Weekend Getaway - Jenn Cranston's Lake Simcoe Cottage

I would love to have a beach home, or a lake home, or a summer cottage... somewhere near the water to get away to.
Canadian House and Home's June 2010 issue featured Jenn Cranston's cottage on Lake Simcoe.  While Ontario is not the type of tropical paradise that I'd normally gravitate too, this natural, white home caught me at first glance.  Let's start with the front deck.

all images via Canadian House and Home (digital edition)

The gorgeous, breezy fabric wrapped around the deck makes this area bright but still shaded.  Huge sliding doors blur the line between indoors and out.

You walk into the large main space from the deck.  The living room area is on the right.

Hello, painted white walls, white slipcovers and natural accents.  It's casual and calming - perfect for a getaway home!

The left side of the living room has a console table (or what could be called a "desk" if this wasn't a vacation home!) and some cushions for extra seating.

Beside this console is the kitchen, which has the same white palate and maintains the casual feel with open shelving.

I love the lamp on the kitchen counter - so unexpected!

There is an indoor dining area behind the folding chairs in the living room.  Again, the bench at the table and the rug keep the casual vibe going.

Through the doorway between the kitchen area and the dining area is a bunk room.

Yes, you do walk right through the bunk room into the master bedroom.  The floorplan shows that they are only separated by sliding doors.

While I love the look of this room and can appreciate the need for plenty of sleeping space in a vacation home, I find its location slightly odd.  Perhaps if I had children, I would want them sleeping that close to me, but for other guests, especially other couples, it's nice to have a guest sleeping area tucked away from the master bedroom.  However, given that there are only two twin beds in the bunk room, it does seem likely that this area is meant for children.

In any event, the master bedroom is beautiful and relaxing.

I love those side tables!

The rest of the bedroom is very simple.

There is hardly anything hung on the walls throughout the home, which is calming and somehow seems to give you space to breathe. 

Out back is another dreamy sitting area.

I believe I need this in our backyard.  (I think just the gravel area is actually bigger than our backyard...!)  That "sail" is probably my favourite item in the whole place!

Finally, the home is close enough to the water to have its own dock.

And while I'm sure it's not practical to always have that little setup out there, it looks like the perfect spot to spend a summer Saturday afternoon!

Well, what do you think?  Do you like the white and natural palate for a lake home or would you prefer something more colorful?

Wishlist Wednesday

Given my love of things white and beachy, it is not a surprise that I am hooked on the Atrium Dining Set from Crate and Barrel.  It just screams summer and makes me think of outdoor meals and warm nights!

I love the color of the pillow fabric and the shape of the chairs.

Even the little bench is perfect!

Oh, how I am wishing that we had room for this set (and that pool) in our backyard!

Mirrored Vignette

After looking for an affordable piece of mirrored furniture for about a year, I was so excited when I found this small dresser at Home Sense in November.

It's small enough to fit in our living room, but large enough to have a bit of presence and some storage too!  But I have been having a lot of trouble with what exactly to put on top of the dresser, and how to arrange it.

Just after Christmas, it looked like this:

A bit of a victim of what was just hanging around and needed some place to go, as you can tell by the sad poinsettia, still in it's cheap gold wrapper.  And right now, it's the best place for our phone, which is not helping the "pretty" factor!

In April, I'd finally ditched the Christmas flower and moved on to something more springy.

However, while it doesn't really show in this picture, those adorable gray boxes are just not the right match with my light gray chairs.

And this is where I am today.  I finally hung the picture, but I'm not sure if that's quite right either.  I picked up the bird tray from the fantastic store House/Boat (I cannot find a website!) when we were on Salt Spring Island in May.

I like some elements, but I know this look isn't set in stone either.  Do you have any suggestions of what I should try next?

Wishlist Wednesday

It was a busy weekend for us as we finally tackled the installation of crown molding in our kitchen.  It's up, but still needs some hole-filling and touch-up painting to really look good.  As always, the work took twice as long as we thought it would - that seems to be a rule for us.  If we think something (ex. one coat of paint) will take half an hour, it'll usually end up taking an hour.  If we think it's a 3 hour job, it usually ends up being a 6 hour job...  We're learning!

The sunny weather and longer days really make me want to brighten up the bedding in our room from the cream-coloured duvet cover we use now.
I love branches and trees in pattern and design, and this springy duvet cover from the aptly-named Branch caught my eye.

I love this pattern so much that when fall comes around, I'd consider switching out to this one...

They say variety is the spice of life, right?

Wishlist Wednesday

We have finally had a few sunny days this week and it makes me long for lazy days on a patio or closed-in porch.  West Elm has a few daybeds that would fit one of those spaces perfectly.

The Window Daybed...

Featured in Style At Home's White issue...

The Overlapping Squares daybed is also very chic...

I love it in white in this breezy beachy room...

West Elm via The Seattle Times

Come on summer!

White Living Room

I love white - walls, upholstered or painted furniture, flooring, accessories - all over, as a base or an accent... I love it!

When I saw this living room in the April 2010 issue of Style at Home, I'm pretty sure I gasped out loud!  (I don't think that my husband understands how some rooms can make me do that, haha!)

Wow, right?  This is just perfect to me.  So what jumps out?
 - almost everything is in shades of white, except for the simple dark floor, which provides a great contrast for the rest of the room
- the loveseat and chairs have fairly straight-lined profiles so there is not a lot of "fussiness" in the room
- the furniture set-up is very symmetrical in both size and shape
- the boxy ottoman, the streamlined side table and floating shelf carry on the clean look
- the gentle curtains and decorative tufting on the ottoman add softer textures to keep the room from feeling too cold
- the table lamp's transparency fits well with the airy look of the room
- the light from the large window gives the room a heavenly quality

You can see the rest of Ann Marie Favot's white home here.  The July 2010 issue of Style At Home has a "White" feature as well, which I will comment on another day.

Wishlist Wednesday

On the list this week is the classy Chloe Sofa from Macy's.  Oh, how I wish they delivered to Canada!  The colour, tufting and arms are all perfect!

Although it's not quite as timeless-looking, I also love the Seafoam version.

I think this would be perfect in a glamorous bedroom!