Cottages

This five-bedroom house faces west on a bay in the west end of Lake Muskoka. A small peninsula projects into the lake in front of the property and houses a small ornamental lighthouse.

The building follows the setback from the water creating a plan which hinges back at great room and maximizes lake views and natural daylighting. The great room is contiguous with the screened porch, which can be fully opened into the main great room through folding panel doors, creating one large open space. An outdoor kitchen is located outside the screened porch on a deck overlooking the lake, and new boathouse.

The master bedroom is located at the opposite end of the house from the other bedrooms and steps up three risers to accommodate the rising landscape and creating views to the lake.

The lower level has two bedrooms, a recreation area, and mechanical rooms, and is designed as a walkout to reinforce the feeling of being on a main floor and not a basement.

The house id situated on the site to work with the landscape, and existing vegetation to avoid removing as many trees and rocks as possible and can barely be seen from the water. The result is a building that is integrated with its surroundings and looks as though it has always been there.

The original 1950’s ‘arts and crafts’ bungalow located in a ‘leafy’ Port Credit neighbourhood steps from Lake Ontario was a little cramped for a family of five.

Rather than tear down the original house and build a new larger home as is the norm these days, the client wanted to expand the house without impacting upon the extensive mature landscape that includes a small pond beside the house.

The solution was to create a vertical addition. The addition was set back from the ridge line of the bungalow’s roof to ensure the scale and form of the original home remained legible. By off setting the second floor addition, the design provided the much needed sleeping rooms for the family but also offered outdoor covered spaces for El Fresco dining and entertaining which were protected from direct sunlight or an unexpected rain shower.

The master bedroom was designed to project beyond the original building and hover over the beautiful landscape below. A large window provides the clients with a wonderful view of their intimate property. To minimize the impact on the vegetation, helical piles were used to support the projecting addition.

The addition was clad in fibre-cement panels in a charcoal grey that blends with the roof of the original house while providing a contemporary architectural expression quite distinct from the original bungalow below. The juxtaposition between the old and the new enhances the qualities and textures of the original bungalow while providing the family with a house that is twice the size.

Situated on a bay on Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, this cottage is located at the foot of a cliff, right at the water’s edge.

The location is grandfathered in as it is a replacement of an existing one-storey cottage sharing the original footprint. This accounts for the project’s direct proximity to the water.

The limited footprint necessitated a two-storey design. The second storey is perched above the open plan below, and with the backdrop of the cliff behind it, the second storey appears nested in the rugged landscape.

The central two-storey living space is flanked on the ground floor by the kitchen/dining area and the den and screened porch on the other. At the second level bedrooms are situated on either side of the two-storey space and a bridge connecting both sides. The clerestorey window spans the building and faces the cliff allowing views back and ample north light.

The two-storey window wall faces the lake and frames spectacular views of Skeleton Bay.

This 5 bedroom, one-storey recreational home hugs the landscape and rock overlooking Lake Muskoka.

The T-shaped plan houses the great room and kitchen at the south end, with attached garage, and the bedroom wing at the north end. Most bedrooms have a view of the lake, and the main concept is to have a completely daylit interior which maximizes views and brings the outdoors in.

The house was originally built on spec in a neo-traditional style.

The new owners requested that the building be converted into a more contemporary and clean look, to eliminate decorative elements such as round top windows and dormers.

Exterior stairs were relocated to flanking elevations and windows enlarged to improve quality of daylight, views and ventilation.

The boathouse was renovated in a similar manner.

This island cottage replaces two cottages that burned down in 2012. Local zoning restricted the footprint to be no wider than the original buildings.

The design concept was to express the building as three separate buildings to break down the mass and length of the new cottage. The building features two bedroom wings at each end separated by a living room, dining room, kitchen, entrance hall and den. The cottage is naturally daylit through the use of glass walls that focus both on the lake and the island forest at rear.

The L-shaped plan accommodates two full bedroom wings organized around a central great room.

The great room has glass on three sides, but the entire plan capitalizes on the exterior by having floor to ceiling glass on each elevation.  Even the corridors have large picture windows which provide views into the site.

The design incorporates a renovated existing sleeping cabin which has been attached to the building adding more sleeping and washroom space for a total of eight bedrooms.  The living room features a games alcove suitable for puzzles and board games while overlooking the view.  An outdoor sitting area surrounds an exterior wood burning fireplace which attached to the house.

A new three slip boathouse with a 650 ft² living space above was also part of the project.

The design concept was to use the L-shaped design to capitalize on topography and views to the south and west.

This five-bedroom cottage is sited to respect the existing landscape and rock outcrop.

The building wraps around the contours and the rock face forms one wall of the entrance walkway. All principal rooms and bedrooms have a lake view, with service rooms on the land side, with a walkway which serves the bedrooms but affords views into the landscape and maximizes daylight. A clerestory window spans the entire building and promotes cross ventilation and natural daylight.