Muskoka – Cynthia Reyes

Cottage country will never be the same.

Those talented, funny and likable designers – Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan (the duo who gave my book such a good review last fall) – have bought into the Canadian dream: owning a cottage. It’s on a lake in Muskoka, three hours north of Toronto, and every time I look at the photo below, I burst out laughing.

Colin and Justin, “Cabin Pressure”, Cottage Life TV

As usual, they’ve gone whole hog. No modern Muskoka Mansion for these two. They’ve bought the quintessential Canadian pioneer dwelling: a log cabin.

A log cabin, you might ask? Are we talking about the same Colin and Justin? The famously jet-setting designers known for creating glamorous interiors and sporting oversized flowers in their lapels on their previous TV series, Colin and Justin’s Home Heist?

Yes. They co-purchased the log house with two friends. And they’ve made a TV show about their adventures, called “Cabin Pressure”, (Tuesday nights in Canada on Cottage Life TV).

Of course, no matter where they go, they’re still Colin and Justin, after all. The same witty Scottish-accented pair who live in Scotland, England and Canada and make us laugh while sharing their clever design skills.

So, as they told the Canadian Press: “I think we scared the living bejesus out of a lot of people. Because we arrived in fake-fur, floor-length coats and trailed around the lake in the middle of summer like the Kardashians on crack.”

Oh, dear.

Colin and Justin Cabin Pressure — “Cabin Pressure”

But if there’s one thing I know about these two, it’s that they’re very talented. And another: they’re smart. They’re also very knowledgeable about the deep feelings people have for their homes. (See Colin and Justin’s review of my book, A Good Home.)

So what can we expect? You’ll have to watch the series to find out. But I’m betting you’ll learn a few things about log homes, cottage life, and a lot about interior design. After all, many of us would find decorating a log home very challenging. As did Colin and Justin.

They visited a dozen cottages before settling on this one. It passed inspection. But when the renovation was starting, they encountered a rotting deck, dangerous wiring, and several other problems. Their new purchase seemed to be “a pig in lipstick”.

Still, they describe the experience as “brilliant. It’s made us better people. We’ve learned such a lot about ourselves.”