Charlotte Gray’s cottage

Our April issue hits the mail tomorrow. Woo hoo for the first issue of 2011! Summer is on the way…

The issue features two profiles of particularly charming cottages, and the stories of the people who use them. The first belongs to renowned Canadian author and historian Charlotte Gray. Charlotte, her husband, and their three twenty-something sons cottage on the Rideau, on Newboro Lake. Their place is a gorgeous log cabin perched in the centre of a wildly beautiful private island. The decor could be described as classic Canadiana, complete with taxidermy moose heads. But it’s the more personal touches that set it apart for me: the beautiful kilim fabric draped over the furniture or covering a headboard that adds a more exotic, unexpected touch, for example. And I’m a huge sucker for walls of book-filled shelving; what else would you expect from an award-winning author? These shots not only inspire me to read more, they inspire me to add a few classic-rustic pieces to my own cottage decor. Enjoy!

Charlotte on the porch of the main cottage

Well-used and well-kept bookshelves

The main cottage is a fine-looking log cabin, no? The use of red on the window frames helps to bring the building a modern touch.

The kitchen of the main cottage. I love the jars of food stuffs that line the wall on the right side of this shot. Pretty and mouse-proof!

A bedroom in the main cottage. Note the lovely kilim-covered headboard. And, of course, more books.

Where else might one find this kooky taxidermy moose but at a cottage?

The exterior of the sleep cabin

Charlotte and her husband built this sleep cabin as a space to escape the bustle of their family life and as a more private space where they could work and reflect.

Charlotte in the office nook of the sleep cabin