Waratah Retreat : Our Muskoka Cottage Living Room Renovation - Before and After

Our Waratah Retreat is featured in the August 2023 Issue of Cottage Life Magazine and we couldn’t be prouder! Pick up your copy or order online over here.

When you think of a cottage interior, you probably imagine an older building filled with unique features that add character and charm, some hand-me-down furniture from Nana and a funny old collection of novels for Summer reading.

We saw plenty of those lovely old spaces when we were searching for our own piece of Cottage Country in 2021. The problem with these buildings was that we knew they would come with a lot of renovation and maintenance costs. We had hoped to be able to afford a property in the country for many years and were finally ready to take the leap just before the pandemic started. We had what was originally a healthy budget pre-2020 to tackle a project property, but as the pandemic changed the cottage market we saw our opportunities to take on a renovation dwindling. Prices went up, up, up, to the the point that pretty sketchy structures were on the market for ridiculous prices and they were selling way over the list price.

This, however, wasn’t our first rodeo. We’ve bought and sold a few properties along the way as we’ve lived in Australia and Canada, so we had confidence and patience when approaching such a panicky market. We knew that we had to find a real diamond of a cottage that was being overlooked by excited and aggressive Toronto buyers and, finally, that’s exactly what we managed to do.

We did spend over a year driving for 6 hours a day just to look at one or two properties on most weekends before the pandemic hit. It was an exhausting process and often very depressing as we continued to miss out on properties and the prices soared.

The winning cottage can be seen in the following pictures. It didn’t present that well for the cottage market which definitely worked in our favour, can you tell a single young man was living there? Apologies to all single young men who actually have interior design in their bones, but this guy wasn’t one of you.

The Gods also looked down on us on the open house weekend, when another, very adorable (looking) cottage came onto the market and everybody raced over to that one instead. We read the building inspection report on that place and it was scathing, we would never have touched it.

Our soon-to-be dream, cozy cottage sits on an acre, with over 200 acres more of forest to explore just behind it. Muskoka River access is across the street and some cute cottage towns are only half an hour’s drive away. As we spent more time wandering the house and the property, we realised it was perfect for us.

We were reminded of the property my family owned near a quiet beach back in Western Australia with it’s pine ceilings and bush-like surrounds. The difference between this place and all the others we’d seen was that it was actually built in 1996 and was sturdy. The previous owner had installed a brand new H-Vac system and done a few other updates but It was definitely lacking in the charm department. Those enormous picture windows and huge ceiling in the living room still gave it vintage undertones that we felt we could work with. The price was ok and we didn’t feel like we’d need to spend a fortune on it before we could set it up on the vacation rental market.

Eclectic, fearless design is my interior style, and I was longing for the opportunity to create an Australian country house retreat, right here in Canada. This property ticked all the boxes, though there was a funky smell that we couldn’t quite put our finger on. More about that later.

Here’s the property as it was listed.

Purchasing a second property wasn’t going to be possible without renting it out. We knew we needed to create an inviting, pet-friendly vacation home for families and friend groups to enjoy all year round.

I had more in mind than just a comfy abode, I also wanted to showcase my interior design talents and create something unique in a heavily saturated rental market in Ontario. This property wasn’t directly on the water so it had to offer a unique experience to make up for that. I knew that creating a bright and colourful space, with a mix of vintage and new furnishings would give the Retreat a special touch.

I also began hunting for Australiana here in Canada to splash around the space. You’d be surprised how much treasure I discovered when typing the word “Australia” into Facebook Marketplace. I found a vintage book collection, cookbooks, and even a “painting” made of eucalyptus bark from Australia made by a lady in the ‘60s. Win!

Below are images of the completed cottage living room. Great Room? It’s not a term we use Down Under but I do think this space is great! Did I mention that I ordered everything to furnish the Retreat in a week and thrifted the rest within a month?!

I’ve never shopped so hard in my life.

I’ll break the design down further over the coming months, but for now I’m sure you’ll agree that I succeeded in showcasing my unique style and creating a warm and inviting space for guests. The greatest feedback I receive is when a guest says it feels like they’ve got the keys to a friend’s special spot. So gratifying.

Most gratifying of all was when our cottage, Waratah Retreat, was featured in Apartment Therapy. I was so damn excited.

My mind was fully blown when I was contacted by Cottage Life magazine, who asked if they could feature the Retreat in a Summer issue! Guess what? That issue is on the stands right NOW!!

Pinch me! Some dreams really do come true.

I couldn’t have done it without the beautiful photographs seen above shot by my pals at Worker Bee Supply, they made Waratah Retreat really shine.

If you’d like to rent the Retreat, head over here.

If you’re looking for design assistance, Refab My Rental is my interior design business, co-run with wonderful, talented Veronique has designed her own incredible beach house retreat, called Surfhutte.

We would love to help others bring bold, authentic design to their own cottage spaces, we currently have more ideas than cottages to decorate!

Go get your copy of Cottage Life, I’m so very proud to be included in a magazine I’ve been subscribing to, aspirationally, for years.

Oh, and that smell when we bought the place? Once we met our neighbours they told us that the guy who owned it before us had his “crop” growing in the house. OMG.

Don’t worry, that smell is long gone.

Funny old world.

In my next post I’ll be sharing the before and afters for our delightful, colourful deck at the Retreat.

Thanks for reading!