Cottages
This Designer’s Boho Cottage Is The Ultimate Escape
Updated on November 29, 2023

Designer Sam Sacks recounts how she turned a no-frills cabin into the cottage of her fantasies.
A decade ago, my husband, Paul Kilback, and I had three young kids, an oversized mortgage on our Toronto home and no job security to speak of — I’d left my post at House & Home and was launching my fledgling design business. It was terrible timing to buy a dingy hunting shack in the woods of Frontenac County, Ontario, but common sense had never stopped us before.
Ten carefree summers later, our little family had become five nearly full-grown bodies, and our tiny, 800-square-foot cottage was testing our bohemian ideals. The old cottage became one large great room with an open-plan kitchen and dining area, while the addition held three bedrooms and two — yes, two! — full bathrooms complete with deep, freestanding tubs.
Inspired by a mashup of surf shack, safari camp and Dutch Colonial styles, we installed hard-wearing vinyl floors that look like white oak and kept the rafters exposed. When it came time to choose furniture and textiles, I stuck to materials such as rattan, wicker, unpainted wood and nubby linens that would cater to our swimsuit and barefoot aesthetic.

Sam with her daughter, Jessica, 13, sons Harper, 18, and Oliver (seated), 15, husband, Paul, and their Newfoundland dog, Baloo.

The front door’s deep green color punctuates the neutral scheme.

The new great room is large enough to accommodate three seating areas.

There’s no Wi-Fi and no TV at the cottage, just loads of books and Paul’s beloved vinyl collection.

Sam re-covered the cushions of four Ikea wicker chairs in inexpensive moss green velvet, then splurged on hand-printed fabric for the bolsters. A piece of vintage Kuba cloth hangs on the wall, and vintage louvered doors frame the entry to the new addition.

For that unhurried mood of a beach holiday, Sam paired natural wicker, rattan and wood accents with a modern white Ikea kitchen. Brass shelf brackets support cedar boards salvaged from the old swimming dock.

In the dining area, vintage water skis suit the waterfront setting while the antique dresser balances the modern lines of the white oak table and Marcel Breuer–style chairs.

Jessica’s bedroom doubles as a guest room, so a queen bed was a must. The patterned headboard came first, and the room’s ’70s-chic style fell into place from there. “Yes, we know the horseshoe is upside down. We promise to fix it before our luck runs out!” says Sam.

A tub sits in an alcove of the principal bedroom offering a view of the lake. A skylight was placed above for stargazing.

Sam and Jessica made the upholstered headboard together using discount fabric.

A one-bedroom bunkie, built five years ago in the style of the original hunting shack, sits on a hill overlooking the main cottage.

“One day, we stopped for ice cream and wound up buying this little dinghy, despite no one knowing how to sail,” says Sam. Now, Harper and Oliver rig the sail like pros.
Stacey Brandford
House & Home July 2019
Sam Sacks