In the first installment of our “Building a Home: Start to Finish” series, you’ll learn a little more about the series and the project we’re working on.

With a beautiful view of the lake from the window, the stunning cottage located in Huntsville, ON stands in its spot with heated tile floors, a barn board feature wall, and cathedral ceilings. With a 1,350 square feet first level and a 700 square feet second level, the wide-open home gives an air of coziness and togetherness before you even walk inside. A matching boathouse sits beside it, where a steel marine railway was placed to store the boat during the off-season. The open-concept floor plan allows for easy entertaining and an ample amount of space for guests, while the re-landscaped waterfront outside exists to preserve the habitat of the fish that live inside of it and the animals that live around it. The cottage by the lake is everything that anyone could ever want in a home, down to the detail of the baseboards.

However, back before the cottage on the lake became the stunning piece of architectural beauty that it is today, there was an outdated ‘vintage cottage’ that was too small with falling infrastructure. A long process helped to build the cottage, starting with design blueprints, an old boathouse and a myriad of decisions.

In Gilbert + Burke’s ‘Building a Home: Start to Finish’ series, you’ll build right alongside us and learn about every detail and step of building a home with Gilbert + Burke. We’ll start with the discovery phase, where our initial client meeting turns into a project development agreement. We’ll then delve into pre-construction, and you’ll see the process of concept approval and dealing with zoning issues. You’ll also see what goes into the design process, from storyboards to concept drawings. As the house is constructed and then finished, you’ll see the joy that comes when you get your key. Here’s what to expect:

• You’ll see the entire process that goes into choosing Gilbert + Burke as your home and cottage builder
• You’ll learn a little more about pre-build tasks, like getting zoning approvals
• You’ll see how the design comes to be on both the inside and the outside of the home
• You’ll witness what construction really looks like, all the way down to the insulation
• Then, you’ll see the complete project after completion

We can’t wait to have you follow along with us as we walk you through Building A Home: Start to Finish | Cottage by the Lake. Happy building — we’ll see you soon!