells PEOPLE. “It each aligned truthful perfectly.”

Plastina’s extremity was to update nan location to modern standards, updating nan electrical and plumbing, while preserving its original character. The layout remains mostly intact, pinch nan kitchen, surviving room, and powder room successful their original spots. 

Still, nan 2 main floors were wholly renovated. On nan crushed floor, 3 load-bearing walls were removed to create a much unfastened layout, and a model was taken retired to grow nan kitchen. 

Upstairs, 1 chamber was divided to adhd a laundry room and walk-in closet, while nan original laundry abstraction was converted into a mudroom. The original staircase was preserved for its warmth and character, and finishes were chosen to bespeak nan home's era. 

Much of her grandparents’ original furnishings remains – beds, broadside tables, artwork, mirrors, a eating table, and dressers – but nan astir meaningful portion is nan original beforehand door, which will beryllium repurposed and utilized successful nan renovated home.

“Our extremity is to blend nan aged pinch nan new, and we scheme to bring successful moreover much vintage charm done decor and furnishings that bespeak nan home’s original style,” Plastina says. 

After 3 years of renovations, she and Jason person finally settled in and are now enjoying nan location they built together. The chance to not only bargain her grandparents’ location but renovate it themselves near Plastina profoundly grateful.

“Since my incredibly talented husband, Jason, is simply a contractor and has been renovating our location himself, nan process has taken a batch longer than we anticipated,” Plastina reveals. “He’s been juggling his full-time job, mundane life, and responsibilities — so reaching that milestone felt surreal.”

Seeing her grandmother’s guidance to nan last product, particularly nan kitchen, was an affectional infinitesimal successful itself – an unspoken support that meant much than words. 

“They felt profoundly honored to spot nan bequest of their difficult activity being appreciated,” Plastina says. “It meant truthful overmuch to them to cognize that nan location they built their life successful was being loved, preserved, and reimagined pinch care.”

The renewal was bittersweet and afloat of memories, emotion, and meaning. Though overmuch has changed, nan bosom of nan location – and nan emotion her grandparents poured into it – is still felt successful each corner.

“For me, it’s not conscionable astir preserving memories, it’s astir continuing their story,” Plastina tells PEOPLE. “Their love, dedication, and resilience built nan instauration of this home, and now I get to honour that by creating a caller section rooted successful everything they’ve fixed us.”