THE KATEPWA LAKE HOUSE
Possession days are always happy... and a little bit sad (for us). We love handing the keys over to our clients but we are also sad that our journey with that project is coming to an end. Each project has a special place in our hearts.
The Katepwa Lake House Project was a super fun and challenging project. For me, it stretched me to think in a different direction than I was use to. Our clients asked for a Malibu beach house feel and we all know that I am a little more farmhouse when it comes to design. But that is what I love about this industry - we get pushed to think in ways that we aren't always comfortable with and we learn a lot along the way.
The small beach town of Katepwa was where the who's who built back in the day. It was a town where Regina's top business owners would escape for weekends and the summer. Lakeview Street was known as "millionaire road" as it was filled with lakefront cabins and vacation homes. The local restaurant had a dining room with top chefs cooking evening meals while Regina's elite would mix and mingle throughout the summer evenings.
Our clients owned a small summer cabin that was built in 1925. The cabin was built by a gentleman who owned a well known piano company in Regina. Dale + Annette would open it May long weekend and enjoy it till the weather turned cool in the fall. No gas or heat meant that they had to pack up and close it down - only being able to enjoy it for a few months each year. They decided they wanted a home where they could come to all year round. As they began demolition of the old cabin they found advertisements on the back of old piano crates that were used to sheet the cabin. They saved these artefacts and are excited to use them as art in the new lake house.
The whole house was based around the views of the lake and the evening sunsets that happen in the west. I would say we built the whole house around the windows and then created the rooms and layout. We have an open concept living and entertaining space with oversize windows that draw your attention to nature outside. There isn't a room in the house that doesn't take advantage of the beautiful lake setting the house is situated in.
James says the the Katepwa Lake House goes down as his all time favourite exterior. The home was designed by John Robinson from Robinson Residential here in Regina. To create an industrial modern exterior we used a few different products to bring to life the vision of the clients. I love the different textures on the home as we used smooth and textured acrylic stucco, some Hardie panel boards, and also did a wall of galvanized metal. To bring a little bit of "rustic" to the industrial modern design we did large timbers under the soffit overhang. It was fun to try some new products and step outside the style we typically do on our projects.
The staircase leading to the second floor is definitely a design focal point. The clients had some inspirational photos we used to create the look. The staircase is 2 steel stringers powder coated black, stained maple stair treads, with stainless steel handrails with cable railing. We are pretty happy with the recent code changes that allow for this style of railing because it opens up a world of options now!
The second floor is the cabin's sleeping quarters with a master bedroom, larger bunk room, and guest bedroom. The mater bedroom features a beautiful vaulted ceiling allowing for large oversized windows with a perfect view of the lake. There will be nothing better than waking up in that beautiful bedroom and looking out at the water. The second floor also features a small enclosed patio with a radiant heater. Our clients are looking forward to spending many evenings out there and being nestled amongst the trees.
Thank you to our clients Dale + Annette for asking us to bring their lake house vision to life. We spent many hours looking over plans, doing 3D walk throughs of the space, site visits and design meetings to ensure that they will love their new lake house for years to come.
