The Museum of Bruce and Kay

Bruce and Kay Chambers.

Kay Chambers always seems to get more than what she has bargained for.

Just looking for a dance partner at a nightclub in 1986, she ended up meeting Bruce McCann, her future husband.

Then in 1993, when she and Bruce as newlyweds bought a rundown Victorian home in Crescent Hill, she expected a few minor renovations. But she hadnt imagined the 17-year overhaul that would follow.

Kay presumed the house, which was originally a duplex, would remain that way. So when Bruce destroyed it to turn it into a single-family home, and Kay found it in shambles, she was shocked to say the least.

I grew up in old homes and wanted a project, said Bruce. I probably looked like a kid in a candy store with a sledgehammer.

The home was habitable after six months of intense renovation, a feat Bruce undertook himself with the help of contractor Andre Faget and Barry Hunt of Hunt Remodeling. But there was still much work to be done.

I was over here morning and night, said Bruce. Sometimes, Id be here 13 to 14 hours a day.

Kay gave Bruce full license to restore the home as he wished. So he demolished everything, apart from a few lighting and plumbing fixtures, the windows and main staircase.

He even stripped the walls of their Victorian-style, patterned wallpaper. But it wasnt until last year that Bruce and Kay had them painted. They were reluctant to do so because they felt the patchiness of the walls added a sort of whimsical charm to the home.

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The Museum of Bruce and Kay