Past, Present & Future Collide

STORY NELSON PHILLIPS l PHOTOGRAPHY JASON HARTOG

The idea for this stunning home started with a phone call. Matt Hill, Director of Construction for Mazenga Building Group’s Collingwood arm, called the future homeowner about a property coming onto the market. “I know her well and knew she had a real soft spot for log cabins and this particular lot had a small, old log cabin.”

The dream was to take the log cabin, utilize its charm, history and cosy family spirit and blend it with the necessities of 21st century life – inject a zest of modernity into four walls hewn from timber, and build a home that worked two spaces, joined by care and imagination. To begin, Mazenga worked with Oakville-based architectural firm Gren Weis Architect & Associates to bridge the gap between a new build and a complete reimagination of a forgotten log structure on a street near Blue Mountain. Mazenga had dabbled in similar construction projects before, but the personal connection between Matt and the homeowner meant looking upon this build with new eyes.

They gutted the cabin and left four walls intact, then moved the structure off to the side to focus on the foundations of a modern home. When the time was right, they’d bring the cabin back into the fray, joining it to create a space that pays respect to its history, while offering strength and new life to the property.

“Building has become very personal,” attests Matt. “It’s cross-pollination. The idea was to bridge the connection from her love of log cabins with a contemporary design that would do the things the family needed it to do.”

“The cabin was the impetus for the house,” says the homeowner. “It was full of history and the idiosyncrasies that come with that, and we had previously outgrew another log cabin. There were two opposing ideas: ‘Should we bulldoze it?’ versus ‘How can we keep this thing?’”

With three teenage girls, the design for the intertwined home was to house the girls in the revamped cabin, giving each their own bedroom and bathroom, united by a fireplace, and separate that structure from the contemporary home via an open breezeway. This would give the homeowner and her husband their own space, while still maintaining the ability to have the entire family under one roof.

“I’m happy I didn’t listen to the bulldozer idea,” laughs the homeowner. Designed by Sharon Croxon Design Inc., the home is all about creating a unique brand of contrast that speaks to its inherent design differences. “I don’t always want to create something new,” says Sharon. “I love to layer design and this allowed for a powerful juxtaposition. We kept the original log colour and allowed the two spaces to talk to each other. This was about creating a space that the girls would want to come back to, but also provided a way to shut down a section of the home when they were gone.”

The great room is the clear heart of the home. It’s bordered by floor-to-ceiling windows that bring in light and a sense of space. A commanding view of Georgian Bay provides some decadent eye candy throughout. With the walls of the log cabin in your peripheral, there’s a sense of home and legacy that are rarities in new builds, and a bright, clean colour palette provides freshness and clarity. 

Communication between the builder, designer and homeowner was a defining component of this project. “That relationship can sometimes be tricky,” explains Sharon. “But, working with Matt over the years on numerous projects has allowed us to develop a sense of simpatico. Some builders don’t want to stray from their lane, but he’ll make suggestions from a design point of view and it ultimately turns out better. Being open to collaboration saves time and money when we’re able to work together and we’re not competing.”

Sharon’s work has become a vessel for her to support local contractors, suppliers and creativity. She routinely sources as local as possible, but the pandemic has brought new meaning to that practice. “If you’re going to invest in the community, give it back to the community. That ethos has served me well.”

If there’s one thing living through a global pandemic has taught us, it’s that patience and foresight are valuable commodities. In the case of this home, it was the collective patience and care used in the construction and reimagining of this home that led to its paramount success.

Blending the vision of the homeowner with the expertise of the designer and the knowledge of a capable builder saved an old space from demolition and created a truly lovely rendition of what a modern home can be – a nod to the past, a profound dedication to the present and a hopeful look forward to the future.