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HAPPY HOMEOWNERS: BILL & RONDA’S COTTAGE OASIS

In a scenic lakeside setting in beautiful Magnetawan, Bill and Ronda decided to create their own custom cottage oasis. Located 45 minutes northeast of Parry Sound, this charming northern community has been coveted by cottagegoers for generations, adored for its quaint riverside village and breathtaking scenery.

It’s here that Bill and Ronda found the perfect lakefront property, where evergreens shelter the home year-round, and the gentle slope down to the lake is perfect for bonfires, barbeques, and docking a boat.

With their property procured, it was time to find the perfect partner for their new cottage build—and that’s where Quality Homes comes in!

A LAKESIDE LAKEFIELD

Bill and Ronda fell in love with the Lakefield for its comfortable size and bright living spaces. With oversized windows all along the rear of the home, this 1,402 sq.ft. bungalow cottage makes the most of the incredible views of the lake. The open concept main living space includes a kitchen, dining room, and living room, with a vaulted ceiling and a cozy fireplace.

Having chosen their model, it was time for Bill and Ronda to customize their new home! Our Drafting Team helped adjust their new custom Lakefield model to best suit their lifestyle. Bill and Ronda opted for minimal changes to their floorplan, already loving the original design. They added a powder room adjacent to the laundry room, made minimal adjustments to the placement of some closets, and changed the third bedroom into a den for a home office.

The biggest change they made however was on the exterior of the cottage, transforming the optional deck into an oversized outdoor entertaining space, with stairs down to the lawn for easy access to the water. And with modern glass railings along the entire deck, the views of the property are unobstructed.

LAKEFIELD DESIGN AND THEIR CUSTOMIZED FLOORPLAN

 

INSIDE THE DESIGN

A modern cottage calls for the perfect blend of rustic charm and modern comfort. Bill and Ronda had big ideas for their new custom vacation home, and Quality Homes was excited to make it happen.

The most notable of their interior finishes can be seen in the beautiful kitchen and living room. This open concept space has a unique rustic wood feature wall, complimenting the natural look and feel of the river stone style backsplash while balancing a clean modern feel. And in the living room, a spectacular fireplace feature takes up nearly an entire wall with a stacked stone facade and contemporary linear electric fireplace unit with LED lighting. This amazing focal point adds contemporary style to the living room while adding the practicality of a cozy spot to warm up during the cold Magnetawan winters.

Let’s take a closer look at the details of their beautiful new cottage!

Exterior Features:

  • Vinyl Siding by Gentek – Sequoia Series – Colour: Coastal Blue
  • Roof Shingles by Owens Corning – Colour: Estate Grey
  • Decking by Trex – Colour: Gravel Path
  • Railing by Trex – Colour: White

Kitchen Finishes:

Bathroom Finishes:

TO DELIVERY AND BEYOND

With a gently sloping property, we had quite a bit of work to do to get Bill and Ronda’s site ready for their new cottage! But our team got right to work, digging out the foundation and pouring the concrete to elevate the structure properly. This allowed a walk-up from the front, with the exterior slightly above grade where their deck would be.

Once the site had been serviced and their custom Lakefield had been completed inside our state-of-the-art facility, it was time for the trek up to Magnetawan! Quality Homes delivers and installs homes and cottages across the region, and this remote cottage retreat was no exception. After carefully securing the modules to our flatbed trucks, Bill and Ronda’s cottage took a road trip up to its new home.

Country roads and narrow cottage driveways are no challenge to our experienced team, and soon we were lifting the modules onto the foundation with our crane, ensuring that everything was carefully assembled and connected with seamless efficiency.

 

REFLECTING ON THEIR LAKESIDE RETREAT

Now that Bill and Ronda have moved into their beautiful new cottage, they were kind enough to share some of their experiences with you! Our interview with Bill sheds some light on their journey.

Tell us a bit about yourself, and why you chose to build a custom cottage.

“We live in Mississauga, but have our cottage in Magnetawan. I grew up cottaging and camping and being around lakes, and in my mid-20s I actually bought a cottage. An old 1970s cottage that either needed us to put money in it or do a full rebuild, so we decided to demo the old cottage and start fresh. We loved our cottage community, so we decided to stay here, do it once and do it right.

When we were looking around, I met with a colleague of mine who had a modular cottage, and he explained the process of a modular home, and how it all worked. That sounds like a fantastic way to go, I thought. I live a very busy life and I don’t have time to oversee the project. I wanted turnkey.

I looked at a number of modular builders. We were most impressed with Quality Homes and Joanne, our Building Consultant. Because it’s a four-season home, we stay at our cottage regularly and can work up here very seamlessly.”

What made you choose Quality Homes as your builder?

“I found the variety of builds Quality Homes had done very appealing. Especially the Lakefield. This particular design really appealed to us. And the customer service, with Joanne’s professionalism, really helped.

After we took a factory tour and saw how the modules get pieced together, it made a lot of sense. It really ticked all the boxes. In the end, we wanted to go with Quality because of the ease and convenience of the process. Having everything under one roof, not having to venture out to suppliers to choose finishes. It comes ‘ready to roll’.

We are both super busy so we don’t have time to oversee things. We live in the city. That’s what appealed to us about the turnkey nature of a modular home. It’s all ‘one and done’ and everything is there. That really appealed to us.”

Why did you select our Lakefield design?

“It was important that the design was more cottagey in nature – we wanted it to be a cottage, and look and feel like one too. We really liked the open style of the plan, where it flows from a big open kitchen to a big open family room with high ceilings.

We also built a very large deck at the back overlooking the lake. We do a lot of entertaining inside and outside, on the deck, with happy hours and BBQs with our cottage community. Even in the winter, with a fire table.

3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms really helped as well – so when we have guests and family visiting, it’s nice to have that extra bathroom. Also, the fact that we were able to build a walkout basement that we could finish, create another bedroom and a games room, and gave us the ability to walk right out to the water.”

What is your favourite part of the home?

“The open concept layout, and the fact that the entertainment area flows right through the structure. Also, the back deck. It’s perfect for Ronda and I to sit outside and have a bottle of wine and enjoy the views.”

What advice would you give to someone looking to go through this process?

“Start with the end in mind. Think about: What are you looking for? What are the key features? What is important? What are the must haves in your home or cottage? From there, work with the Quality Homes Team to find the right design and then customize it the way you want.

Knowing what you want and working with a team that is able to customize to your needs is a huge comfort. The biggest benefit to working with Quality is their flexibility.”

 

Helping Bill and Ronda create their dream cottage was an exciting journey for all of us at Quality Homes, and we’re so thrilled to see how happy they are with their new custom cottage. We’re so grateful that they chose to share their story with all of you, but most of all, we’re delighted that they trusted Quality Homes with their new vacation home. Thank you, Bill and Ronda!

Thinking of building your own custom cottage this season? Contact our team today to start your journey with Quality Homes!

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