wanted, Mrs. Smith saw Ardsheal Cottage.

And so, a year and a half ago, they purchased the Paget property. It is now a jewel; an ample, wood-faced and white-painted Victorian house. Located in a quiet residential neighbourhood, this turn-of-the-century, three-storey home has a dramatic view overlooking the South Shore coastline.

When the house was put on the market, its beauty was hidden beneath incomplete renovations.

Mrs. Smith saw its potential and quickly turned it into the elegant and joyful house it is today. Now they are working on the grounds around the house.

"Henry is trying to make an old Bermuda garden,'' she says. Mrs. Smith is an auctioneer with Somers Realty, and became well known in the community as one of the Hammers' partners.

Her years in the business have given her the opportunity to purchase some wonderful pieces of furniture. Her husband's family collection also included some magnificent pieces, including the mahogany bed which they sleep in. "It was in the United States for 40 years, and then we brought it back,'' she says.

Mrs. Smith said her favourite piece in the house is an 18th century Bermuda-made mahogany chest. "Every piece of furniture in the house has a story, especially when we have been able to learn a little bit about a piece from the family,'' she says. "I have a little here and there from a lot of old estates.'' Since she and Henry were married, Judiann has become an avid collector of Haitian art, and she has pulled the glowing colours she has used throughout the house from that genre, also buying pieces from the Dominican Republic, which she has visited.

The sofas, cushions and curtains throughout the reception rooms are all in those jewel tones which give Haitian art its vibrancy.

Today, Ardsheal is an ebullient house, full of rich hues and clear light. "I really know what I like,'' says Mrs. Smith. "I really try and make it flow through the house.'' This impressive, heavily-carved mahogany bed at Ardsheal Cottage is a family piece which the Smith's brought back from the US after 40 years.

RG MAGAZINE JULY 1993