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National Post

Home design: Simplicity by the lake

Article content Sustain Design Architects' clean, unfussy work on a Kawarthas lakeside house created both a woodsy getaway for its owners, a place to welcome friends up from the city and, until recently, an idyllic year-round work-from-home space. Article content According to SDA principal architect Cathy Garrido, the clients bought the property in the summer of 2020. One section had already been cleared, with plenty of open space for a cottage, parking and a wide waterfront area suitable for landscaping, plus beachfront at the waterside. It also backed onto an environmentally protected area and was surrounded by mature woods, which gave it privacy from neighbouring cottages. It was perfect for a secluded hideaway far from the stress of the city. Article content Article content Article content The clients' original plan, says Garrido, was to build a summer cottage while retaining a Toronto pied à terre downtown. Their wish list included comfortable spots where friends could stay, a private space for themselves, a home office for the husband, who works in the finance sector, and a studio workspace for the wife, a graphic designer. Article content But as the house came together, she recalls — this was the pandemic summer of 2020, after all — they decided to pull up stakes and move there permanently. This inspired a design that would be relaxed and cottagey but with a certain urbanity. Article content Half-hidden around a leafy bend and set in a roomy clearing, the house is organized into two wings set at a right angle to each other, conjoined by a side-lit front door and two-storey breezeway. Article content 'A breezeway is just a nicer alternative to a regular foyer,' notes Garrido, 'and the windows give you the first glimpse of the surrounding woods and water.' The breezeway also provides the first hint that the house, despite being generally clean and spare, still has a few architectural tricks up its sleeve. Article content Article content The main floor of the breezeway connects the garage and the wife's studio workspace to the main living area. From one end to the other, about a third of the width of the ceiling is brightened by what appears to be a skylight, supported by exposed Douglas fir joists. It's only later, when you explore the upper level, that you discover the breezeway 'skylight' is actually a reinforced glass floor, CN Tower-style. It's sturdy enough to walk on, assuming you have the nerve — Garrido laughs and says she doesn't — and brings in additional light from the windows on the second floor, brightening both levels. Article content Back on the main floor, much of the left wing is a large open-plan space combining the kitchen, dining and living area, brightened by two enormous banks of sliding glass doors topped by transoms, framing a spectacular view of the lake. It's a big room, but it's neither cavernous nor cold: rich, primarily natural materials and tones — taupe kitchen cabinetry, white oak plank floors and simple, Japandi-flavoured furnishings — make the view and the abundant sunlight the main focus.