Stoney Lake Island Cottage
The Vision
Our client purchased an amazing piece of island property on Stoney Lake. Two older buildings existed on site that would need to be demolished. (Cool sidebar: the larger cabin, set further back from the water, was a former bunkhouse for quarry workers when removing stone from the island and transporting back to mainland)
The vision was a traditional Stoney Lake island cottage. For our client this meant tons of wood and white finishes, crank out windows and a wide screen porch looking west to capture the amazing Stoney Lake sunsets.
Design Solution
When we got to planning, our client assumed they’d need to have the new cottage set back from the water where the original, larger of the two older structures resided.
Instead, our team explored the concept of having the new cottage replace the smaller guesthouse closer to the water. This meant we would have to work within a smaller footprint and would be limited in building left or right. Thus, the allowable setbacks drove the footprint of the new cottage. This brought about the decision to incorporate a 2nd story that was set further back up the sloping hill.
Hours of work with our client were put in to ensure we had the details just right. This project was a great example of how our Design team’s 3D modeling abilities allowed us to walk our client through their space throughout the planning phase. The first time they saw the actual cottage space in real life, it was exactly what they expected as they had been seeing it perfectly represented in the 3D all throughout the planning process.
| Challenge | Solution |
| Dramatically sloping bedrock | Installed steel pile foundation to raise cottage to natural level elevation while retaining remnants of existing stone foundation |
| Zoning / setback allowances | Design was restricted to amount of expansion, couldn’t go left/right but could go back up the hill which encouraged finding solution by including a 2nd story |
| Mother Nature/Ontario winter! | Foundation and framing work completed in depths of Ontario winter |
Project Highlights
- Original elements of existing cottages integrated into new design, including original windows and doors
- Exposed wall studs on 2nd storey for shelves emulate classic Stoney Lake island cottage architecture (this type of shelving was found in the existing cottage)
- Full panoramic views of the lake
Project Partners
| Painting | ABR Contracting |
| Insulation | Great Northern Insulation |
| Cabinets & Hardware | Harwood Kitchens |
| Electric | Johnson Electric |
| Carpentry | Kawartha Stair & Rail Ltd. |
| Lumber | Kingdon Lumber |
| Timber Beams/Bents | Discovery Dream Homes |
| Lumber | Monaghan Lumber |
| Decks/Docks/Railing | R&J Machine |
| Carpentry | R&M Smith Contracting |
| Roofing | S.J.P Roofing |
| Septic/Wells | Shewen Construction Ltd |
| Flooring & Tile | Stradwicks |
| Plumbing | Trent Plumbing Inc. |
| Windows/Doors | ViewTech Corp |
We had the pleasure of working with Scott and his team at KLC. Our Project Lead, Matt Dunford, and all the carpenters were true professionals and such talented craftsmen. The entire process was quite exceptional – from our initial meetings, working through the architecture to the finishing details. We would highly recommend KLC as a full-service construction shop who deliver on time and on budget. We’re thrilled with our new cottage and look forward to having you all over for cocktails on the deck!
View Project
