Madison was born in Toronto and grew up in the Junction. When she was 18, she moved to Europe to work as a model, living between London, Paris, Milan and Denmark.
Shortly after their wedding, the Lius bought a four-bed, two-bath house in the Catskills, in Upstate New York, paying $170,000 . They split their time between their Catskills home and a small 200-square-foot rental apartment in the Lower East Side, in New York City. Madison always loved living in the city, but with the isolation of the pandemic, the Lius considered moving to the country so that they could purchase a house where prices were more affordable.
In December 2020, they found a church for sale in Paisley, 30 minutes east of Kincardine, listed for $199,999. The church had been renovated over the years, so the main hall had drop ceilings and industrial carpeting. But the couple was able to peek above the drop ceiling and realized they could remove it to reveal the church’s original 35-foot plastered vault ceiling with arched windows along the side.
But when an inspection revealed significant damage to the addition’s foundation that caused the floor to slope, requiring it to be torn down and rebuilt, they reduced their offer to $208,000, which the sellers accepted.Daniel and Madison were supposed to close on the purchase in early February 2021, but the deal was delayed multiple times due to complications with transferring the deed.
The kitchen’s old stovetop and oven still work, but they ordered a new fridge since there wasn’t one there when they moved in. Storage space is limited, but they’re supplementing with plastic totes on the floor for their pantry items. They hope to spend around $200,000 on the renovations, and plan to save money by doing the flooring, trim, tiling and cabinetry themselves.