A modern update to a Georgian Bay, Ont., beach house combines Hamptons style and French accents for a classic and stylish summer retreat.

The owners of this sun-filled beach house on Georgian Bay had just finished an extensive renovation and addition when they approached designer Anne McNamara of White House Designs Inc. The reno had added much-needed space and updates to their cottage, but something was missing: a sense of the couple themselves, with their love of French food, lifestyle and culture—and, especially, the certain je ne sais quoi of destinations like their beloved Île de Ré.

While they wanted the cottage to reflect themselves and their own well-travelled tastes, they also wanted it to evoke the spirit of classic early 20th-century Hamptons beach houses, with their traditional millwork and the elegant, unfussy feeling so typical of the fine old summer homes there. Anne responded with a bright and breezy interior that’s grounded in intricate old-world details and timeless finishing touches, yet one that’s also relaxed and approachable—perfect for welcoming friends up for the weekend from the city, or for stretching out and enjoying cool breezes off the bay. Oh là là!

Cottage Charm

“We wanted the entry to set the tone for the whole house,” says designer Anne McNamara. Fresh white walls, mosaic marble floor tiles and a pretty plaster chandelier embellished with a stylized leaf pattern evoke French charm, while the white wicker bench adds a beachy feeling. Anne (shown opposite) continued the unpretentious mood into the kitchen, where elegant millwork, brass hardware and a deep apron sink suggest the classic look of an early 20th-century Hamptons cottage.

Dress Whites

The homeowners are both passionate cooks as well as francophiles, so an exquisite French-made La Cornue range makes a perfect addition to their new kitchen. Anne’s delightfully warmed-up take on a classic white kitchen includes adding custom millwork detailing – a feature common to old New England-area summer homes, which in many cases were built by moonlighting shipbuilders. Here, brass hardware, curved mullions in the glass cupboard doors, and a range hood with corbels give the kitchen its shipshape beauty.

Easy Elegance

White slipcovered sofas are tailor-made for stretching out on
for a snooze after lunch, while sink-into comfy armchairs swivel, providing equal access to the fireplace for warming toes, or to enjoy the wide open view. The fireplace’s local-granite cladding, says Anne, “just feels quintessentially Georgian Bay to me.”

Graceful Transition

The staircase, Anne says, has a particularly authentic Hamptons cottage feel to it, thanks to the application of elaborate millwork and trim. “The carpenters actually designed the millwork and panels in the classic Shaker style and painstakingly installed them for us.” Windows high up in the stairwell cast sunlight right down through the house.

French Kiss

Navy and white bed linens in the primary bedroom provide another classic French touch, for coziness and comfort on cool late-summer nights. Almost all the furniture was painted white to add to the lighter-than-air feeling of this room.

The small fireplace was already there, but Anne decided it needed beefing up; the solution was to install a marble surround and a traditional millwork mantel. Above the mantel, a mirror framed in brass with a picture light above provides another perspective on the bayside view, while simple overhead pendant lighting and bedside lamps are perfect for reading before bed.

Pretty & Petite

The powder room, says Anne, is one of the prettiest rooms in the house. The overhead lamp features a two-tiered, scalloped linen shade and looks as if it came straight from a Parisian boudoir. The rattan-inset vanity doors are custom, while the mosaic tile floor and marble countertop add an elegant counterpoint to the cottagey beadboard wainscotting and chair rail. Sourced on Etsy, the whimsical wallpaper was a lucky find, with its delicate vine pattern and tiny perching birds. The mirror frame and faucets are unlacquered brass and will develop a beautiful patina over time.

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