STEP INSIDE A FEW UNIQUE HOMES AND COTTAGES

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2 Garry and Vicki Hall turned a tired, but quaint, old farm house into a historic retreat. Original elements have been kept wherever possible. STEP INSIDE A FEW UNIQUE HOMES AND COTTAGES By Karen Wehrstein Homes are constantly being built across Muskoka, but some are more interesting than others. What makes some structures stand apart from the others varies from project to project, but one-of-a-kind design, unusual locations, unconventional building methods and even unforeseeable events have the power to transform the mundane into the unique. The early-morning fire that burned Warren and Frances Rowe s Bracebridge home to the ground last Nov. 18, for instance, was such an unforeseeable event. It was completely gone, says Frances Rowe, who was instrumental in getting the eight people and two dogs who were in the house at the time out unharmed. We lost everything. Working with their insurance company, the Rowes got several quotes for rebuilding, ultimately choosing French s Fine Homes of Port Sydney. We re here and we know a lot of people who work for them, Rowe explains. We d rather support our area. Mair French, who co-owns French s Fine Homes with her husband Larry,

3 recalls what was most unique about the project was Rowes good cheer in the face of adversity. It was the whole experience of working with people who are so upbeat, says Mair French. When bad things happen to good people, good people don t lose their attitude. There s a huge rock across the road from the house, so every day he and the grandchildren would sit there and watch us work. Despite the trauma of watching their home go up in flames, the Rowes were able to work closely with French s Fine Homes to make the rebuilt home even better than the original improvements, says French, included a full basement, a massive island in the kitchen, and beautiful new light fixtures. Her big dream was to have a bigger front porch that she can sit on and talk to the neighbours, and she has that, she notes. The Rowes couldn t be happier with the way their home turned out in the end. I love it. This is the way I wanted my home, Frances says. Sometimes what makes a project different is its location, as is the case with a 3,500-sq. ft. Muskoka residence recently built by Confederation Log Homes on a two-acre island on Lake Muskoka. It s interesting because the owner can only use it late spring to early fall and in the dead of winter because in the shoulder seasons the ice is coming in and out, says Rick Kinsman, co-owner of Bobcaygeon- based Confederation Log Homes, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Most people would die to live there, but you can only get there during certain parts of the year. Island building, a specialty of Confederation s Muskoka builders, poses particular challenges. You have to double or even triple-handle it, he says, explaining that all building materials have to be unloaded from contractor vehicles onto a barge, shipped across the water and then unloaded again on the island, at the very least. And yes, that costs extra. Usually people who are building on an island want their privacy, and they pay for it, says Kinsman. But it s exciting... that s part of the adventure. Confederation Log Homes, one of Canada s leading log home manufacturers, uses white pine and western red cedar logs in their construction. They also incorporate timber frame design elements into many of their designs, as was the case with the Lake Muskoka residence. The dining room is all timber framed and connected to the log walls, with a cathedral ceiling and two octagon-shaped turrets, Kinsman says. There s an open great room with an outstanding view. The home also incorporates a lot of glass. When you re on an island, he says, you can take advantage of the view. The final touch is the Confederation company logo, carved into one of the logs, like an artist s signature, Kinsman says. While not a new build, Garry and Vicki Hall s renovation project is also quite unique. Vicki is coowner of Lumina Resort on Lake of Bays, which has been operated by her family since Her family roots in the area go back some 110 years, so it s no surprise she s fascinated with that which is local and old. Along a straight, tree-canopied stretch of South Portage Road near Dwight is an old 18-acre farm property that Vicki always admired. The owner, Mike Riech, was famous for his raspberry wine and fresh vegetables. When he passed away, the property went up for auction, and the Halls were outbid. I was heartbroken, Vicki says. So when the Halls were driving along admiring the fall colours a year or so later and spotted a For Sale sign, they saw it as a sign of fate.

4 I called the owner and we bought it immediately, Vicki says. Built in the 1940s, she estimates, the small two-bedroom house has low ceilings upstairs, a very large kitchenand a staircase reminiscent of one in her grandmother s home. We gutted the whole place, says Vicki, whose husband Garry is the owner of Garry Hall Construction in Huntsville. In the process, they discovered how well built the house was. The bones were just wonderful, Vicki recalls. Everyone says, Why didn t you just tear it down? We just couldn t. When the old silver tin roofing was stripped off, for instance, the workers found oak strapping underneath. You just don t see that any more, she notes. The renovation aimed to recreate the old-style look. Warren and Frances Rowe had to rebuild their lives after their home went up in flames. French s Fine Homes built the family a new house with all the features they longed for, including a larger front porch. We re-drywalled and Garry trimmed out all the doors and windows with large trim to make it look like what had been there before, she says. The hardwood floors are almost all original, and the staircase was restained but otherwise left in its original state. On the exterior, the Halls removed the old black shingle siding, and replaced it with wood siding painted a nice pale farm house yellow, with black shutters, in Vicki s words. Despite all their efforts to return the old home to its glory days, the Halls don t actually live there. Why did they bother then, is the obvious question? Just because I live in Muskoka, can t I

5 have a place to get away? asks Vicki. It s a change to not look at water. Maybe I was a farmer at some point, I don t know. It s so peaceful over there... for me, being in the tourist business, I like to get away from people for five minutes. Not that we needed another project... we loved the property and the house was so neat. We just wanted to bring it back. With other projects, what s unusual is how they re built or in the case of a 4,000-sq. ft. custom cottage on Lake Rosseau built by McLennan Contracting in Milford Bay-how fast. We started June 1 and wrapped it up a couple of weeks ago, says owner Jason McLennan, for a build time of 160 days. Such a project is more typically expected to take eight months, and that was the case with the lumberyard supplying McLennan with materials. They couldn t keep up with our orders, he says. Everyone was amazed by how fast the project went. This is the second cottage that McLennan, who primarily concentrates on renovations, has built in Muskoka. He hopes to add more builds to his res ume. I m trying to set a bar for how long it should take and how long it shouldn t take. I just wanted to get it done fast in order to get that good reference, he says. How did his crew do it? I have seven great carpenters, he explains. Everybody knows what they re doing and we d work seven in the morning to 5:30 at night. The customer was easy to work with, not asking for too many changes. Scheduling of tradespeople such as electricians and plumbers wasn t easy,mclennan says, but they all did their work on time. What it comes down to is good organization and communication between everybody, he says. McLennan isn t really sure why every contractor doesn t keep to such a schedule. I ve seen projects up here that take forever. It s hard to see that people are given the time frames that they re given and they get away with it, he says. It takes a month to frame a house, but some guys take two and three months. You hear horror stories about projects going on for a year and a half or two years. McLennan stresses that he s not sacrificing quality for speed. This cottage is all nicely trimmed out, he says, with interior architectural timbers as well. There s a fine line between doing a good job and taking too long. I just wanted to show everybody we can do it. And then there are projects that are unique because they re unique in design, such as a house designed for a retired professional athlete by James Pitropov, principal and owner of Smith Architect in Huntsville. The site, located on the shore of Lake of Bays, was made up of two lots that had been made into one. The lady of the house wanted a building that worked with the site, making best use of the views and the orientation. She wanted a sense of nature cominginto the house, feeling nature was connected to the house, rather than a big boxy kind of place, says Pitropov.So he designed a house with three living pavilions unified under one long roofline with breezeways and courtyards between them. The three living areas are connected by a long corridor which terminates at one end in an oversized fireplace, and passes through three pavilions and two courtyards ending in a gazebolike structure that we re calling the fire pavilion a gazebo with wrap-around seating and a fireplace in the centre, says Pitropov.

6 Smith Architect is currently in the process of designing an elaborate cottage featuring three living pavilions unified under one long roofline with breezeways and courtyards between them. The kitchen pavilion will have a sixburner gas stove and fireplace incorporated into one rock structure. The middle pavilion features a great room with glass panel walls on three sides and windows on the third, facing the lake. The bedroom pavilion has a master bedroom with ensuite, walk-in closet and its own private deck. In the basement there s a home gym that walks out to a sunk-in patio and rock garden so the owners will be able to exercise and then go down to the lake. Floor space is 3,000 sq. ft. with another 1,000 sq. ft. of deck. Materials stress the natural and rustic, with locally-quarried stone, custom redwood windows and cedar soffit and fascia. The overall look will be rustic Lake of Bays but with slightly cleaner lines and more glass, says Pitropov. What is important with such a project, he notes, is a good fit between architect and client. I ll ask people to do a little research themselves, get magazine clippings, find pictures of places they like; that s a dialogue that helps us become creative, Pitropov says. It s not our ideas that prevail, or the clients, but the project takes on a life of its own and you end up with something unique and original.