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Living the Good Life at the gorgeous Kawartha Lakefront Princess Margaret Lottery Cottage

TOtimes talks with the builder and designer about the luxurious Kawartha Cottage prize on Buckhorn Lake

LINDSAY, ON, April 8, 2022 – Linwood Homes has been designing and building lottery cottages for 15 years for Princess Margaret Hospital Home Lottery to Conquer Cancer and each one is as unique as the gorgeous property it sits on. This includes the latest Kawartha Lakefront Lottery Cottage prize on Buckhorn Lake, valued at 2.1 million. (Plus the lottery prize includes $100,000 cash).

The modern 2,412 square foot cottage sits high on a hill offering majestic lakefront views, along with vaulted ceilings, an open-concept great room with kitchen, dining and living areas, a principal bedroom with a spa-like ensuite, 3 bedrooms and more.

“Fifteen years ago the Princess Margaret Foundation decided to add cottages to their list of grand prizes and we won the tender and have been building lottery cottages ever since,” says Craig McFarlane, Vice President of Linwood Homes. “We are known as a leader in cottages. We are proud to be the designer and builder of the Princess Margaret Lottery’s world-famous Early Bird Cottage Prize. The first cottage we built was in Muskoka called the ‘The Carling’ because it was located near Port Carling and was specifically designed for the site. Our forte is waterfront lots. There is so much to consider when building a cottage—the different grades, water tables, trees, rocks and we need to be respectful of the neighbours on either side. We call it the ‘Land DNA’ at Linwood. Most clients want their cottage to be a certain size with at least three bedrooms, a large open concept kitchen/family room, open beam ceilings and lots of windows to capture the lake views. Typically when building lottery cottages, if there is room, we also like to build a lower-level walk-out basement which tends to look like a main floor as there’s plenty of light to enjoy in the bedrooms, family room, games room and laundry room.”

Nestled on Buckhorn Lake with 100 feet of waterfront, McFarlane refers to the design of the Kawartha cottage as “West Coast Modern”.

“What is unique about this design is that I curved the building to face the lake,” states McFarlane. “We cut into the bank to create a walkout on the lower level. From the back of the cottage it looks rather modest, with modern style board and batten in a dark Aztec (that’s the name of the colour) with red/gold soffits and facia. Large timbers support the covered entry. Inside, the wow factor is the high ceilings and walls of windows offering panoramic views of Buckhorn Lake.”

The lakefront views can also be enjoyed from the large, covered deck and seating area. “We added surround sound and pot lights for a very modern cottage feel,” says McFarlane. “The cottage itself is lined in V-joint pine walls, whitewashed to keep with the light and airy feel.”

The kitchen is truly the heart of the home with a grand island as the popular gathering spot. There’s a handy pantry and a two-piece powder room. The principal bedroom is a separate and private wing of the home offering plenty of privacy. There’s a huge 8’ x 8’ patio door in the bedroom with access to a private balcony. The expansive walk-in closet adds beauty and practicality to the bedroom. The spa-like bathroom has a large soaker tub with windows overlooking the lake as well as a walk-out to a private balcony with glass railings which can only be accessed by the principal bedroom.

“All of the feature rooms were designed to face the lake,” says McFarlane. “The site slopes to the lake offering homeowners a majestic view from almost every room in the cottage.”

The cottage comes fully furnished and was professionally designed by Lakeshore Designs near Buckhorn. “The interiors were designed to compliment the view,” says Angela Jones, Principal Designer/Owner of Lakeshore Designs which specializes in home and cottage design, decorating and renovations. Angela has been creating the interior designs in Princess Margaret lottery cottages for over eight years.

Angela Jones, Principal Designer/Owner of Lakeshore Designs near Buckhorn, which specializes in home and cottage design, decorating and renovations.

“There’s a nice flow to the space from the kitchen and open-concept layout,” she adds. “As the focal point is the view, we used a black and white colour theme. The large windows and door frames are painted black to punctuate the beauty of the view of the lake. We love how simplistic it is and how the black detail pops against the white-washed pine walls. The kitchen island is white, and we used black countertops with a bit of marbling in a leather textured finish. We love to imagine how the cottage will be used and image what it would be like to host a dinner party for family and friends and used this as the theme to inspiration. We wanted lots of comfortable seating for entertaining and just relaxing and enjoying the lake.”

The designer used shiplap on the walls and ceilings to add texture and modern cottage charm. Another unique feature is the two-side fireplace that can be enjoyed in the living room as well as in the principal bedroom. A king-size bed sits up high so homeowners can enjoy the view of the lake from the massive walk-out doors which lead to a private balcony. “We like to repeat colours which creates symmetry and the accent wall done in the shiplap dark colour adds depth to the principal bedroom.”

The guest bedrooms are located on the lower level with a family room that walkouts to the lake.

Craig McFarlane of Linwood Homes adds: “Every cottage owner needs plenty of space to store their cottage toys—canoes, kayaks, giant tubes, bikes and more. “We lined the double car garage in plywood so cottagers can hang their equipment on the ceilings and walls.”

“There’s also a 32’ Cedar-top dock,” he says. “What I love about the Kawarthas is that you boat to Pigeon Lake, Chemong Lake and all the way to Lake Ontario in the other direction through the Trent Severn Waterway.”

Tickets for the Princess Margaret Hospital Home Lottery to Conquer Cancer can be purchased at princessmargaretlotto.com for the Kawartha Lakes cottage and many other great prizes. Deadlines and details available on the website. Photos supplied by Angela Jones, Lakeshore Designs, courtesy of Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.