§ 01 — THE HAT
Five Feet Eight of Overhang Over a Glass Wall
The roof on the Walker’s Point Boathouse is one of the first things you notice from the water. We pushed the overhang to five feet eight inches over the main glass wall on the upper floor — enough to shield the space from sun and rain without closing it off. It becomes a hat for the building. The glass can stay open, the interior stays livable, and the whole thing reads as one move rather than an afterthought.
Broadview Building Company is the contractor here, working the boathouse while the cottage team wraps up on the same tight schedule. Two contractors, same property, coordinated handoffs.
§ 02 — THE UPPER FLOOR
Two Bedrooms, a Cupola, and a View Straight Across the Water
The upper floor of the Walker’s Point Boathouse is a full living space. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small living area — all carried through from the language of the main cottage, including a cupola at the top that drops light straight down into the center of the plan. The sides are wrapped in windows. It’s a tight footprint — Muskoka setbacks don’t give you room to sprawl — but the light makes it feel bigger than it measures.
For mechanical, we’re using in-ceiling ductless mini split units throughout. Better looking than wall units, less visual noise, and they condition the space without fighting the building’s proportions.
§ 03 · THE TOUR
Walk the Walker’s Point Boathouse from Rooftop to Slips
A full walkthrough with Broadview Building Company nearly finished. Two levels, two slips, a rooftop deck, and a bar — about six minutes.
§ 04 — THE BAR
A Roll-Up Door, a Swing Seat, and a Fridge Off the Floor
On Lake Muskoka, water levels have been unpredictable. Our solution for the bar area was simple: lift the refrigerator up on a shelf. Flood waters come in, the concrete handles it, the fridge stays dry. The garage roll-up door on the bar side keeps interior and exterior continuous — you’re inside and outside at the same time. The client asked for a bench swing at the dock end of the covered area, and that’s going in too. Some requests just make sense.
The timber roof details over the door and window openings are part functional, part composition. They extend the drip line further off the building and punctuate the elevation. Both things matter.
§ 05 — THE THROUGH-LINE
Inside Out, Every Season, on Lake Muskoka
The Walker’s Point Boathouse works because it doesn’t try to be fully inside or fully outside — it keeps both options open simultaneously. Garage doors at the slips, roll-up at the bar, oversized overhangs sheltering the transitions. The goal was a space the clients could use in any Muskoka weather, at any hour of the day, without deciding between the lake and the building.
