Sarah Richardson bolts for cottage country to show you how to squeeze the most value from your cherished summer getaway. Sarah’s off-the-grid retreat bobs 17 miles offshore, light-years away from big city stress and convenience. Borrowing from the richness of nature, Sarah and design sidekick Tommy Smythe create a living room and outdoor deck that celebrate a sweeping panoramic view, a front row seat to amazing sunsets!
Guests are as certain as black flies at a cottage even if it’s smack in the middle of a lake. Sarah and Tommy whip two tight spaces into shape by dusting off old features and shoehorning in vintage cottage style. The dark East Room draws from the every watt of light-filled skies while the sun-baked West Room cools down in watery blues and greens. Even hotel connoisseur Tommy will feel at home in these five-star accommodations!
No bathroom reno is a day at the beach, but with civilization a lengthy boat ride away it’s more an exercise than imagined. With military precision Sarah, Tommy and contractor Vito create two nature-inspired bathrooms, each on a strict budget. As the bathrooms come to fruition Sarah’s husband Alexander increases the solar capacity on this electricity-free island to run the new facilities. Roughing it never felt better!
A prime motivator for updating a time worn cottage is to create sleeping quarters for all. Awkward ceilings and layouts plus dingy lighting rule the bedrooms in Sarah’s Cottage, and a winter storm unleashed its wrath on the ceilings and newly laid floor. Sarah and Tommy transform the spaces into a versatile kids’ loft and a master bedroom with a subtle nod to cottage living. A rooftop deck affords a view of ever-changing lake vistas.
Sarah proves you can have all the comforts and practicality of home at your cherished summer place. The open-concept main level welcomes multi-functional style with an energy efficient gourmet kitchen and a light-filled dining and lounge area. Sarah’s muted colour palette draws from nature’s backdrop to create a space worthy of a weekend’s worth of city-refugees or casual dining on a whim!
Nobody does a cottage guesthouse like Sarah! She and Tommy nestle a neglected Bunkie into an away-from-it-all corner of the island. The last room of the cottage project Sarah struggles to keep her budget afloat. She salvages pine boards, windows and a birch tree that with a little ingenuity comes back as a bedside lamp. At the last minute her doctor, leaving Tommy to fend for himself, votes a very pregnant Sarah off the island!
Sarah and her husband Alexander buy a charming 1950’s cottage on an island to renovate as a rental. Her husband initially tentative, Sarah paints the wood paneled living room white and the floors a showstopper green. She and Tommy check out local vintage finds for the space. The shaky exterior stairs and landing are reinforced after years of use and trees are cleared to unveil the million-dollar view.
The dark cottage kitchen gets the heave-ho in favour of something brighter, more modern and practical for renters. After a humorous game of keep and toss. Sarah and Tommy open the space to the living room, for easy entertaining and to capitalize on the view. Meanwhile, Alexander creates a clearing in the woods and builds a solar shed to serve most of the cottage’s energy needs.
This master bedroom has great bones, with a high vaulted ceiling and lots of windows. Sarah and Tommy use the power of paint to lighten the space and repurpose some of the built-in furniture. It’s a sharp contrast to challenges faced with the cottage’s exterior, where rotted beams need to be replaced, as does peeling and chipped cladding. Sarah and Alexander find the most cost effective way to solve these high-priority issues.
The cottage’s single bathroom has seen better days. Sarah replaces dated finishes and fixtures with stylish, hardwearing solutions. The window is enlarged and Alexander clears trees to bring in more light. Because the cottage’s prime sunset deck has become a meal for carpenter ants, it’s ripped up and replaced. The new deck becomes a hot spot for soaking up rays or sunset cocktails.
It’s the perfect kids’ space, with plenty of bunk beds and waterside location. Sarah votes to keep the nautical theme buy using the colour blue as a jumping off point, with more space saving fun touches like hanging baskets. Outside, Sarah, Alexander and Tommy figure out how to save a leaning stonewall, and install a screened porch for inclement weather. This bunkroom is amped up for fun!
Sarah and Alexander clear out a packed storage room and turn it into an extra bedroom, boosting the number of guests this rental cottage can accommodate. Sarah and Tommy’s choice of cheery yellow and an oar rack project give the space a nautical flair. Replacing the rotted, attached deck adds to the privacy of this room, accessible only from outside the cottage. We take an insider’s tour of the entire finished rental cottage, now ready for its first guests!
Webisode: Birch Table