2916 - VACATION LAKEVIEW COTTAGE BECOMES FULL-TIME HOME
Vacation cottages tend to evolve through the years. Many are hand-me-downs, in the family for generations. It’s easy to overlook inconveniences in a temporary living situation, but when it becomes the full time abode, changes need to be made.
PROBLEM
This charming cottage on Lake Erie was lovingly cared for with nicely developed gardens and wonderful outdoor entertaining spaces. The family even built an efficient separate guest house. The only thing that was somewhat neglected was the interior of the main house. With retirement plans in the works, these homeowners called me in to determine what should be done to provide some creature comforts.
The front entry (A) is vestibuled with a confined double door. The entry hall leads to a large main room (B) that doubles as living and dining areas. The fireplace (C) is old, functional, and depicts much of the charm of this vintage cottage.
The sunroom (D) is actually the Prime Spot in this home because it offers the best view of lake. The only problems with this room are that the traffic patterns chop up the spaces and many of the old windows don’t open.
The kitchen (E) presents the biggest challenge since it is tucked away in a corner and has almost no counter space. The kitchen is so small that the refrigerator is in a strange room (F) behind the fireplace that is one step down and houses the laundry.
The one bathroom (G) is adequate, but not wonderful. The same could be said for the two mediocre bedrooms (H&I).
SOLUTION
It was obvious that we had to add onto the home, but it was imperative that we did it in such a way to keep the character and charm of the cottage.
We started with the kitchen. We extended it and the porch out to the side, even adding a family entry (K) and porch (L) as a new way directly into the kitchen. This entry relates to the guest house. The new kitchen is large enough for two cooks, has a refrigerator actually in the same room, and also has a pantry.
The strange room (F) is improved by raising the floor and enclosing it to become a dedicated laundry room. A trap door offers the access to the crawl space to service the floor heaters.
The sunroom became a large screened porch (N) with matching French doors out from the living/dining area (O).
The second addition was at the front of the house, creating a foyer (P) with a generous closet. The bathroom (Q) was modified to become a half bath, opening up space in the center of the house (R) where we added a skylight.
The lakeside bedroom (I) became the perfect den/office (S) with a view. We added French doors from the hall and exterior French doors out to the terrace.
The former bedroom (H) was consumed to create a master bathroom (T) and the entry into the new master bedroom (U) that was added on. We even got some desired built-ins and a walk in closet (V).
MARCIA LYON is a professional remodeling designer and freelance writer, producing projects locally and several other areas across the US and Canada. Her new E-book on remodeling design is available on her web site www.creatingspaces.net Reach her at E Mail: Marcia@creatingspaces.net; or phone 515-991-8880
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