Great Canadian Homes, a one-hour special on HGTV, featured 13 other historic homes.
The Bell family says they don’t usually allow photographers or film crews in the home, which boasts 11 bedrooms in the 37-room landmark. This is for safety and privacy reasons.
But it seems the producer of Great Canadian Homes, Carolyn Meland of HeartHat Entertainment, was able to impress upon the family the importance of having their ancestral home, named Beinn Bhreagh, a part of the special.
Hopes are the show does well so it could be turned into a series featuring more homes of historical value in Canada.
Bell’s Beinn Bhreagh is only one of 13 homes featured in the premiere of Great Canadian Homes on HGTV.
Featured homes include:
• Victoria County, N.S.: Beinn Bhreagh (built by Alexander Graham Bell 1893)
• Montreal, Que.: Grassi House (1935, Art Deco, designed by Rene Rodolphe Tourville)
• Montreal, Que.: Habitat 67 (Post Modern, built for World Expo 67, designed by Moshe Safdie)
• Ottawa: Earnscliffe Manor (1855, Home of Sir John A. Macdonald, currently home to British High Commissioner of Canada)
• Toronto: Abbey Church Lofts (Modern Church Conversion)
• Toronto: Integral House (2009, designed by Bridgette Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe for renowned mathematician James Stewart)
• Kitchener, Ont.: Zeidler House (1959, designed by Eb Zeidler)
• Picton, Ont: Schoolhouse Conversion (converted and occupied by the Hawkins Family)
• Canmore, Alta.: Canmore Castle (2000 by architect Bill Marshall and designer Norman Flan)
• Calgary: Dairy Barn Conversion
• Vancouver: Hugo Eppich House (1979, designed by Arthur Ericsson)
• Vancouver: Disher House (1912, Arts & Crafts style)
• Gulf Islands: Origami House (2014 Pre-Fab, designed by Tony Robins)
