Cottages
A Lakefront House Celebrates Serene West Coast Style
Updated on November 16, 2023
“We blame the dog!” laughs Colleen Peters of her family’s love affair with Lake Whatcom, near Bellingham, Wash., just south of the Canadian border. Back in 2007, when Colleen and her husband, Matthew Peters, a partner at the law firm McCarthy Tétrault, were road-tripping with their four young children, they stopped at a campsite in the area on their way back to Surrey, B.C. Unfortunately, their cockapoo, Kopper, wasn’t allowed, so they couldn’t stay. The rugged beauty of the place stuck with them, though, so they returned to camp two weeks later and their love of Lake Whatcom was cemented. “We didn’t want to vacation without Kopper again,” says Colleen. “If only the campground had permitted dogs — but it didn’t, so we joke that Kopper was the reason we built our first cottage.”
Their Craftsman cottage was within walking distance of the water and the family enjoyed it for nearly 10 years. But when a nearby lakefront lot became available in 2017, the couple jumped at it. “We always dreamed of being right on the lake,” says Colleen. They sold the cottage and enlisted friend and architect Jim Aalders in Victoria to design a more substantial vacation house. Close friend Lisa Moody of Grapevine Designs signed on to handle the interiors.
“We were excited for the building process and the chance to explore a more modern design style,” says Colleen. After working through the permits and just as they were ready to break ground, the pandemic hit and the border closed. Already experienced with new construction, Colleen and Matthew were comfortable forging ahead remotely. They hired builder Nick Ivancovich of NJI Design & Construction whose work they’d always admired. He agreed to build the three-level, four-bedroom, four-bathroom house.
Teddy, another pup in the family, stands sentry at the modern front door, which has a four-and-a-half-foot-long metal handle.
The living room’s soothing palette is accentuated by touches of blue that echo the lake. Colleen calls the look “relaxed modern,” and enjoyed the design and decorating process. She hunted online for furniture and accents and sent photos of the things she liked to Lisa. “I had to nudge her away from going too farmhouse-y,” says Lisa with a smile, “but Colleen has an excellent sense of style.”
Creating this vacation home from the ground up was a wonderful collaboration between good friends, with the natural beauty of the lake and an adjacent park inspiring the West Coast minimalist aesthetic and interior palette. “Colleen knew she wanted something modern, but not a cold modern,” says Lisa. “She likes neutral, inviting spaces that have texture and warm finishes so that the interiors don’t pull focus from the views outside. We tried our best to reflect the natural setting in the interior design.” The one-inch, half-round reeding especially amplifies the living room’s fireplace wall: “It’s one of the big features, and I’m super excited about how it turned out,” says Lisa.
The clean-lined kitchen is bright and sunny, with expansive windows and grounding black on the window frames, faucets and stools. White oak millwork and neutral floors keep the 3,300-square-foot envelope clean and simple while custom stained cedar cladding on the main-floor ceiling injects warmth.
Artfully displayed accessories like plants and books add warmth and personality. The Peters always like to splurge on one element when building a house and, here, it’s exquisite wood reeding details that appear throughout. “It’s a major design element,” says Colleen.
The dining area has lots of room for entertaining, as well a coffee-bar station with reeding details and recessed doors.
A metal-framed glass wall gives Matthew’s office graphic punch.
Kopper, the cockapoo that started it all, on the guest bed.
In the kids’ bunk room, the stairs lift up to reveal hidden storage for suitcases and extra bedding.
The principal bathroom is airy and open; Colleen favored a makeup vanity area over a second sink.
Even though three of their four children now live on their own, the family often comes together at Lake Whatcom. On the lower level, the fourth bedroom is a peaceful guest quarters.
Colleen and Matthew’s daughter Kohl on one of the decks, where there’s lots of space to lounge and unwind. “Everything was built to take advantage of the view — Colleen didn’t want it to be wasted!” says Lisa.
The two expansive decks offer stunning, year-round vistas of the mountains, forest and lake, and are a favorite place to watch bald eagles fly over the water to catch fish. With its flat roof and boxy shape, the house is one of the most modern on Lake Whatcom.
“This is now our gathering place,” says Colleen (pictured right with Matthew). “It’s where we can enjoy our new home, the view, the water and each other’s company — we forget about the stresses of life, and just appreciate one another and the nature that surrounds us.”
Janis Nicolay
Architecture: Jim Aalders; design: Lisa Moody