Sarah and her husband Alexander buy a charming 1950’s cottage on an island to renovate as a rental. Her husband initially tentative, Sarah paints the wood paneled living room white and the floors a showstopper green. She and Tommy check out local vintage finds for the space. The shaky exterior stairs and landing are reinforced after years of use and trees are cleared to unveil the million-dollar view.

The dark cottage kitchen gets the heave-ho in favour of something brighter, more modern and practical for renters. After a humorous game of keep and toss. Sarah and Tommy open the space to the living room, for easy entertaining and to capitalize on the view. Meanwhile, Alexander creates a clearing in the woods and builds a solar shed to serve most of the cottage’s energy needs.

This master bedroom has great bones, with a high vaulted ceiling and lots of windows. Sarah and Tommy use the power of paint to lighten the space and repurpose some of the built-in furniture. It’s a sharp contrast to challenges faced with the cottage’s exterior, where rotted beams need to be replaced, as does peeling and chipped cladding. Sarah and Alexander find the most cost effective way to solve these high-priority issues.

The cottage’s single bathroom has seen better days. Sarah replaces dated finishes and fixtures with stylish, hardwearing solutions. The window is enlarged and Alexander clears trees to bring in more light. Because the cottage’s prime sunset deck has become a meal for carpenter ants, it’s ripped up and replaced. The new deck becomes a hot spot for soaking up rays or sunset cocktails.

It’s the perfect kids’ space, with plenty of bunk beds and waterside location. Sarah votes to keep the nautical theme buy using the colour blue as a jumping off point, with more space saving fun touches like hanging baskets. Outside, Sarah, Alexander and Tommy figure out how to save a leaning stonewall, and install a screened porch for inclement weather. This bunkroom is amped up for fun!

Sarah and Alexander clear out a packed storage room and turn it into an extra bedroom, boosting the number of guests this rental cottage can accommodate. Sarah and Tommy’s choice of cheery yellow and an oar rack project give the space a nautical flair. Replacing the rotted, attached deck adds to the privacy of this room, accessible only from outside the cottage. We take an insider’s tour of the entire finished rental cottage, now ready for its first guests!