Grand Hotel Shaunavon

Grand Hotel Shaunavon Shaunavon's Grand Hotel was built at the height of the Southwest Saskatchewan's boom period in 1929. Check us out on the web at GrandHotelShaunavon.com

Confident men aren't afraid of a little lace here and there, right? ... right??Either way, I'm sure I must have more lac...
10/06/2026

Confident men aren't afraid of a little lace here and there, right? ... right??

Either way, I'm sure I must have more lace in my house than is healthy or normal. I have somehow acquired it throughout my adult life because it's the dainty kinda things people just don't like anymore. Add that to my growing collection of China, crystal and silver and I guess I'm just old-fashioned.

I've been hanging window treatments today in my 1915 Shaunavon house and feeling a bit like nesting in anticipation for winter.

I've included a picture of the window I just installed in the living room from the outside now compared to the same spot a couple of years ago when I bought the house. I had no idea the original siding was hiding underneath that ugly asphalt siding. I probably won't get to paint it this year, but definitely will come spring.

And look what arrived! Calendars! I'm pretty happy with them and will get them mailed out this week. I will do a post to let people know how many I have left once the dust clears.

The living room in my house, built in 1915, has come a long way since I started on the house as my winter project two ye...
10/02/2026

The living room in my house, built in 1915, has come a long way since I started on the house as my winter project two years ago. Now that I've returned the window to the original size, light spills into the space. Just in time for winter.

Here are some before and after pictures of what I bought - a house sat empty and neglected for 35 years. It's not done, but completely unrecognizable today.

I love taking things from the brink and giving them new life. I can walk through a house like this and anticipate how it could be with determined dedication.

I have a few loose ends in the living room before I return to the parlour in the room next door. For those new to my page, I rotate working on the hotel in warmer months and the house in colder months as I don't have heat in the hotel yet.

I plan to restore the last of this five-bedroom house this winter with the exception of the beautiful old growth fir floors which I'll do down the road once the hotel is done.

A note on calendars! They are scheduled to arrive on October 8th and I plan to have all shipped within a day or two from that!

Restoring this large window in the 1915 Shaunavon house is going well. The trim fits well into the original opening and ...
09/28/2026

Restoring this large window in the 1915 Shaunavon house is going well. The trim fits well into the original opening and once everything is painted it will be hard to tell this isn't original.

A note on 2027 Grand Hotel calendars: I hope they come in this week and I'll start shipping them! I will announce it here. I have reached out to everyone I needed addresses for so if you haven't heard from me, it means all is well!

I took advantage of warm weather to get the ball rolling on restoring the large window in the living room of my house, b...
09/26/2026

I took advantage of warm weather to get the ball rolling on restoring the large window in the living room of my house, built in 1915, that I'm nearly finished restoring.

I am slowly transitioning from working from the hotel to the house as I have heat at home but not yet in the hotel.

I removed the cobbled in smaller window and prepared to begin installing a window to fit the original size.

It's so much brighter a space and I'm excited to make more progress on the house!

More 'car stuff' as I clean up this derelict 1957 Oldsmobile 88. Sorry about the car posts.. But they will be short-live...
09/23/2026

More 'car stuff' as I clean up this derelict 1957 Oldsmobile 88. Sorry about the car posts.. But they will be short-lived. You can see just how much better this car will look after a patented 'Kent Clean'. Honestly, as a kid this was a term among my friends as I was known for my obsessive detail in cleaning. Yes, I was cool.đŸ˜…

Tomorrow, I get a 'new' window for my living room in my house (1915 Shaunavon house I spend winters restoring)

Over the next month you'll see more house restoration posts and less on the hotel until Spring. I have heat at home but the hotel is still unheated. Also, I enjoy multiple projects and it keeps me from ever getting bored.

The house, abandoned for 35 years, is nearing completion. I still have hopes to finish painting it this year but it's very weather-dependant. The nice thing about seeing the house is it gives a sense of the type of work I do when I'm in the finishing stages of restoration. The last two pictures show how my house looks now versus when I bought it.

Even if I could afford shiny, fancy new things I wouldn't want them. I prefer taking trash and making treasure. It's all about the process for me, and saving something I see potential in.

Anyone that's coming from Saskatoon to Shaunavon area able to make room for a sofa? I'm have one being donated to the ho...
09/22/2026

Anyone that's coming from Saskatoon to Shaunavon area able to make room for a sofa? I'm have one being donated to the hotel but no way to get it home!

Also!

I have a day off work tomorrow and will be emailing every person that I need an address from that has ordered a 2027 Grand Hotel Shaunavon Calendar! If you don't hear from me tomorrow, it means I have your address! Calendars are expected this week or next. Once they are ready to ship, I'll be sending an email. I've ordered more than I need so may have some available once the dust clears!

Long before I restored the Grand Hotel, I obsessed over restoring something else - cars from the 1950's. Specifically, I...
09/20/2026

Long before I restored the Grand Hotel, I obsessed over restoring something else - cars from the 1950's. Specifically, I like cars from 1955 to 1958. The more over the top, the better.

I own a number of them and they are mostly orphans that were at risk of being crushed. If I found one of them complete (or mostly) and dirt cheap, no matter HOW rough it was, it was hard for me to say no to saving it.

Every time I'd add one to the collection, I'd set out to clean it up, as best as I could, and slowly peck away at them. My hope is to build a pole barn one day and have them on display. I could spend all day polishing them quite happily. One day, when I'm a bit too old to tackle building restoration, restoring these cars will be my retirement hobby instead.

As Fall approaches, I get anxious from having neglected my other hobbies, like cars, since I shower all of my attention on the hotel. Like clockwork, at this time of year I start sprucing up these relics while the weather is still warm enough. I plan to get some old roller tires on this 1958 Pontiac Strato Chief to make it stand proud again. I gave it a thorough wash today.

When I got this car a few years ago (for a few hundred bucks), it was covered in moss, dirt, cobwebs and lichen. I methodically cleaned the entire thing top to bottom. With these old cars, I explore for hidden treasures in the trunk, glove box and under the seat. Sometimes you learn things about the car and owners. I find it cathartic to bring dignity back to them. Some will be restored and others just for display. They are works of art to me.

Sounds kinda like my experience with the hotel. I love restoring almost anything vintage! It's therapeutic, if nothing else.

That's that for hanging ceiling drywall for now as I've finished the task other than the two deluxe suites (which I plan...
09/18/2026

That's that for hanging ceiling drywall for now as I've finished the task other than the two deluxe suites (which I plan to do down the road). I have lost track of how many sheets of drywall I have hung. It will be mostly plaster from here on in.

This room is the 'bad corner' of the hotel that will need rebuilding on the exterior. Anyone who has seen this corner can see it is, inside and outside, coated in spray foam. At one time this was a really leaky room and this was a bandaid solution years ago. Since I had a new roof put on, it is bone dry now and pretty decent all things considered.

This room will become a maintenance room with laundry, cleaning supplies, etc. Much of the plaster affixed to the brick tiles deteriorated years ago revealing a stamp identifying them as being made by Alberta Clay Products Ltd. - Medicine Hat. That area, two hours west from Shaunavon, was a prolific producer of brick and other clay products years ago.

My next job will be to vacuum and then wash the entire second floor. It's going to be CLEAN for the first time in probably a half century.

Everywhere you look, you see small reminders of the lives of people who once were guests in some manner at the Grand Hot...
09/16/2026

Everywhere you look, you see small reminders of the lives of people who once were guests in some manner at the Grand Hotel. These relics hide underneath decrepit linoleum and behind baseboards. They are rarely of value but always of interest. Many of them will be displayed in the Grand Hotel museum as a collage of trinkets found here and there.

I have stripped this most recent room at the very back of the second floor of decay and come spring I'll be plastering everything. The lino protected this floor from rot but it looks like staining from a leaky radiator. There are tricks to remove stains I'll play with later. I'm also lucky this old growth fir has never been sanded before as there is plenty of wood to sand.

Thanks to all those who ordered calendars! I'll be placing an order for them tomorrow and contacting people over the coming week to confirm details. If you'd like to order, you still can today or tomorrow. I plan to order extra to allow for more sales as needed. I have described ordering details in a previous post which I have pinned as the top post on my hotel page.

I've worked in almost every single room at the Grand Hotel now. It shows so much more promise than it did when I first acquired it and as I clean things up I can feel the history come alive.

I've been on a little stretch of shifts at work which has kept me busy but decided to take today as a vacation day and d...
09/14/2026

I've been on a little stretch of shifts at work which has kept me busy but decided to take today as a vacation day and do an impromptu day at the Grand Hotel.

I'm at the very last room on the right of the second floor now. I work in my job as a CCA (Care aide) tomorrow but will be off on Tuesday and can get this room cleared out the rest of the way.

You can see the sink is hanging on for dear life and that will come down until I get the plumbing redone. Also, that section of plaster has failed and you can see is buckling and separated for the lath. Once any previously water damaged areas are removed, it can be rebuilt again.

The floors again were saved by this filthy old lino. I'll remove it once I've taken out the sink and water damaged areas. You can see how nice the floor is underneath!

This room is generally in pretty good shape, miraculously. I'm excited to give the entire second floor a thorough cleaning now that every room has been cleaned up.

Thank you for all the orders for calendars! I plan to order them on the 15th and will update everyone then! If you want to order one, check my post from a few days ago! I plan to order some extras too!

Address

37 Third Avenue East
Shaunavon, SK
S0N0W0

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