Pine Island Cottage: A Refined (and Appealingly Rough) Lake House on Georgian Bay

Yesterday, we shared the showstopper of a kitchen designed by Adam Robinson (of Bureau Tempo) and Thom Fougere (of Thom Fougere Studio). Today, we’re excited to give you a tour of the rest of the stunning vacation home.

The house, a new build by Gren Weiss Architect & Associates, is sited on Pine Island in Georgian Bay, Ontario, and accessible by boat only. The area is known for its hard, rugged beauty—and in designing the interiors, the pair looked to the natural elements just outside its front door for inspiration. Locally sourced fieldstone and wood are the leitmotifs that show up again and again.

“We wanted to capture the feeling of the stone under foot when walking barefoot on the island—something we had the pleasure of doing while touring the property before the cottage was built. The intention here is to reconnect with nature, not distance oneself from it,” they tell us.

Below, Adam and Thom walk us through their project, both an homage to the elements and a refuge from them.

Photography by Alex Lesage, except where noted.

Above: Vertical cedar siding and a standing seam metal roof are a hint at what’s to come on the inside: clean, minimalist lines. Above: The front door with custom pebble-shaped doorknob leads to an oak-lined entry. This landing area also marks the transition between the great room below and the private quarters above. The stairs here are fabricated from flamed Eramosa stone. “By torching the locally quarried Eramosa stone, we were able to achieve a textured topography that closely resembled the naturally weathered stone outside,” they explain. Above: Just down a few steps is the kitchen with the standout fieldstone island. “Our client was happy to embrace the natural aging of raw materials throughout the interior, so the stone is untreated and will register its use over the years.” Above: Though the kitchen, dining area, and living space are all in room, each space feels distinctive and separate. The dining area features a soaring light well, while the living space is sunken. Above: An ingenious custom design in oak: sofa, steps, shelf, and storage—all in one. On the walls and ceiling throughout the cottage? St. Leo’s Dolomite Plaster. “It adds a beautiful, subtle texture and grit to the walls. The color is called Herluf Trolles Gade and it was a great choice, as it picks up and reflects the hues of the ever-changing sun and surrounding vegetation. The walls can appear green in the summer and tint blue in the winter,” the designers report. Above: “I really enjoy the relationship between the hearth and the living room. It’s almost a room within a room. Connecting to the elements in this ritualistic manner—fire, gathering, and the sunken living space around it—gives the space such a nice feeling. It offers both refuge, being seated close to the ground, and prospect, with a view outward to the surrounding landscape and distant islands, all while enjoying a fire communally,” says Thom. Above: The home is lightly furnished, each piece considered and well-designed. The sofa cushions are upholstered in fabric from Maharam; the coffee table is custom; the J82 Lounge Chairs are by Danish heritage brand FDB Møbler; the wool rug is custom from Mark Krebs. Photograph by Thom Fougere. Above: Access to a screened outdoor living room is just beyond this door. A subtle detail that counts among Adam’s favorite design features in this project: “We embedded into the wall solid wood strips that sit flush with the plaster finish in two locations. One resides in the living room beneath a wall sconce to allow for the hanging of artwork without damaging the wall finish, and another in the kid’s bedroom to be used as a measuring stick, to notch the heights of the family members as they grow throughout the years.” Above: The layout of the home is Y-shaped, with the great room as the base; the kids’ bedroom and guest room are on one arm, and the main bedroom and study on the other. Pictured here is the view from the hall into the main bedroom. On the left is the ensuite bath; on the right is a wall of closets. “The closet fronts are custom hand-loomed rugs made in India, suspended from the top and draped over an iron frame. We wanted to create something special for an area that could have too easily been overlooked. These hanging rugs sway with the breeze and with use, allow airflow through the closet space, and provide a nice bit of acoustic dampening for the main bedroom,” they share. Above: The materials palette of wood and fieldstone is repeated in the main bedroom. The Dubois Bed with integrated nightstands is from De la Espada. The SC13 Table Lamp is by &Tradition. Above: The double-basin stone and walnut vanity and medicine cabinets are all custom. The sconces are from the Dioscuri line by Artemide. Above: A bath with a view. The Clay Bathtub is from Studio Loho.  (See 10 Easy Pieces: Best Sauna Stools for the Bath.) Above: In the hallway that connects the two wings on the upper level, a glass pivot door continues the conversation between the outdoors and indoors. “The door opens to a small pathway leading deeper into the island and connecting the main cottage to a small bunkie, which is just a short walk away.” Above: On the other side of the living room is its mirror outdoor version, with connected hearth. The porch has a hidden phantom screen that extends from the soffit above when needed. Above: The Y-shaped layout. The bedroom wings are connected to the main living area by a glazed, elevated breezeway.

For more by Bureau Tempo, see On a Bustling Brooklyn Street, Above a Busy Restaurant, Quiet Tranquility Inside an Industrial Loft.

Thom Fougere has designed furniture and objects (including the World’s Most Beautiful Fireplace Tools) for Mjölk, one of our favorite Canadian boutiques. For a glimpse of his designs in situ, see: An Antique Stone House Revived, from John and Juli Baker of Mjolk in Toronto