A new lakeshore cottage in Ontario is a spectacular retreat set beneath angled zinc roofs

A couple of hours north of Toronto lies what is colloquially known as ‘cottage country’ – the Muskoka region, a popular vacation spot for city dwellers in this corner of Canada. Holiday homes and rentals cluster the shores of the four principal lakes in the municipality, and in the right hands, there’s scope to create a true summer idyll.

Tour Family Cottage by Vokac Taylor

This particular project, dubbed the Family Cottage, has been shaped and steered to perfection by the architect Barbora Vokac Taylor. Founded by Vokac Taylor in 2013, the Toronto-based studio provides architecture and interior design services in the city and beyond, specialising in residential design.

The Family Cottage is a sensitive and dynamic upgrade of the local vernacular, set on a sloping site on the shores of Peninsula Lake. Consisting of a main house, integral garage and separate sleeping cabin, the accommodation is flexible and expansive. The triple garage is located at entrance level, reached by a winding drive that leads from the shore road. A kinked pitch roof unites it with the body of the main house, which in turn steps down the slope towards the lake shore.

Surrounded by a grove of maple trees, many of which have been preserved and come right up to the boundaries of the structure, the Cottage feels embedded within the landscape. The dramatic form of the pitched roof, with its facets and two inset triangules of clerestory windows give a hint of the interior spaces, while the body of the house shields the lake views until one has approached the front door.

The main house consists of four bedrooms, three of which are set on the upper floor at the same level as the garage, with a principal suite located on the lower floor. The roof pitch contains a fitness room (above the garage), a ladder leading to a child-friendly semi-concealed loft space and attic storage. As well as three bedrooms and a mud room (which serves as the principal entrance), the upper floor also has a bathroom, laundry and study room, with stairs that lead down to the principal living spaces on the lower floor. From the study, a window opens out on the main living space below.

This is a spectacular double-height living room, with a large stone-clad chimney rising up through the heart of the space. Signature lighting pieces from the likes of Flos, Louis Poulsen, and Dark Tools emphasise the verticality of the space, especially above the dining table.

Beyond this is the kitchen, with direct access to a barbecue deck. The main bedroom suite is also on the level, tucked away discreetly at the far end of the house and effectively self-contained for when the clients are alone at the property.

At the other side of the plan you’ll find the Muskoka Room, a covered outdoor double-height space that reads as part of the main volume of the house. Set within the ‘kink’ in-between the garage block and main house, this timber-clad space has a lighting installation embedded in the wooden slats, designed by artist and collaborator Victoria Fard. A vast ‘window’ frames views past the sleeping cabin to the lake beyond, while motorised screens can close off the open ends to protect from insects.

In the basement, there’s an additional family room, alongside the plant room, a sauna and a covered patio complete with hot tub. The house sits on a plinth of smooth concrete, which marks a clear distinction between the rocky terrain of the forest floor – the geological feature known as the Canadian Shield – and the steel- and timber-framed house with its black-stained Shou Sugi Ban cedar walls and sloped black zinc roofs.

As with many structures in Muskoka, the house is designed for extended family and friends, a place for generations to come together. Vokac Taylor worked hard to get the accommodation as close to the lake as possible without infringing on the strict local regulations. This also meant working with the Precambrian rock that makes up the Canadian Shield, which the studio had to preserve, hence the stepped levels that accommodate the terrain instead of flattening it.

The kink in the plan and the split form of the roof, which oversails a series of large interior and exterior spaces, was a practical approach that also gives the house a sense of enclosure. ‘It creates a more surrounding, welcoming embrace as you approach the cottage, as opposed to facing a rectangular, barn-like structure,’ says Vokac Taylor. It also created the area for the Muskoka Room, which has the added benefit of giving visitors lake views through the structure.

The original lakeside sleeping cabin has been refurbished to provide additional accommodation, with the same dark aesthetic as the main house. It’s possible to arrive by boat, and the lighting scheme ensures a warm but subtle welcome.

’Although the cottage includes several modern comforts and conveniences, it also embodies the essence of simple living and connections with nature,’ Vokac Taylor concludes. ‘It provides a welcome respite from the hectic pace of city life, allowing the clients and their guests to reconnect with their surroundings and, ultimately, themselves.’

BVTarchitect.com