Unique lakeside community
Puslinch Lake homeowners welcome public for annual summer tour
PUSLINCH LAKE — With limited public access to Puslinch Lake, it’s not often visitors enjoy a boat ride across its still waters, or see the beautiful homes that have long since replaced old cottages.
The lake, thought to one of the deepest kettle lakes in the country, is unique and once a year homeowners welcome visitors to the annual Lakeside Living Home Tour, which this year features four homes on the lake and one inland.
What makes this event different from all the other tours is the mode of transportation: pontoon boats.
It goes like this: show up at either the Old Marina Restaurant dock or McCormick’s Point, and load onto a boat which takes visitors to the first home. Get off, enjoy poking around in a beautiful house, soak in the sunshine on the grounds or dock then catch a boat to the next property. Plan on 2 ½ hours for the full tour which ends with a barbecue.
For those who prefer a landbased tour, each home is accessible by road, but that’s not nearly as enjoyable as the view from the water.
“Last year we had almost 700 people,” said co-coordinator, Donna O’Krafka, who noted all proceeds support the Puslinch Lake Conservation Association’s lake restoration project.
This lake, though lovely, has its challenges. The glacier-created 643-hectare body of water is fed by underground springs as well as surface run-off. With no natural outflow, agricultural and residential fertilizer run-off has leeched into the water, creating a bountiful supply of nutrients for invasive species such as Eurasian milfoil. Homeowners have spent years fighting the invasion and it appears they are finally winning.
Now into its fifth year of a sixyear, $150,000 annual dredging operation, the lake is starting to clear up but the fight is not over, hence homeowners pitch in by opening their homes for the tour.
Homes at this year’s event include a quaint renovated cottage with several green elements builtin such as energy efficient windows, doors and blinds designed to keep the winter heat in and the summer sun out.
The original cottage was redesigned to feel like a loft and with all the modern amenities such as grey granite countertops and kitchen cabinets, there is definitely a big city vibe while at the same time, just outside the front windows is an expansive covered deck (the roof accommodates a large tree growing smack up the middle). It’s the best of both worlds: city and lakefront cottage all wrapped into one.
On Rhodes Road, Ken Martin and Roz Millard-Martin have built their dream home. Actually, it’s their second dream home but this one faces the lake, the only element missing from their previous home in Waterloo.
At 3,300 square feet and a twostorey, this is a spacious home but not one that feels too big or too empty.
Though built in 2015 on an empty lakeside lot, Millard-Martin wanted to incorporate antique elements to the house to give it a warm, historic feel. There are several antique furnishings, stacks of old quilts some of which have been hung on the walls.
Much of the woodwork in the house, the floors, exposed beams and even the kitchen counter are all beautifully restored reclaimed wood.
The main level bathroom has a walkout closet open from the bedroom and from the hallway, which avoids having to disturb anyone sleeping in the bedroom. The cabinets are made from granary boards. At the back of the house is the cosy living room with views of an expansive lawn and the lake.
“The big picture was we wanted a family home that was energy efficient integrated with a feeling of something rustic,” said Millard-Martin. “And places by the lake don’t come up very often.”