Modern design replacing log cottages, rustic builds As demand for year-round property continues to grow, cottage design and lifestyle have been shifting. And while many people yearn for the slow living that comes with rustic builds, finding those cottages is increasingly like finding a needle in a haystack. Even Whistler- or Lake Tahoe-esque log cabins – in vogue as recently as 15 to 20 years ago – are becoming fewer and further between, with many cottage owners tearing down original cottages and replacing them with contemporary black or white builds with flat roofs and glass windows that are comparable to properties found in Malibu Beach, reports Storey Badger of Engel & Völkers Toronto Central Muskoka.
“You may see someone with an older cottage build an ultra modern boathouse in the anticipation of building the ultra modern 7,500-square-foot cottage but they hold off on that because it’s the big-ticket item. There’s a mismatch because they’re doing development in stages,” he says. TEARDOWNS, VACANT LAND “If people have the goal of moving into a log cabin, they tend to stick with it but that’s not what many buyers want.
They’re looking for either a teardown or vacant land that’s a blank canvas,” says Badger. “You’ll find builders, developers and end users are using the original cottages for their footprint because if you were to build on vacant land, you’d have to build way further back from the water’s edge.” Lakeside Architecture princip.