The shore sits 60 feet below the glass getaway.
When designer Anne Hepfer built her dream getaway right on the water in Ontario's cottage country, she combined luxe minimalism with woodsy touches — plus eye-catching finds from her far-flung travels — to create a year-round vacation haven for family and friends.
Hepfer designed her family's cottage in the Muskoka Lakes region north of Toronto. Elevated on a 60-foot setback, the L-shaped cottage has black siding to help it disappear into the trees. "If you're on the water, the house vanishes against the darkness," Hepfer says.
In the living room, a 20-foot-high wall of windows provides sweeping vistas of Lake Joseph. The console is from Hepfer's Ah Ha! collection, and the room's bespoke upholstery includes a wing chair in a Calvin Fabrics linen.
Hepfer had the ottoman in the foreground custom made using vintage woven mats from Borneo. The walls are painted Cloud White by Benjamin Moore.
Hepfer's request to leave the lichen intact on the granite for the living room's fireplace was met with skepticism by the stonemason. "He thought it would look dirty, but to me it adds character," she says. The Rumford-style fireplace is taller and shallower than traditional models, which helps radiate more heat into the space. In the adjoining dining room, a Restoration Hardware table is surrounded by wicker armchairs that Hepfer bought in Provence.
In the den, pillows in an Osborne & Little horizontal stripe echo the pattern of walls paneled in planks of reclaimed barnwood.
The breakfast nook's awning windows can be cranked open to let in breezes. A pair of marble-topped tables allow easier access to the U-shaped banquette.
In the sitting room, the middle and bottom windows can be lowered into the wall, transforming the space into a screened porch when the weather permits. Hepfer designed the sofa, swivel chairs and pendant.
In one of her sons' bedrooms, vintage cane beds she found online 10 years ago have a look that is "part sleepaway camp, part British Colonial."
On the deck outside the living and dining rooms, Hepfer installed frameless glass panels instead of railings, both for safety and to shield from wind blowing off the lake. What's more: "It's the best spot to watch sunsets, since glass doesn't obscure the view."
"We relocate to the dock the minute the weather turns warm," Hepfer says. To give the boathouse a cozy feel, she brought in a wall-spanning sofa with cushions in a Perennials fabric and a Schumacher chevron. A custom driftwood mirror "acts like a window. You see the lake even if you're facing the wall."
Born in New York City, designer Anne Hepfer now calls Toronto home. Read more about her inspiration for this house here.
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This story originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
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"We relocate to the dock the minute the weather turns warm," Hepfer says. To give the boathouse a cozy feel, she brought in a wall-spanning sofa with cushions in a Perennials fabric and a Schumacher chevron. A custom driftwood mirror "acts like a window. You see the lake even if you're facing the wall."</p>" data-cy="slide-image-10" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/hbu.h-cdn.co/assets/17/16/4000x2523/gallery-1492539489-anne-hepfer-dock-0517.jpg" title="Lake Dock" width="4000" height="2523" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/>
