From the category archives:

DIY

Metal tray message board

Here’s another great idea courtesy of loyal reader and St. Joseph island cottager Maggie Algie. Taking inspiration from the Farm Chicks, Maggie found a funky old metal tray and transformed it into a magnetic message board simply by super-gluing a metal hanger to the back to act as a hook. Dead easy, right? And very [...]

Read the full post →

Modern deck chairs from Canadian Home Workshop

Next to the loon, I can’t think of a more iconic cottage symbol than the Muskoka chair. I guess with all that sitting around and relaxing at the cottage (yah, right) it’s only natural that we’re obsessed with finding a comfy place to perch.
We have five wooden chairs at our cottage that you might call [...]

Read the full post →

Easy DIY dock tray

Is there any better place to be than on the dock at 5pm on a sunny summer day, a beer and a bite before you? It’s hard to find a cottager who doesn’t love happy hour and any decor/food maven worth his or her own Kosher salt will have an always-growing collection of trays on [...]

Read the full post →

Plans for an outdoor shower

I was cruising around on Remodelista last week and came across this wonderful roundup of outdoor shower designs. If you don’t have an outdoor shower at your cottage, think about building one as your spring project. They are not only handy when you’ve got a lot of people who share one indoor bathroom (ahem, like [...]

Read the full post →

Clever DIY cottage lamp

I love it when readers send me their cottage design and decor projects. Not only are the projects often very clever, they are also usually born of a desire to be thrifty, either with money or materials. Pretty and thrifty? That’s a magical combination at the cottage!
This lamp made by Bonny Scanlan on Lake St. [...]

Read the full post →

Cottage Tour: The Algies of Duncan Island

In our May issue, we told you about the Sault Ste. Marie cottage of Jim and Maggie Algie. The cottage was inherited from his mother as a dilapidated former hunt camp and the couple brought the place back to life—without spending a fortune doing it. It didn’t hurt that Jim is handy (he built the [...]

Read the full post →

How to make a pennant garland

Here’s one reason why my boyfriend is a killer catch—his charming little collection of old pennants.
Pennants are a fantastic cottage accessory; they add so much history and character. And although I love these ones, I’d love to be able to display them in a less clunky way. Sure those push pins stuck through the drywall [...]

Read the full post →

Weekend projects using salvaged windows

Many thanks to loyal reader Maggie for tipping me off to what seems to be a epidemic of creativity over in the Cottage Life forums. Several members are showing off their own crafty ways of using salvaged windows.
I love the look of old windows in a house, although realize that they are quite inefficient compared [...]

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Read the full post →

← Previous Entries

Copyright © 2010 CottageLifeStyle, Quarto Communications Ltd, All Right Reserved
PHOTO OF MICHELLE KELLY BY GARY DAVIDSON