Home Again

STORY RACHAEL HAVENS
PHOTOGRAPHY SANDY MACKAY
FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS COLLINGWOOD FLOWERS & HOME DECOR

For Sheri and Doug Ramshaw, time in Southern Georgian Bay has always been about family. Sheri’s parents’ cottage in
Tiny Beaches was their original home base. In 2000 the couple, along with their two young boys Jeremy and Graham, joined Alpine Ski Club to meet friends in the area. More than a decade later, in 2012, they put down their own roots.

After a long search, Sheri spotted an ad for a little chalet from the 1960s. She knew it looked old, and thought at worst they could knock it down. But they went to the showing, and the rest is history.

After stepping inside, they were surprised to find the chalet was “adorable.” The previous owner was in interior design, and Sheri thought, “We don’t have to knock this baby down, we can enjoy it!”

Six ski seasons later – after getting a real sense of the home, the property and their vision for the space – it was time to renovate.

Enter Evan Reid of Evolution Custom Building. Evan launched Evolution in 2014 after a 13-year run working with mentor Paul Rogers of Valleyview Construction, who connected the Ramshaws with Evan. Sheri and Doug emphasize that from the first day they met Evan, they could tell “he was very calm, and a good communicator,” key traits for such a large project.

Evolution specializes in anything custom residential, so the Ramshaw project was right up Evan’s alley. The plan was to renovate the existing chalet and build a brand new addition. The interior was completely gutted, the great room ceiling raised from eight to 12 feet and a second floor was built above.

Stephen Mortveit and Kevin Young, two of the team members at Evolution, were also instrumental on the project, making sure it ran smoothly from start to finish. The family moved in just before Christmas 2019 with Evan and his team’s help. They even went the extra mile to fish an extension cord out through the crawl space and drill a hole for a new plug that would light the Christmas tree.

Both Sheri and Evan admit their favourite spot in the house is the hallway in the addition. “It’s spectacular,” Evan says, “it stops me every time.” And Sheri echoes his sentiment. The tall ceilings, transoms over the doorways and the light cast by the fixtures shining on the shiplap are standouts. From one end, there is a view out a picture window, while the other end looks toward the open staircase with its glass railings.

It was important to the couple to work with a local builder and local trades. AG Designs did a beautiful job with the millwork, from the bathroom vanities and mudroom bench to the sliding barn doors. Clearlite Electric completed the electrical and digging, while Pipeworx Plumbing handled all plumbing. NX Generation Mechanical installed the in-floor heating and air system. Shower glass is from The Glass Place, while the kitchen backsplash was supplied by Georgian Design Centre. The home is painted Benjamin Moore Pale Oak, while building supplies came from Thornbury Home Hardware.

When asked what advice they would offer to anyone considering a custom home, Sheri and Doug recommend not rushing the planning stage. Reflecting back on the process, they are glad they lived in the old chalet before figuring out how to tear it apart, so to speak. It helped them determine their wants and needs. Evan recommends a focus on planning as well, particularly with the help of an architect or architectural technologist. Nicole Crole of Prestige Design & Drafting helped on this project, and Evan praises her ability to simplify the plan in a way that made sense for all parties involved. 

Now settled in the new space and with both sons in their late 20s, Sheri looks back fondly at the time the family spent together in the original chalet. “We will have had more close times with the boys in the old little chalet than we will in the new big chalet.” Both sons raced at Alpine, and later became coaches. This meant lots of weekends spent at the mountain over the past two decades. Now Sheri looks ahead to future weekends: “My favourite memories here are easy – they are and continue to be the time we spend here with our kids.”

Recently, Sheri’s sister and her family bought a home around the corner. She points out, “It’s sort of like we have this evolved version of what we used to do back at my parents’ cottage.” Two decades later, the sisters are neighbours, with husbands and two boys each.

A Sue Tupy painting in the home shows four skiers on a chairlift in sepia tones. When asked if it depicts her family of four, Sheri shakes her head. “I don’t think of it as Doug and I and the kids; those are the four boys.”

The ski hill may be what drew the Ramshaws to Collingwood, but time spent with parents, sisters, sons and cousins has been what brought the family home again.