Sharing Bliss
STORY LEE-ANN CHOQUETTE
PHOTOGRAPHY SANDY MACKAY
Sometimes, the best things in life are those you never see coming. The saying could not be truer for toronto’s Ryan Harkin and husband Blair Cox, who, in 2018, bought a cottage and unintentionally created a successful cottage rental business.
“Our plan was to have a cottage we could enjoy, and to rent here and there to cover some of the expenses,” says Ryan. “We were not looking at a business.” As they renovated their cottage on Redstone Lake in the Haliburton Highlands, Ryan posted pictures with captions online. “People kept following us,” he says. “I did not know that, with the posts, I had accidentally driven up demand for the cottage. The cottage got totally booked and it sort of accidentally became a business,” he chuckles while shaking his head in amazement. And that is how The Birchwood Cottage Co. began.
With so many people interested in The Birchwood on Redstone Lake, Ryan realized they were on to something. “So we kept going, and in October 2019, we decided to buy a second cottage on Kennisis Lake. I decided to quit my job as a sales manager for a high-end jewelry store in Toronto and make this my full-time job. It is my baby,” says 27-year-old Ryan, whose husband Blair owns and manages Solo Bace hair salon in Toronto.
They gutted the Kennisis Lake cottage over the winter of 2020 to have it ready for June. Ryan and Blair did a lot of the tear out, helped as much as they could to cut costs, and hired contractor Jeff Sharpless of Woodlands Custom Structures to do the rest. “Jeff is fabulous; he is our go-to guy,” says Ryan, who moved to Canada from Scotland about six years ago.
They installed new windows and exterior doors from Nortech Home Improvements, new electrical services, plumbing and six-inch walls for insulation. “If you came here in January 2020, the only things supporting the cottage were the exterior walls and the beams,” says Ryan. “It would have been less expensive to build a new cottage. But we love the land,” he says. “There are big granite outcrops all over out there. We have over 200 feet of shoreline.
We are right at the end of a point, so when you are on the deck, the water wraps around. It is beautiful.”
Ryan and Blair worked hard to optimize every single inch of the cottage’s 1,100 square feet. “We replaced and refreshed everything,” Ryan says. “We must have changed the layout of the open living/dining/kitchen – everything- area – 10 times before we decided, ‘This is it.’ ”
By replacing closets with hooks and dressers, they not only optimized the stunning lake views, but also created precious extra space. In the entranceway, curled iron spikes serve as coat hangers and a custom wooden bench by Haliburton’s Living Woodwork is the perfect perch for putting on or removing footwear. Metal and wood artwork, hung with a piano hinge, provides easy access to an electrical panel while concealing it from view.
Bumping into the adjacent bedroom, they not only made space for a chic and comfortable dining nook, but also created the perfect wall for a large-screen television in the adjacent bedroom. In the spacious master bedroom area, they used the reclaimed footage to create a large and luxurious shower in the en suite and a cranny for stackable laundry appliances.
Clad in reclaimed barn board from Emmerson Lumber Limited, the main bathroom features a three-by-four foot glass shower by Haliburton Glass & Mirror and a vanity with Cora marble double sinks. Leather-strap mirrors add grandeur to the space. Lockside Trading Company and Simply Cottage supplied an array of furnishings and décor. “We tried to use as many local companies as we could,” says Ryan.
Sunlight plays on the lightly stained ash floors, pine doors and wood beams while simple white trim and ceilings give the space an open, light and stylish feeling.Revival Flooring supplied the cottage’s distressed ash flooring. Calacatta quartz countertops by Delray Granite overlay Ikea kitchen cabinetry in an efficient cooking space that overlooks the living room.
One bunk room and two bedrooms are beautifully furnished and super comfy beds are dressed with crisp linens, duvets and lots of toss cushions. Hudson’s Bay-style towels are a nod to their desire to include Canadiana, decorative deer and modern lighting add hits of contemporary, and a large leather sofa, with furry toss cushions and woolly throws nearby, gives the comfy vibe Ryan and Blair want. Soft lighting, candles and plants make Birchwood on Kennisis Lake feel like home away from home.
Outside there is lots of room to relax in the shade or sun. Sliding doors in the master bedroom and main living area open to a large wraparound patio. Five separate decks on descending stairs lead to the docks below. The Home Hardware firepit and a hot tub, furnished by The Pump Shop, are popular spots.
As they ready the cottage for new guests, they tidy and fill the woodpile, generously restock the welcome goodies, meticulously clean, fluff pillows, artfully dress beds with fresh crisp linens and ensure everything is in its proper place.
It has been a busy two years, but already they are talking about adding other cottagesto The Birchwood Co. If they can rebuild a cottage and launch a new boutique cottage rental in the middle of a global pandemic, the sky is the limit.
