For many years, Kim Pemberton daydreamed about retiring to a glorious lakeside cottage where she could invite family and friends on weekends and serve sundowner drinks on a romantic porch.
Her vision became so real, she even started collecting furniture for it a decade ago.
Talk about the power of positive thinking - three years ago, her dream became reality when she found the ideal spot at Shawnigan Lake and managed to purchase her home during a slight dip in the market.
"It started out as a bit of a whim, but became more and more real," said Pemberton, 52, who admits she was bitten by the cottage bug after visiting a school-friend's place in Muskoka years ago.
"I was so envious, I jumped at the chance to go every time I got invited. My friend was sick of it, but it's always been a dream for me."
The Vancouver Sun reporter knew exactly what she wanted for her retirement getaway, and visualized every aspect. After writing about homes for six years, she had seen everything from patio homes to penthouses, from small pied-à-terres to mega mansions.
So when she first spied her 1940s-era lake house - though it was bigger than she had planned - her heart skipped a beat. "It was perfect. I walked in and said to the owners: 'Would you take this amount of money?' I tipped my hand right away," and she believes they agreed because she loved it as much as they did.
Pemberton still lives in Vancouver, where she owns a 1912 home in the Mount Pleasant area, but she plans to sell it and retire here by age 60.
"Maybe even 55," said Pemberton, who uses the house on weekends and for occasional weekly retreats, often with friends or her two daughters, ages 16 and 20. The rest of the time, she rents it out for shortterm stays.
"Being a single woman, I'm kinda proud that I was able to swing this.
"I rent it most of the year now, and found a great housekeeper who works at the school nearby."
Pemberton anticipates that after selling her Vancouver home, she will buy a small pied-àterre in Victoria, so she can continue to rent her lake house and use the income for travelling.
But who needs to travel with this glorious getaway?
What first drew her to the white clapboard home was its expansive 40-foot-long porch facing the lake and setting sun.
"The previous owner used to own Whippletree Junction and sold me all this deck furniture," she said gleefully.
Landscape artist E.J. Hughes lived next door for 30 of his most productive painting years and his parents rented the house she now owns.
"It's a special place - with all the birds, the chorus of frogs. I love the way nature is so close, so accessible. I have a kayak and my youngest daughter, who is special needs, is really happy here and swims in the lake for hours. My neighbour calls her the mermaid."
Pemberton explains the house has a lot of "soul" and good memories already. "We've had some wonderful Thanksgiving dinners here, and I never tire of looking at the lake. The views are amazing because we're so high up."
Another attraction was the potential for developing a suite downstairs.
The lake house has 2,100 square feet on the main and top floors, as well as two bedrooms downstairs, in addition to a full suite - amounting to about another 1,000 square feet.
She developed the ground floor for $80,000, turning an old garage and dark basement area into a large suite with picture windows. "I thought, 'Why should a car have the best view in the house?' "
The house comfortably sleeps eight to 10, and brims with character thanks to all her family heirlooms, keepsakes and creative, inexpensive finds.
"It's a mix of high and low. I buy new sometimes, and have found some deals at Restoration Hardware, but I also love going to antique stores and auctions.
"For years, I was subconsciously collecting for this cottage."
Her friends fed the craving, too. Several banded together to give her an antique 1893 wringer washer for her 50th birthday. "I was thrilled - it's the perfect gift."
Because she adores the house as it is, she has kept renovations on the main and upper floors to a minimum.
In the master bedroom, she added a funky chandelier, new curtains and old-style wroughtiron rods. In the ensuite, she installed a new toilet and an old pedestal sink. "It was one of those things that had been sitting in my basement for years."
The floors are not perfect, "but they add character and originality," and she has decorated her bedroom with daybeds in all sizes, so even someone as fussy as Goldilocks can sleep over.
"This place is very girly," Pemberton acknowledges with a chuckle. "But it's also a place that isn't precious, where you can relax and put your feet up on the coffee table. There are no coasters here."
One of the changes she made in the living room was to put marble around the old fireplace, expand the hearth with new tile and add bookcases on either side. "I toyed with the idea of adding big windows, but that would have ruined the character of the house."
Instead, all the doors and windows are original, except in the suite.
"I spent about $20,000 on the main floor, but didn't do too much to the kitchen because I liked the beautiful old, country feel."
She added butcher block to the original island, " to extend it for a seating bar," but kept the original built-ins, cabinets and classic hardware.
"Part of me wanted to blow it out and create a really big kitchen, but I love the warm feeling, and the old propane stove still works."
Much of her interior design ethos springs from years of writing about gorgeous properties, and a long time of yearning, during which she honed the home's look in her mind's eye.
A turning-point interview came when she was writing a piece on Martha Sturdy's West Vancouver mansion. "She had a massive living room with huge ceilings, but admitted she spent most of the time in her kitchen and a little room off there with lower ceilings. She referred to it as her snug. That told me something."
Pemberton says a lot of beautiful modern homes feel sterile. "They're great for galas or fundraising events, but not really comfortable or warm to live in."
Her years as a homes reporter also informed her decisions when designing the ground-floor suite.
"I wanted to use every small space and make it special. For instance, I splurged on a really high-end backsplash in the kitchen area and put in very good stainless appliances."
She cut corners by framing cute cards in inexpensive Ikea frames, and found a terrific Ralph Lauren outdoor tablecloth on sale at Home Sense. She took it to an upholsterer, who made it into "super cheap" cushions for her patio chairs.
The lake house is definitely not a reflection of a designer's taste.
It is an eclectic expression of an owner who enjoys the hunt, who thrills at finding a bargain, going to auctions, picking things up at garage sales or on Craigslist for a song - and someone who knows how to manifest a dream.
"I've been a collector for years, but I can stop now," said Pemberton with a chuckle.
A CELEBRATION OF STYLE ON THE HOME FRONT
> Writer Grania Litwin teams up with awardwinning photographer Debra Brash on a tour of homes beyond the Capital Regional District. They'll take us over the Malahat and to the Gulf Islands - and, as always, they'll talk to homeowners, interior designers, architects and artists who influence the way we live.
