Summertime: Cottaging on a Beach

Summertime is super short here in Canada and where I live in Southern Ontario cottaging is a big thing to do. (You might know what I call a cottage as a “summer home” or a “camp”). I grew up cottaging on a smallish lake where you have a dock, you don’t necessarily see your neighbours and you are serenaded to sleep at night by loons. It’s a fantastic place to retreat and for my extended family to hang out together.

Recently I visited a cottage on Thunder Beach which is on the shores of Georgian Bay. What a contrast to the type of cottaging I’m used to! It’s like going to the beach beside an ocean except it’s all fresh water. The kids dug in the sand, they swam, we walked on the beach, walked to the corner store and even played at a little park.

The “cottages” are quite something. The Thunder Beach community has been around for five or six generations and gradually all the original beach cottages are being torn down and replaced with massive beach homes. Kinda like these ones ….

It’s really a matter of personal preference but I like that you don’t have all the creature comforts of home when at a cottage. Don’t get me wrong – cottages have gotta be clean and (for me) mouse-free but seriously … you don’t all need your own washrooms when cottaging – it isn’t a hotel!

This size of beach cottage is more my style …

I gotta say I could get used to the beach cottage. I love the proximity to the water, the beach walking and the community atmosphere. It’s so different than anything I have ever known.

What about you? Where do you spend your summer?

I will take a cold one on the dock, please!

For all you Canucks … enjoy your long weekend. I sure will!

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A Nantucket Summer Home

I’ve got cottages and summer homes on the brain as the cottage season here officially kicks off this weekend. Today I am sharing with you a Nantucket home that was originally built in 1747 and has recently restored by it’s architect owners as a getaway for themselves and their four boys.

Check it out:

I love the mix of textures and the muted colour scheme. Am a particular fan of the mosaic tile in the bathroom and the exposed timbers throughout the second floor.

What do you think?

all images via New England Home