{"id":834047,"date":"2026-07-29T16:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/834047\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:44:09","slug":"a-cottage-with-internal-zoning-built-for-comfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/834047\/","title":{"rendered":"A cottage with internal zoning built for comfort"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finding studies about the benefits of nature is the easy part; the Canadian Psychological Association\u2019s \u201cFact Sheet: Benefits of Nature Exposure\u201d suggests that anything from \u201cjust a few minutes\u201d can \u201cboost attention\u201d and \u201cimprove one\u2019s mood\u201d while a few hours per week has been \u201clinked to better health\u201d and reduces stress hormones. The hard part is carving out a piece of nature to return to week in and week out; of bonding with a particular grouping of rocks, trees and lapping water.<\/p>\n

Nyla Ahmad and Rob Sandler had a connection with a piece of the Kawartha Lakes region, but no cottage. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe love that it\u2019s on the edge of Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park,\u201d says Ms. Ahmad. \u201cAnd it\u2019s pretty rare to have a granite-bottom lake; the water\u2019s really clear and clean, and so it\u2019s a good spot. We walk through the forest [regularly].\u201d<\/p>\n

To be clear, there had been a cottage here. Owned by Mr. Sandler\u2019s parents, it had been where family and extended family would congregate, celebrate and depressurize from the big city. The two-storey, unwinterized cottage was purchased the same year Ms. Ahmad and Mr. Sandler started dating, 1986, and, says Mr. Sandler, \u201cabout 10 years\u201d after that his parents did a renovation. A contractor with a drinking problem, however, meant there \u201cwas no cement and footing; the corner of the cottage was built right into the soil.\u201d That was discovered in the mid-2000s, when \u201cwe couldn\u2019t open the doors and windows\u201d and \u201cthere was mould 10 feet up.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, after the cottage was bulldozed, the land sat empty for a decade. And life moved on.<\/p>\n

The Architourist: A Buddhist, an artist, a cottage and an addition<\/a><\/p>\n

As it moved, children grew up, and Ms. Ahmad met architect Heather Dubbeldam through her work. She liked her so much, she hired her to do a full renovation to the couple\u2019s 1938, stone house at Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue West. This, luckily, meant that when it was decided a new cottage would rise, phoenixlike, on that little piece of paradise, there was no need to go architect-shopping.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we called Heather, and she worked her magic,\u201d Mr. Sandler says, \u201cand basically built this beautiful cottage\u201d (the construction was executed by Ortolan Building Design Ltd). It\u2019s a \u201cmultifamily cottage,\u201d he continues, since \u201cNyla has a really big family in Toronto, and [there\u2019s] our family, so we wanted a space where everyone could come up and enjoy, and the place would be really comfortable for little kids [and] for older people.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t really magic, corrects Ms. Ahmad: \u201cThe project started by us going there, standing on the land, photographing very specific views \u2026 and starting with what were the things we wanted to see when we were inside the cottage \u2026 and all those trees were mapped out, and then Heather came up with this kind of cross concept [for the floor plan]. She did a really great job of putting the cottage into the forest. \u2026 We really did minimize cutting down trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true: even from the driveway there is a tantalizing taste of nature through the windows. Walk into the foyer and look ahead to those big sliding doors: it\u2019s almost as if the lake attaches itself to the big deck. Walk in a little further, and the connection to nature is strengthened left and right via doors and windows at the end of each corridor. Inside the big, shared common room, beautiful maple panelling and built-ins reign supreme over tiny bits of drywall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sounds banal, but cottages are subject to a lot of humidity being this close to the lake,\u201d says Ms. Dubbeldam. \u201cWe have to make sure there\u2019re not a lot of things that can get damp and retain moisture. \u2026 It\u2019s also easy to maintain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Architourist: As new tower rises near Toronto Street, old stories burn brightly<\/a><\/p>\n

To maintain the mental health of the various users, it was important to create zones, inside and out, that allow for massive family meals, for smaller groups to gather, and for lone wolves to tuck into a good book. The many bedrooms offer total independence (the one with bunk beds is great for two pals to have a conversation), and the low-occupancy den that stretches out onto the deck (and therefore sits closest to the water) is where \u201cmore books are read than in any other room,\u201d Mr. Sandler says with a grin. <\/p>\n

Similarly, the multilevel deck offers places for boisterous mealtimes as well as shady, solo page-turning under the old tree as it pokes through planks and touches the clouds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really does work,\u201d adds Ms. Ahmad. \u201cPeople can relax and there\u2019s no judgment \u2026 go and spend a few hours on your own.\u201d <\/p>\n

Built with passive house principles in mind, the 2,200-square-foot, un-airconditioned building can exhaust hot, stale air in seconds via its many operable windows, doors and clerestories, and, in winter, the above-code insulation and two wood-burning stoves keep spaces warm and cozy (and unoccupied zones can be sealed off and left at colder temps). <\/p>\n

And while there are a few stairs up to one bedroom wing and a few down to the other \u2013 the cottage hugs the landscape \u2013 a shallow pitch means a ramp can be installed when the time comes: \u201cAccessibility was something that was really important to us,\u201d confirms Ms. Ahmad. \u201cEven the way that deck is designed \u2013 one day we\u2019re going to be old, and I\u2019m still going to want to get down to the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already a multiple award-winner, the Ahmad\/Sandler cottage is a textbook example of how to create a visually harmonious space that can perform multiple tasks \u2013 especially ones that reduce stress \u2013 well and without pretense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe combination of skill and humanity makes such a huge difference,\u201d finishes Mr. Sandler as he digs into his chicken and mango salad. \u201cI guess just like parenting or marriage or whatever, when shit happens you really find out about the person you\u2019re working with.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finding studies about the benefits of nature is the easy part; the Canadian Psychological Association\u2019s \u201cFact Sheet: Benefits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":834048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[967,76,354,355,49,48,356,75,968],"class_list":["post-834047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architourist","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}