A Lakeside Property Named Jubilee

Janice Glover was one of those girls who fantasized about designing her own home even back when she was a teenager. She sketched many floor plans of her dream home.

But as an adult, she ended up helping others find their home and was very successful in investment real estate. With a partner, she purchased and improved 15 to 20 properties and, in the process, fell in love with staging and decorating.

Janice and her husband purchased a waterfront property on Lake Rosseau in Muskoka, Ontario, 20 years ago.

“It was a simple, small log cottage and also had a tiny guest cabin,” Janice recalls. “At that time, our daughters were still very young, and it fulfilled a really big dream to own waterfront vacation property in the highly desirable lake district.”

The loved their proximity to the water, but the space was cramped.

“An especially important facet of this cottage life was to have family and friends visit on weekends as often as possible,” Janice says. “We only had three tiny bedrooms and one bathroom inside the cottage and the guest cabin was primitive—it had no running water or toilets. So they were only suitable for people who were prepared for a bit of a rustic ‘comfort camping’ experience.”

Then grandchildren came on the scene and they needed more space. This is when Janice got to design her dream home she’d fantasized about since she was a teenager.

The Property They Named Jubilee Haven:

They named the property “Jubilee Haven.”

The project had its challenges.

“Over a few years we investigated several options to add additions or a larger, more modernized guest cabin,” Janice says. “But due to our unique position so close to the water, we constantly ran into rules and building restrictions that limited our options.”

They realized that if they demolished the existing cottage, they could blast deeper into the bedrock below, which would give them the ability to add a full walkout lower level and build a new home that would be double the original size.

“I gave the floor plans, along with saved inspirational pictures and magazine clippings, to the architect who drew up the professional designs for the builder,” Janice says.

The new cottage features a king-size bedroom with an en suite bathroom and double closets.

The lower level has two generously sized guest bedrooms, a guest bathroom with a spa-like shower, a kitchenette and a family room for play or TV watching.

Janice describes her aesthetic as “classic and nautical, combined with being whimsical and colorful.”

Janice and her husband painted the cottage blue with white trim. They liked it so much that they used the same color combination for the exterior of their home.

“Having loved blue and white for as long as I can remember and leaning towards a nautical flavor in my décor, it came as an easy choice,” Janice says.

Covid-19 Came On The Scene:

Then Covid-19 changed everything. Her husband, like so many, began working from their home in Toronto.

“That was how the two of us and our Golden Retriever, Malibu, left our house in the suburbs of Toronto to stay at our brand-new cottage for ‘a few days,’” she says.

A few days turned into 9 months. They ordered new appliances and furniture and began experiencing full time living at their cottage by the lake.

On every side of their home there are views of nature.

“Every day there are gorgeous lake sunrises and sunsets through the large windows. Our view from bed lets us feel like we are sleeping outside under the night sky, except in comfort, while seeing the myriad brilliant stars and constellations drift by.”

They had no idea what a haven their lakeside home would become throughout 2020. It was safe and peaceful there. And it provided a sense of normalcy during a time when not much was normal anymore.

To see more of Janice and her home visit her on Instagram @jubilieehavencottage.

{Content & photos via Cottages & Bungalows}