Eclectic Tranquility
Story: Walter Franczyk | Photography: Sandy Mackay
On the morning they bought their Mirage Lake cottage, Michael and Davinia Hopfes kindled a life-long memory.
With a diamond ring, custom-made in Germany, Michael proposed to Davinia on the dock of their new waterfront property. “We were so excited,” Davinia recalls. They were already married but Michael’s proposal sort of sealed the deal.
They are young professionals with busy careers. A gemologist, Davinia is sales and distribution manager for some of the world’s most prestigious makers of jewelry, watches and other luxury goods. Michael was one of Germany’s top competitive singles skaters before becoming a coach at The Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie and the Oakville Skating Club. He has coached skaters all over the world, including at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Yearning for a place to unwind from their travel and commuting, they looked at cottages throughout Muskoka and the Georgian Bay area before finding a secluded retreat in the woods north of Huntsville. “We love the town,” says Davinia. “We wanted to be close enough to a town that had lovely amenities, but far enough away that we could relax, really decompress and just feel like we’re away from everything.”
Huntsville, she says, has great restaurants, great stores and great arts. “And an ice rink,” Michael adds. “It just felt like home straight away,” says Davinia.
The architecture of their 10-year-old cottage impressed Michael. “The structure itself is amazing. It feels like it’s strong,” he says. With five bedrooms on three levels, the building is easily and quickly heated with propane or cooled with air conditioning. Its 3,300 square feet of space gives them ample room to share cottage life. “It’s a home that’s big enough to have lots of family and friends enjoy it with us,” says Davinia. The couple’s four fluffy white dogs, who loudly announce any visitors, are a huge part of their family life. Simba and Pumpkin are siblings that Michael kept when he rescued a litter of six puppies in Mexico. Gini is also from Mexico while Bella came from Korea.
In addition to its large area for family gatherings, the lake house has lots of quiet nooks in which to read, rest and relax. Large windows overlooking the lake fill the cottage with light. “Everywhere you look, there’s a view. Light is very important to us,” says Davinia. “It’s a nice, open feeling.”
The couple began making the cottage their own by refinishing the wide-plank pine floors, sanding the wood to its original blonde hue. For a better view of the lake, they installed tempered glass railings along the deck at the front of the house.
They furnished the great room with chrome-accented, white Italian leather sofas with flip-up headrests from La Vie Furniture. Adjacent to the great room, white dining chairs with wood and metal benches flank the live-edge acacia dinner table from Primitive Designs. A unique console table made from the gnarled roots of a teak tree hugs one wall. In a spot near the fireplace, they used weathered barn board to build an entertainment centre. They named each of the four guest bedrooms – Bear, Moose, Lavender and Nautical – and decorated each accordingly. “We thought it would be cute to have themed rooms,” says Davinia.
In the kitchen, quartz countertops complement cabinets with a cream-coloured antique finish. Above the sink, tiny flags of the nautical alphabet spell out the couple’s surname.
The cottage loft holds their master bedroom, which overlooks the great room and the lake view.
Framed on three sides with large windows, the Muskoka room is one of their favourite spots. “From this room you can see the sunrise, which is amazing,” says Davinia. “It’s full of windows. It’s full of light. It’s very relaxing.” A grey sofa bed provides extra sleeping space for visitors. “It’s pretty in here when it’s raining or snowing,” says Michael. Fastened to the wall is a white and gold Olympic torch from the 2018 Winter Games. Its five-pronged flames representing five continents reflect the couple’s eclectic tastes.
They’ve brought home mementoes from their travels – furs from Finland, a unique black vase from Austria, woolly sheep figurines from Tallinn, Estonia, vases from Mexico and tissue holders from the Philippines. “Every single piece that we’ve chosen has a story,” says Davinia.
For their living room, they asked Huntsville’s Living Wood Design to build a coffee table of spalted maple, accented with a rivulet of coloured epoxy. “We had a vision of how we wanted that table to look,” Michael explains. “It took us a while to find the right company that could piggy back off our vision and allow it to become a reality.” Michael and Davinia share a creative vision for their country home. “It’s not easy to find the right people that can make our ideas come to life,” Michael says.
On the ground floor, the large living room is equipped with a video projector and a screen that descends from the ceiling. Gnarled teak bar stools and a pub table from Primitive Designs create an inviting gathering spot. An adjoining space holds a massage table and a sliding door to an outdoor hot tub.
The couple plans to build a Finnish grill house – an all-season cooking hut – in the front yard. Traditional Scandinavian fixtures, these six-sided huts are typically made of pine with bench seating for as many as 10 people around a raised central wood or charcoal grill. Additional outdoor seating areas with a view of the lake and a relocated hot tub are plans for the near future.
Michael and Davinia envision using the cottage on weekends, hosting family and friends, and occasionally renting to those with a taste for north country living. “This is where we hope to make many family memories and just enjoy it with the people we love,” Davinia says. OH
