When Mike and Sheri Lynn Eso bought their home at 10162 Resthaven Dr., it was planned as a flip project of sorts. But eight years after buying it and as their home turns 100 years old, they are happily settled in.
“When we first bought it we planned it to be a flip. We were going to reno it and planned on selling it. But we’re so comfortable here and there’s still things we want to do to it,” explained Sheri Lynn.
The pair bought the home on a whim, only one year after moving into a brand new home on Orchard Avenue.
“I’d always admired the house when I’d drive by it, so when I saw it go on the market I knew we had to go at least look at it,” laughed Sheri Lynn, who’s worked and lived on the Peninsula with Mike and their children for the last 24 years. “As soon as I saw in the inside I was worried, but Mike kept going through room by room and envisioning what we could do with it and I became convinced.”
The home, a familiar Resthaven Drive landmark, was built in 1912 by George Brethour for Richard Oldfield (no relation to the Oldfields of Central Saanich). According to information from the Sidney Museum Archives, Oldfield came to the Sidney area in 1912 and ran the Sidney office of the Western Development and Insurance Company. He only remained in the area until 1915 when he left for the March to Britain. When house was built, Resthaven Drive was known as Marine Drive. It is suspected the house, which is solidly built out of concrete block, was possibly built from pre-designed plans sold by Sears Roebuck.
“It’s incredible. For being such an old house you’d think it would be drafty or creaky or maybe even have ghosts,” laughed Sheri Lynn. “I think we even asked the realtor if it had ghosts. But it turned out that it has a really comfortable feeling to it. I have slept better here than I’ve ever slept in any house before.”
The Esos purchased the home from an older couple who had owned it for about 20 years. Before that, the home saw a handful of owners and, Mike suspects, a slew of renters.
“Through the ’60s and ’70s I’m pretty sure it was a rental for many years. We always get people commenting or stopping by to say, ‘Oh, I went to a party at this house years ago,’ or ‘I used to know someone who lived there.’ It’s pretty funny.”
To celebrate the house turning 100, the Esos hosted a garden party over the August long weekend. Their next plan as the house moves into being more than a century old is to continue to make improvements to it.
“We always have something on the to do list for the house,” said Mike. “I work a lot on the landscaping outside, but now we’re at the point where we’re looking at stuff we did when we first moved in and thinking, well maybe it’s time to re-do that, so there’s always something to do.”
