{Lake Love Week} Gimli Cottage Tour

Hello and happy Monday friends! I'm so excited to give you a little tour of my favourite place on earth - my Gimli cottage. Since I talk about it enough, I thought it only fitting that you got a little peek for yourself. And what a great way to kick off {Lake Love Week}, a series of posts to share my love of lake living.

For those of you who are far away, I live in Winnipeg, Canada. Gimli is a tiny little beach town one hour north of the city on Lake Winnipeg, the 6th largest freshwater lake in Canada. We call it the 'inland ocean' because when you look out on the water, you can't see anything but blue waters and a hazy horizon. I bought a cottage 4 years ago when I moved home to Manitoba from Calgary's booming real estate market. I had an amazing opportunity to invest in something special, my very own beach house in the middle of the prairies, and I haven't regretted it for a moment since.

When I first bought it, I picked up this fun painted sign and it's served as my inspiration and colour palette for what I envision the cottage to be. I love the shades of washed out blues, greens, sand and cream.

My favourite place about the cottage is the abundance of huge windows that let sun and breeze in from both sides and the 12-foot ceilings that make the little space seem huge. I've filled it lovingly with my favourite things, my favourite colours, my favourite memories - all on a minimal budget full of thrifting, garage-saling, antiquing and graciously accepting freebies.

*my sister made me that quilt below and that pull-out couch has been lugged around with me for over 12 years!!

*that Ikea coffee table below was something ridiculous like $16 and I bought the modern couches covered in nubby tweed fabric off Kijiji for a steal!

* when I first moved in I painted the kitchen this deep lake blue and even did the glass tile backspash all by myself! Don't look at it up close :)

*the bathroom paint was my biggest colour risk but every time I shower I feel like I'm in the tropics!

It's really important to me that there are lots of cozy places to lounge, whether J and I are alone or have guests - both inside the cottage and out!

My other favourite thing about the cottage is that it's turned into my library. I've packed the bookshelves with all of my fiction and music books. If I was renting a cottage, it would be my dream to walk into stacks of books...heavenly!

The furniture is mismatched, thrift store finds, vintage pieces and upcycled treasures, like this gorgeous dresser and a magazine rack I painted in vivid turquoise.

The hodge podge of artfwork is very near and dear to my heart. It runs from the whimsical, like this watercolour I painted the first year I lived here...

To the gallery wall of travels, showing pieces I've collected from Brazil, Guatamala, London and more.

To the art of my norther heritage, like these whale soap stone carvings, inuit paintings and moose tuftings from my time in Thompson and Churchill.

And a playbill from my performance in The Vagina Monologues in Calgary, such a special time.

 

I've decorated the space with small touches of natural inspiration, from dried branches and seashells to hints of nautical living.

And last but not least - a super comfy bed. This is always my splurge...a nice firm mattress, crisp cotton sheets and a huge cuddly duvet. It makes me WANT to sleep out here and read in bed all day.

 

And there's me snapping pics around the cottage! Yup, those are my lazy pajamas and it's probably like, noon...gotta love the lake!

Thanks for coming along on my Gimli cottage tour - hope you enjoyed it!

Tomorrow I'll be bringing you a super casual outfit post for {Lake Love Week}, so come back soon!