Cabins filled with country charm

KIM PEMBERTON For more than a decade Netta Bos visited Shawnigan Lake and loved it so much she moved to the recreational cottage community 17 years ago from Ontario.

During those 30 years one thing has never changed for Bos. She has always dreamed of one day owning lakefront - specifically land on the west side of the lake that looks directly across the waters to Mt. Baldy. Her ideal property is located in front of her main residence, which is tucked away in the woods behind a country road lined with large cedars. Bos’ home, while close to the lake, doesn’t have lake access or an unobstructed waterfront view, while this preferred property has both.

Besides its great outlook the property has two small cabins on it, which were built during the early days of Shawnigan Lake’s cottage history. They were owned by a Victoria lawyer, who bought them in 1957 and only used them in summer.

“I used to walk down in the winter months to this spot and wish I could buy this place,” says Bos, standing near a picnic table with a gorgeous view of the lake and an arbutus tree near the water’s edge.

Getting to realize her dream of owning her “piece of paradise” didn’t come easy for Bos, who had to do it on her own as a single woman. She was separated in January, 2017 and finances were tight.

But she was determined. When Bos heard the owners planned to sell the property she was able to secure a private mortgage in order to make the deal happen quickly before it hit the MLS.

While many others would have torn down the humble cabins to build something modern that didn’t happen with Bos. “Necessity is the mother of invention I couldn’t afford to tear them down and rebuild so the only option was to fix them up. And then it became a story of ignorance is bliss and hindsight is 20/20. I’m not sure that I would do it again but then again, seeing the result, I can’t imagine not,” she says.

Bos took possession of her

The main living space of the 750-squre-foot Tailor’s Cabin includes a seating area and a sleeping spot with bunk beds, as well as a games area in a corner nook (not shown.) But the main feature has to be the view out the original windows to Mt. Baldy and Shawnigan Lake.

Brightly coloured pots and pans help add to the fun ambience of The Tailor’s Cabin.

Red might seem a daring choice for the kitchen cupboards in the larger of the cabins, the Tailor’s Cabin, but it works well and helps to highlight the shining white kitchen sink, which was once in a kindergarten class and stained with oil paint.

Bos has drawn on the property’s history to create many special touches seen around the cabins, including this photograph taken by the original owners.

A wall was removed in the Tailor’s Cabin to convert two small bedrooms into one larger master bedroom, which she has charmingly decorated with vintage finds like the stand-up mirror and quilt.

An old water ski was turned into a bathroom shelf in The Birdhouse cabin.