Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Trip to Scandinavia Inspires a Canadian Cottage
A couple’s country home in Prince Edward County is pleasingly spare and cozy
The couple bought the wooded lot from a developer and chose a house from a number of cottage plans it offered. “We chose this one because it had the biggest porch — 250 square feet,” Shen says. The screened-in porch is a great place to admire the lovely canopy trees that surround the home. Shen set up a comfortable conversation area and a dining area out here. The conversation area is delineated by a blue rug with a geometric pattern; Shen stuck with a palette of gray, white and black for everything else.
Hindo patio storage shelf: Ikea
Hindo patio storage shelf: Ikea
The front door leads directly from the screened-in porch to a sunporch, which Shen set up as the dining room. The house employs many not-so-big-house principles that avoid wasted space, such as for a large foyer.
Hardware: Schlage
Hardware: Schlage
In lieu of a large entryway, Shen installed a few pegs and a petite bench as a small landing-zone area.
The modern black Serge Mouille three-arm ceiling light was the first thing Shen purchased for the space. It was a piece she’d always wanted but that didn’t fit into the couple’s Toronto home. Next she chose a mix of classic Danish modern chairs to surround a wood table that features midcentury modern metal hairpin legs.
However, the room was lacking hygge, so Shen made the Danish move of adding sheepskins to some of the chairs. Then she found a wonderful Bokhara rug to anchor the space with warmth. “The rug has a geometric pattern and I was careful to keep the color palette simple — grays, black and creams — because I wanted it to be minimalist and clean and not stick out,” she says.
Rug: Unique Loom
The modern black Serge Mouille three-arm ceiling light was the first thing Shen purchased for the space. It was a piece she’d always wanted but that didn’t fit into the couple’s Toronto home. Next she chose a mix of classic Danish modern chairs to surround a wood table that features midcentury modern metal hairpin legs.
However, the room was lacking hygge, so Shen made the Danish move of adding sheepskins to some of the chairs. Then she found a wonderful Bokhara rug to anchor the space with warmth. “The rug has a geometric pattern and I was careful to keep the color palette simple — grays, black and creams — because I wanted it to be minimalist and clean and not stick out,” she says.
Rug: Unique Loom
“I wanted to use organic natural materials throughout the house — wood textures that aren’t too stained and maintain a natural look and textiles like cotton and linen,” Shen says. Here, a woven planter and an antique handmade butternut canoe paddle accessorize the space.
One material that looks organic but is more durable is the luxury vinyl flooring. It looks like a light oak but can stand up to the weather. This is a three-season, uninsulated cottage, so the couple shut everything down for the months when the temperature plummets to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to wet feet and shoes from the beach, the flooring can stand up to extreme temperature swings and is low-maintenance.
One material that looks organic but is more durable is the luxury vinyl flooring. It looks like a light oak but can stand up to the weather. This is a three-season, uninsulated cottage, so the couple shut everything down for the months when the temperature plummets to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to wet feet and shoes from the beach, the flooring can stand up to extreme temperature swings and is low-maintenance.
Off the dining room’s sun porch-y space, the house opens up to a wide-open floor plan that incorporates the living room and kitchen underneath a high vaulted ceiling. Shen continued the Scandinavian modern-inspired palette of white, light neutrals and a few pops of darker colors for contrast. She layered in a range of wood textures to add warmth to the white.
The doors you see in the back lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Wall paint in White Dove and trim paint in Cloud White: Benjamin Moore; flooring in Country Oak: Karndean; counter stools: Rove Concepts; Project 62 Lemke floor lamp: Target
The doors you see in the back lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Wall paint in White Dove and trim paint in Cloud White: Benjamin Moore; flooring in Country Oak: Karndean; counter stools: Rove Concepts; Project 62 Lemke floor lamp: Target
The sofa nods to Florence Knoll midcentury modern style, warmed up by a few carefully chosen throw pillows and a woven rattan coffee table.
The ladder leads to a loft space. It pulls out from the wall to make the climb easier and safer, then pushes back to save space.
Cowhide rug: Decorhut; sofa: custom; browse modern sofas
The ladder leads to a loft space. It pulls out from the wall to make the climb easier and safer, then pushes back to save space.
Cowhide rug: Decorhut; sofa: custom; browse modern sofas
“If it were up to me, we wouldn’t have a TV at the cottage, but gaming is a way my husband relaxes, and it was good to have during the World Cup,” Shen says. One thing she couldn’t live with was the TV bench they were using, with all the components and wires showing. “It didn’t fit in with the clean and simple style,” she says.
Shen designed an Ikea-hack solution that floats above the floor. The cabinet is composed of ready-made Ikea pieces topped with a custom piece of walnut.
Vase: H&M
Shen designed an Ikea-hack solution that floats above the floor. The cabinet is composed of ready-made Ikea pieces topped with a custom piece of walnut.
Vase: H&M
“I have always wanted a white kitchen,” Shen says. “I went with dark-stained maple in our home in Toronto and it was a mistake. This was my chance.” One of the biggest design moves in the kitchen was taking the backsplash subway tile all the way to the ceiling. “Because the ceilings are so high, there is a lot of space above the cabinets and it would have looked unfinished,” Shen says. She chose a medium gray grout for contrast.
“The beadboard on the cabinets is in keeping with the casual country style of our house,” she says. A matte black faucet and drawer pulls bring in modern touches.
Glendale beadboard cabinets: KitchenCraft; Loft pulls: Ginger’s; grout in Pearl Gray: Mapei; pot: Dansk; barn light: Lightess
“The beadboard on the cabinets is in keeping with the casual country style of our house,” she says. A matte black faucet and drawer pulls bring in modern touches.
Glendale beadboard cabinets: KitchenCraft; Loft pulls: Ginger’s; grout in Pearl Gray: Mapei; pot: Dansk; barn light: Lightess
The master bedroom has a snug feel. Shen chose a Scandinavian bed that has a twinge of country style to it at Ikea and layered soft bedding in natural fibers to bring the hygge. For example, the striped blanket is 100% Turkish linen.
After searching for just the right nightstands, Shen realized she was going to have to get creative and came up with another Ikea hack. She painted Ikea Rast dressers in Benjamin Moore’s Pigeon Gray and added brass bin pulls by Martha Stewart to style them up. They also provide some sneaky, much-needed storage space in the compact room.
Striped blanket: CottonMood, Etsy; Martha Stewart bin pulls: Home Depot
After searching for just the right nightstands, Shen realized she was going to have to get creative and came up with another Ikea hack. She painted Ikea Rast dressers in Benjamin Moore’s Pigeon Gray and added brass bin pulls by Martha Stewart to style them up. They also provide some sneaky, much-needed storage space in the compact room.
Striped blanket: CottonMood, Etsy; Martha Stewart bin pulls: Home Depot
“I wanted to keep the bedrooms as light as possible and then weave antiques in,” Shen says. In the master bedroom, a vintage teak gentleman’s chest provides more storage and warmth.
Chest: Furniture 1950
Chest: Furniture 1950
“My goal in both bathrooms was to keep it simple and functional, which meant lots of storage,” Shen says. In the master bath, she added shelves over the toilet. In both bathrooms, she corrals any clutter in bamboo boxes to maintain the clean and simple Scandinavian look.
A luxury item became a necessity at the lake. “Towels never dry here so we have heated towel racks,” Shen says.
Globe sconce: Wayfair
A luxury item became a necessity at the lake. “Towels never dry here so we have heated towel racks,” Shen says.
Globe sconce: Wayfair
A classic midcentury modern light fixture floats like a cloud over the guest room bed. Soft linens make things even more inviting.
Light fixture: Gfurn
Light fixture: Gfurn
“I placed small benches in both bedrooms because they take up less room than chairs do and I love to have a place to sit and pull my socks on in the morning,” Shen says.
Vase: H&M
Vase: H&M
In the main bathroom, a black and brass cone light fixture adds a midcentury modern touch, while the color palette of mostly white contrasted by black and gray maintains the simplicity of Scandinavian modern style.
Light: IlluminateVintage; Loft pulls: Ginger’s
Light: IlluminateVintage; Loft pulls: Ginger’s
The 300-square-foot loft was built as a storage space but Shen was determined to make it usable and not clutter it up with a bunch of junk. She and Leong decided to make it a workspace and extra sleeping space. Wall-mounted shelves and furniture from Ikea create a smart work area and provide storage.
Leong wrestled the armchair up the ladder from the living room for a nice extra seat up here. The ceiling light is actually a wall lamp but, as you’ve learned by now, Shen loves a good hack. Now it’s one of her favorites.
Bowl wall lamp: EQ3; armchair: HomeSense
Bowl wall lamp: EQ3; armchair: HomeSense
“It’s funny, now that the loft is complete, all of our guests fight over who gets to sleep up here,” Shen says.
Bed: Ikea
Bed: Ikea
This is the lake where the couple swim, canoe and kayak.
The couple love getting away to their simplified country lifestyle in Prince Edward County. “There will be no turning back to ‘more is more’ for us,” Shen says.
Takeaways
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
The couple love getting away to their simplified country lifestyle in Prince Edward County. “There will be no turning back to ‘more is more’ for us,” Shen says.
Takeaways
- To create a Scandinavian style, start with a white base and add layers of textures and other neutral colors to it.
- Geometric and Nordic patterns will lend the look.
- Add texture and warmth with light wood. Wood species don’t need to match but opt for natural finishes over stains.
- Create a streamlined floating media console by mounting ready-made cabinets to the wall. Customize it with a wood or stone top of your choosing.
- Changing out hardware goes a long way toward transforming the style of furniture and cabinetry.
- When it comes to textiles, natural fibers such as cotton and wool in a neutral color palette will give a Scandinavian feel.
- Create extra storage space in a bedroom by using nightstands with ample drawers.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Michelle Shen, who works in computer software and is a design blogger, and her husband, Anthony Leong, a lobbyist
Location: Prince Edward County, Ontario
Size: 1,500 square feet (139 square meters); two bedrooms plus sleeping loft, two bathrooms
Designer: Michelle Shen
“That was a very expensive trip,” Anthony Leong jokingly said to his wife, Michelle Shen, recalling their tour of Scandinavia in 2015. That’s because almost immediately after they got home to Toronto, they were inspired to buy a Prince Edward County property, build a country cottage and give it Scandinavian modern style. On a trip that included visits to Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm, Shen fell in love with the lifestyle there. “It showed me that you don’t have to have much to be happy,” she says. The clean-lined, neutral-colored, uncluttered and calming style of the homes she saw were exactly the feeling she wanted to create, employing the requisite hygge principles to create a cozy and inviting feel.
The couple chose Prince Edward County for a lot of reasons. While many Torontonians flee to the Muskoka and the Kawarthas regions for the weekends, the traffic to those place was too much for this couple to handle. “The traffic to Prince Edward County is much lighter,” Shen says. The drive takes them about two hours from their home in the city.
The cottage is surrounded by trees and is about a two-minute walk from a lake where they can swim, canoe and kayak. And the region is full of wineries and excellent restaurants, not to mention fields of lavender and sunflowers in the summer. It’s also an area where a handful of their friends have cottages. “I love our cottage,” Shen says. “You wake up in the morning and all you see is trees — no other houses, no cars.”
Rug: Lowes; dining table: Wayfair; bistro chairs: Amazon; patio set: JYSK; browse woven patio lounge sets