Design Next Wave A family

FFOR MOST PEOPLE, a “pied-à-terre” is a city condo or a petite rental. Not so for Jan and Bernard Lette. Their Canadian crash pad is a sprawling lakefront home, reached by a transatlantic flight to Toronto from their fulltime residence in Geneva, Switzerland, and a two-hour drive to Ontario’s Muskoka region. But the Swiss-Canadian couple wouldn’t have it any other way. After a major renovation, it’s the ultimate summer gathering spot for far-flung family and friends.

Four years ago, Bernard and Jan gave up their Toronto home to move to a small town near Geneva, wanting closer ties to Bernard’s SwissFrench heritage and his law firm’s European clients. But the cottage, perched over Lake of Bays, had to stay in the family. The couple’s two 20-something daughters, who work in finance and IT in Toronto, treasure the place. “It’s where they spent their summers as kids,” says Jan. The dock was famous among the daughters’ high school classmates for its epic parties, even earning a mention in the yearbook. The Lettes bought the cottage in 2002, after years of renting in the area. Determined to have a place of their own, they set their sights on a western exposure. But with no usable waterfront, the property’s deep shoreline had to be blasted back 25 feet, through Canadian Shield rock, to build a boathouse. As for the cottage itself, the interior had a dated lodge vibe, all dark pine and tight spaces. It’s now connected to the water by a wooden staircase — no fewer than 70 steps up from the dock. But the reward for all that climbing is a stunning view and a getaway that grows more important to the family as the years go by. In 2015, Jan and Bernard renovated the main floor, wanting to make better use of the space for family gatherings. Enlisting Toronto designer and niece-in-law Alex Arnott, they reimagined the all-pine interior as a breezy, Cape Cod–esque retreat. “Since we’re only there in the summer, I wanted it to feel fresh,” says Jan, a former design professional herself, who co-owned a drapery workshop and interiors firm in Toronto. With some unconventional paint and tile choices, modern lighting, antique rugs and an improved layout, the house is now a serene family getaway. Co-ordinating a renovation from overseas is not for the faint of heart, and Jan relied on Alex to be her eyes, ears and feet for the six-month construction. “Our emails back and forth every day could be an epic novel,” Jan jokes. Alex even drove up through snow and ice to check on the builders’ progress and to do FaceTime walk-throughs with Jan.

General contractor Mike McCabe of Foxpoint Construction, who had built the family’s boathouse 14 years prior, perfectly executed Jan and Alex’s vision. “His team braved a very cold winter with the heat turned off while they worked to keep to the end-of-June deadline,” Jan says.

Their efforts paid off. “In the end, every bead of sweat was worthwhile,” says Alex. “It was so gratifying to work with clients who saw the potential in a space that technically had everything, but was dated and ordinary.”

The renovation seems to have drawn attention from a different kind of crowd. Last year, Jan and Bernard noticed a new neighbour taking up residence in a nearby tree: a nesting bald eagle, made more visible because of the elevation. Perhaps one rare bird attracts another.

Even after moving to Switzerland, the Lettes decamp to Ontario’s Lake of Bays for the summer with their two cats. “We love the pristine water and the fact that there isn’t a busy boating atmosphere,” Jan says.