Inside a Thoughtfully Designed Lake House Makeover

Forget that dark, gloomy log-cabin vibe and opt for a bright and cheerful place where you’ll want to hang out in your bathing suit all day long.

By Sara Harowitz | Photos by Dasha Armstrong

Life by the lake — it’s a romantic notion. But not all lake houses are created equal.

When Danielle Keogan was approached to redesign a vacation home on Shawnigan Lake, she knew that she wanted to do it. Where other people might have seen hurdle after hurdle — dated colours and materials, a confusing layout, a lack of natural light — the founder of Victoria’s Maverick Design saw only potential.

Interior design, after all, is about “walking in and seeing what we’re dealing with,” she says, “and knowing what it could be with some thoughtful changes.”

Those changes have transformed the Shawnigan property from drab and uninspired to luxurious lakeside living.

“Lake houses, for me, are very nostalgic,” says Keogan. “I grew up in cottage country myself, and I spent a lot of time understanding why I felt good in those spaces — and I always try to recreate that for my clients.”

Her client, in this case, was Kathy Gingras, who lives in Victoria with her family and had dreams of a lakefront vacation home. In the summer of 2020, she came together with two other families to purchase the Shawnigan property, which comprised a main house and a carriage house. Keogan started work on it a few months later.

The original lake house kitchen and dining area was dark, cramped and very brown.

“I am a terrible designer,” Gingras admits. “I have zero sense of interior style. So it was all Danielle.”

Keogan confirms that she was given “carte blanche” on the space to make it bright, airy, sensible and contemporary. It’s now a shining example of what a successful lakeside home should be.

Keep it Light

Another crucial factor in any lake house is ample amounts of natural light.

“It’s moving away from that heavy, log cabin, kitschy esthetic,” Keogan explains, “but still having that warmth and coziness.”

One of the first things she did was enlarge the windows and bring in glass doors to replace the solid ones. That way, “even when you’re retreating inside, you’re still part of the environment, which is the focal point.”

Keogan also knew that she wanted to do away with the river rock fireplace, which looked like it was straight out of a 1980s ski chalet. When the material was pulled off, a pleasant surprise was revealed: exposed brick. It’s now one of Gingras’s favourite parts of the home.

“We painted that and brightened it up,” she says, “which made a huge difference.”

When the designers removed the dated river rock around the fireplace they discovered a brick wall, which they painted a fresh, clean white.

Make it Practical

One of the most important aspects of a lake house, Keogan offers, is its practicality. It can’t just look nice — it has to function, too, and be able to stand up against the energetic rhythms of vacation life: kids, pets, spills, dripping-wet bathing suits.

“It’s about finding hardy materials that will last and endure,” says Keogan. That showed up most importantly with the flooring.

“We chose an engineered product that performed very well with water: a wide-plank white oak, so the more you [use] it, the better it looks over time,” she says. “And with a low sheen, so you’re not getting a lot of slip.”

That durable mindset is evident in subtler ways, too, from the ample hooks ready for wet towels to the water-toy storage right near the door to the durable, high-performance fabrics like cotton duck and linen, which stand up better against wet animals, dirty feet and sun exposure.

Furnishings are fuss-free and durable, in light neutrals with lake-blue accents.

Nod To the Surroundings (But Do It Minimally)

Location-specific homes run the risk of being too literal. (Think about every beach home you’ve been in where the entire design motif seems to be “seashell.”) Keogan says that bringing in elements of place is important, but it needs to be done tastefully.

“I think that gets tired fast,” she says. “So it’s being a little bit more selective about where you bring those elements in while still supporting the modern esthetic and lifestyle. It was important for me to listen to the clients, as well. It’s not just coming in and creating a theme park.”

For this project, that meant natural materials like wood as nods to the outdoors. But it also meant pops of strategic colour — such as in the carriage-house kitchen, where Keogan chose a lake-like blue for the cabinets.

“Everywhere you looked outside was green,” Keogan says. “So it was this perfect balance.”

Danielle Keogan and her team brightened up the space and made it not only more functional, but a fresh and attractive place to hang out in. They also captured the lakeside esthetic in white shiplap, simple furnishings and lake-blue accents.

Make Room for Whimsy

Even once the project was underway, there was one area that Keogan and her clients weren’t sure what to do with: the space under the stairs. It ended up being Gingras’s two daughters who came to the designer with a pitch for a secret room.

Keogan says. “It was fun for them to have some agency in the process.”

“The girls led the design — all the details,”

Now that everyone has had a few summers at the lake under their belt, Gingras is more convinced than ever that this home – secret room and all – was the right fit for her and her loved ones.

“It’s really functional and bright,” says Gingras. “It basically feels like home away from home.”

Extra Space for Guests

In addition to the main house, the property also has a carriage house, perfect for guests or when one of the families needs a little privacy. Here Keogan kept the same general idea of a fresh, bright, breathable space, but infused it with the pretty lake blue similar to the accent colour in the main house. In the kitchen, brass details play beautifully against the soft blue hue. Guests can gather around the island, with its inset range, chatting to the cook and enjoying the view at the same time. Plenty of storage and a functional layout make it a pleasure to spend time in, even on the laziest of days.

If you own a vacation property, you know you will have guests at some point. Thoughtful details like this cozy work nook make them feel welcome while also giving them space and privacy.