Very cool! I always like the juxtaposition of a modern home in a natural or wooded location.

That cantilevered room looks scary but totally amps up the cool factor to 11. Love the night photo too.

I love it! Any pics of the inside?

I found the inside pictures in the Decor section. SOOOO glad I did. I'm guessing you're in Ontario, and those pictures are making me homesick. (I'm in Alberta now.)

Ambern145, my main house is in Ottawa, this place is about 35 minutes north in Quebec though. Thanks for your comments. We aren't completely finished the interior yet, but here is one picture:

Kitchen:

Looks amazing, inside and out!

Absolutely gorgeous!

Gorgeous! Thank you for posting. We don't see enough modern homes here on GW.

Wow! What an awesome way to take advantage of the setting!

Your cottage is to special to call it "the cottage". What is its name?

Awesome!!!

Sochi, SO BEAUTIFUL!! I love your dishes (saw them in the home decor thread.) Thanks for sharing.

Oh that's fantastic! Absolutely lovely and I love the relationship to the outdoors. Congrats!

Absolutely gorgeous...I imagine we will be seeing it written up in a shelter mag soon!

Thanks so much for sharing, Sochi. We are also building a modern home. Very similar choices (on a smaller budget).

Can I ask what type of flooring you used? We also want to go with light wood. Trying to choose between a white oak and a maple...

Beautiful house! How did you cantilever that room so far out? Do you have any pics while it was being built?

Shayne, we went with knotty white oak from Purparket, link to web-site below. We are very happy with the look of it. Went for engineered in the hopes that it withstands summer humidity a bit better than regular. I have birch floors in my city home, also a great choice for a light coloured hardwood.

Robin0919, the structural engineer stipulated what was required. I can get a more thorough response if required, but essentially steel beams. It isn't a large room, perhaps only extending out about 12-13'. I will see if I have pics for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Floors

Wow sochi, that is fantastic, so interesting.

Is it up in Val-des-Monts?

Oh, Sochi...it's beautiful :)

Just as you described you wanted it to look and very much like your inspiration pictures. Hope you are very happy in your new home!

Sochi, Ottawa is my home town. I've visited many cottages in Quebec. That explains the homesickness. I assumed you were in the Muskokas, though. I've apparently been in Alberta long enough now that I assume everyone in Ontario lives in Toronto.

And speaking of cantilevers, I have a 6' cantilever on my house. We were able to do it with a wooden beam. But it's a BIG beam. It extends back into the house another 15', so it's 21' long, and 19" wide.

This is one of the most completlely designed homes that has appeared on GW. It's obvious that there was a centralized organizing idea (parti) behind the construction, and that every decision was weighted against that for appropriateness. It's very much the essense of less is more with the honesty of the materials used making the design statement without extraneous ornamentation, and all done in an exquisite manner. Bravo!

I absolutely love your house! Possibly my favorite on GW ever. There doesn't seem to be too many modern homes, unfortunately. The cantilevering looks amazing, and the views are stunning. Congratulations!!!

It's very beautiful - and whenever you have more pictures (or a rough sketch of the floorplan if you are permitted to share that) I would love to see them.

- a modern cottage hopeful.

Thank you everyone, your comments are much appreciated.

Uitv- yes, V-d-M area.

Amberm, what a coincidence! I do the same, assuming all Cdns on this forum are from the gta. I think in reality we are pretty well spread out.

LWO, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. I just went and found the thread on parti. Fascinating, as was the Houzz piece. I may post a bit more about this tomorrow. Advice from many of the professionals that posted on the parti thread propelled me in the direction that led to this house.

I love the house, it has its imperfections, but as a whole it is fabulous (IMO). But the process wasn't always easy, working with the architect wasn't exactly all I hoped it would be - there was a tension that is perhaps necessary, but wasn't always pleasant. I'd like to discuss that a bit more, but maybe not in this thread.

Robotropolis, I'm a little reluctant to post too much publicly, but I'm happy to explain what I can. I've posted bits of the floor plan previously, so if there is something specific I'm sure I can share. I will share more pictures (probably on the design forum, but here too if there is interest) as we fully finish the various rooms. If I remember correctly you're in NS? Or out East at any rate? I've come across an architect based in Halifax I just love, makes me want to sell this place and move to the coast to work with him! I will post a link to his site if I can find it again. I hope your modern cottage hope becomes reality!

Holy Cantilever, Batman!

I'm a mechanical engineer - I would love the details (and photos) of that structure. I recognize that I'm a little weird that way.

I would love to here about all your experences with dealing with the architect,I am in the process of trying to pick one.

annkh, I will see what I can find for you!

qbryant, there were a number of good threads on that topic about 18 months ago here, you should search for them on google. Definitely worth reading. I found an architect whose work I liked, had great references and met with him a few times. I probably should have interviewed more, but I went with my gut, which I guess what you do when you are speed dating architects. In the end it was all fine I guess, our problems really just came down to poor communication skills - an important skill when dealing with clients. But we managed.

I didn't understand the extent to which the architect would be involved in the interior design features - not choosing window treatments, but kitchen, bathroom details, etc. In the end it was a give and take - I wanted more rustic, more wood, he kept pulling back to be as minimalist (and white) as possible. I know the cool kids all go for all white, but I didn't think I could handle too much of it. Perhaps the tension was a good thing. For the most part I went with his recommendations.

One form/function conflict was that small deck you see off the east side of the house. Architect wanted just a tiny deck leading to the patio, we felt we needed a deck where at least 2-4 people could sit and relax closer to the kitchen. The deck definitely obscures the vision of the house, I get that. But we needed something, it would be ridiculously impractical otherwise in my view. It is still a small deck that does not really obscure outside views (hence the glass railings), but it was certainly a compromise on all sides.

Is this sort of tension/compromise between the architect and client typical at all I wonder?

Hi there, I found it! I have been wondering if you got your house done. I did a google search for this. It is just wonderful.

Good for you and getting a larger deck; heck you live there. While a house is nice to see and appreciate from afar, so is having coffee on the deck in the morning with loved ones.

So glad I found this! if you have any other links to this project that has pictures, please let me know :)

Thanks enduring! I've posted a couple of threads on the design forum, here is one link:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg1021033023730.html

I just posted another today with some interior shots of the railing, I've pasted one below.