Sarah Richardson bolts for cottage country to show you how to squeeze the most value from your cherished summer getaway. Sarah’s off-the-grid retreat bobs 17 miles offshore, light-years away from big city stress and convenience. Borrowing from the richness of nature, Sarah and design sidekick Tommy Smythe create a living room and outdoor deck that celebrate a sweeping panoramic view, a front row seat to amazing sunsets!

Guests are as certain as black flies at a cottage even if it’s smack in the middle of a lake. Sarah and Tommy whip two tight spaces into shape by dusting off old features and shoehorning in vintage cottage style. The dark East Room draws from the every watt of light-filled skies while the sun-baked West Room cools down in watery blues and greens. Even hotel connoisseur Tommy will feel at home in these five-star accommodations!

No bathroom reno is a day at the beach, but with civilization a lengthy boat ride away it’s more an exercise than imagined. With military precision Sarah, Tommy and contractor Vito create two nature-inspired bathrooms, each on a strict budget. As the bathrooms come to fruition Sarah’s husband Alexander increases the solar capacity on this electricity-free island to run the new facilities. Roughing it never felt better!

A prime motivator for updating a time worn cottage is to create sleeping quarters for all. Awkward ceilings and layouts plus dingy lighting rule the bedrooms in Sarah’s Cottage, and a winter storm unleashed its wrath on the ceilings and newly laid floor. Sarah and Tommy transform the spaces into a versatile kids’ loft and a master bedroom with a subtle nod to cottage living. A rooftop deck affords a view of ever-changing lake vistas.

Sarah proves you can have all the comforts and practicality of home at your cherished summer place. The open-concept main level welcomes multi-functional style with an energy efficient gourmet kitchen and a light-filled dining and lounge area. Sarah’s muted colour palette draws from nature’s backdrop to create a space worthy of a weekend’s worth of city-refugees or casual dining on a whim!

Nobody does a cottage guesthouse like Sarah! She and Tommy nestle a neglected Bunkie into an away-from-it-all corner of the island. The last room of the cottage project Sarah struggles to keep her budget afloat. She salvages pine boards, windows and a birch tree that with a little ingenuity comes back as a bedside lamp. At the last minute her doctor, leaving Tommy to fend for himself, votes a very pregnant Sarah off the island!