Purple Toad Cottage

10/10/2021

Hygge: a quality of coziness, comfort and contentment

29/03/2021

D.E.A.R. time, best time of the day 📖
I may be biased, but we have THE best spot for this.
➡️ to see

15/03/2021

One can dream...

02/02/2021

Where’s your cozy hideaway during a Nor’easter?



📷

02/02/2021

Swipe twice for the before ➡️

30/01/2021

A few more views of the bedroom ready for Christmas guests 🎄

11/08/2020

Lookie lookie!! Who doesn’t love a peddle boat?

09/08/2020

Did you know we’re dog friendly? Purple Toad Cottage is the paw-rfect place to get away and bring your favourite furry family members along for a swim in the lake!! Jump on in!!

25/07/2020

25/07/2020

September dates just opened up! Hurry hurry! Aug 31 - Sept 5 just opened on the calendar. I LOVE the month of September. It’s still warm, there are no bugs and the nights are beautiful. Find us at airbnb, link in bio.

01/07/2020

Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

12/06/2020

12/06/2020

A small gesture of thanks to our guests. George and I are grateful to everyone who has chosen to stay at Purple Toad Cottage this summer. We are just so thrilled that people appreciate our little spot and are excited to stay there.

10/06/2020

Nature’s flashlight. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I love both for the feeling of peace and calm they give me but in very different ways. In the morning I almost think I need to tiptoe around quietly as the lake and her inhabitants slowly start to wake up. The water is dead flat as the mist rolls off it and the birds and insects start to make their presence known. At night, the same lake and land is shrouded in mystery and magic. Night sounds are amplified and the sounds of darkness starts murmuring. Overhead the stars gain brightness minute by minute and star gazing can take your breath away. Morning or night, which one speaks to you?

03/06/2020

29/05/2020

Can’t even believe it. Yay!! It’s a journey that started in late August 2017 and has included most weekends between then and now. Lots of dust and dirt and paint and sweat. Thanks to everyone who followed and cheered us on. Although there are still some things to finish up, it’s looking pretty darn cute.

27/05/2020

It’s all about the green.

21/03/2020

Canadians supporting Canadians

05/03/2020

Happy to share progress on the living room. Adding just a few key elements starts to tie it all together. Wait for the surprise we have for the space under the stairs !

23/02/2020

Satisfying when they turn out exactly as you pictured.

18/02/2020

Oh the fun we had this weekend! It was all about bringing in some finishing touches. The pretty stuff, the texture, the vibe, the feels. Can you even believe our luck when the original owner left behind this fab peacock chair? George wasn’t so sure about the whole set up because comfort rates pretty high on the guy scale. He tried it out. He picked up the book. He was still there an hour later 😂. See where the book it open to....that’s how far he read. I take that as a win.
@ Purple Toad Cottage

28/01/2020

After all the flooring was out and the new beams installed we started in on the drywall. At first we thought we could save some of it but there was moisture damage on the bottom 12" of it and the baton insulation was dirty and not in the best condition. Soooooo out with it all! It's amazing what treasures you find hidden behind the walls.

Look at this crazy plumbing set up where the corner sink in the kitchen was. The old pipes were so brittle one of them cracked off and water started spraying everywhere! See the bucket and water marks all over the floor lol. And just for fun there was no shut off nearby. We also moved the hot water tank from below the stairs to an upstairs closet and had the entire downstairs re-plumbed.

While we worked away on the downstairs every weekend, we still had to have a kitchen so we could cook and live there. Everything was moved upstairs and we made do with a microwave and bbq and the fridge of course.
Even baby Steve knew where the food was kept!

26/01/2020

All our renovations take place on weekends which certainly stretches out the time line lol. Not to mention we are 1hr away so there is some planning involved. To start we had to add some heat to the bottom level so pipes wouldn't freeze during the week. The previous owners lived there f/t so were able to keep the lower level warm and cozy. Although, the heating choices were a bit curious to me. On the bottom main level there was a heat pump, a pellet stove AND a propane fireplace. All in about 800sq ft. and of which we could count on to keep the pipes from freezing when we weren't there. So, in went a few electric baseboard heaters.

Next we came up with a floor plan that moved the pellet stove, removed the large non-functioning propane stove, and removed all those dang posts to open up the space.

Then we had to tear up all the flooring. It was pretty gross and had moisture and mold and yuck.. Down to the bare concrete we went.

Next we hired some help installing the new ceiling beams and what a difference! We had to keep one post but we did move it slightly to better line up with the sliding door and enlarge the dining space.

Already the place is looking and feeling more open less cluttered. Still SOOOOO much to do.

20/01/2020

In August 2017, a dream came true for us when we purchased this little cottage. Over the past 2 years we have taken down walls, ripped out flooring and kitchen and drywall and even the studs and posts. Once we were down to bare concrete walls, the rebuild began. Since we both have full time jobs, the work was competed on weekends (explains the long time line!)
These pictures show the cottage before we started the renovations. Notice how many (4) posts there are in the living and dining area. The posts severely limit furniture placement and function of the main living spaces. That had to change as you will see in future pictures.

18/01/2020