This great room gets its grandness from a soaring ceiling coupled with modern rustic elements. Author: Robin Stubbert
This Muskoka, Ont., cottage is as grand and gorgeous as it is comfy and casual.
There’s a certain voyeuristic pleasure in peeking into a space that’s not yours-especially when it belongs to a builder of dreamy custom homes. And when that space is a 4,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom house cradled in Muskoka granite in Ontario’s cottage country? Divine. Completed last May, the cottage – built and owned by Scott Bachly of Bachly Construction in Oakville, Ont., and his wife, Jackie – is the epitome of lakeside luxury cottage: traditional on the outside and modern yet relaxed on the inside, where nearly every window captures a sublime snippet of lake and trees.
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House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
The welcoming entryway
So simple, so inviting: you can’t go wrong with nautically nuanced decor at the cottage. Making use of a little nook in the entryway, Jackie and Michele chose a small bench for slipping shoes on and off.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
The welcoming entryway
So simple, so inviting: you can’t go wrong with nautically nuanced decor at the cottage. Making use of a little nook in the entryway, Jackie and Michele chose a small bench for slipping shoes on and off.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
The living room
A soaring 22-foot-high cathedral ceiling highlights the open trusses in the great room, where natural elements reference the outdoors: the fireplace is Muskoka granite and features a mantel made from an old wood beam that homeowner Scott Bachly found in Collingwood, Ont.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
Rustic decor
Style inspiration came from one of Jackie and Scott’s favourite vacation spots–Petit St. Vincent island in the Grenadines, where they have rustic decor, with wood and stone and white upholstery.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
Sophisticated kitchen
Dark lower cabinetry and granite carried from the kitchen countertops to the backsplash feel sophisticated. Floating stainless steel shelves add to the industrial edge that all started with the pair of pendant lights that look like old weight scales.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
China cabinet
Period details, such as forged-iron pulls and beadboard, give the pantry’s china cabinet country charm. It’s filled with the couple’s collection of white dishware for a crisp, clean look.
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
The dining area
The Bachly crew is a big bunch that frequently entertains dinner guests, so a 10-person dining table was a must. The trio of iron pendant lights is sculptural yet unobtrusive, while the modern Wishbone-style chairs contrast the traditional trestle table. Homeowner Jackie Bachly chose to forgo a rug “to keep the room feeling open and airy."
House tour: Modern relaxed cottage
The master bedroom
In the master bedroom, a soft grey, white and taupe palette keeps the four-poster bed from looking too dramatic, especially when paired with an equally riveting chandelier made of tapered wood pieces. “We really didn’t want to clutter the room,” says michele hatziioannou, who helped with the decor.
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