Percy Lake Cottage / Michael Taylor Architecture + Design

Architects: Michael Taylor Architecture + Design
Area: 2,800 ft²
Year: 2024
Photography: Tom Arban
Lead Architects: Michael Taylor
General Contractor: Mill House Design
Landscape Architecture: Mark Hartley Landscape Architects
City: Ontario
Country: Canada

Percy Lake Cottage is conceived as a low-profile retreat embedded within the wooded terrain of Percy Lake in Ontario. Michael Taylor Architecture + Design positioned the single-story residence into the site’s steep slope, excavating below the original grade and retaining a natural rock face to limit its visibility from the nearby road. The resulting architecture turns primarily toward the water, with three offset volumes organizing arrival, shared living, and private accommodation. A central great room combines living, dining, and kitchen spaces behind extensive glazing, establishing a direct visual relationship with the lake. Dark wood siding allows the exterior to recede into the surrounding forest, while Douglas fir ceilings extend through the glazed edges and beneath deep roof overhangs to connect interior and exterior spaces. Custom wood and metalwork introduce a crafted layer to the restrained material palette, while the landscape design preserves existing trees and incorporates exposed Canadian Shield granite into paths and terraces. The project establishes a quiet relationship between architecture and landscape through controlled visibility, carefully framed views, and minimal intervention.

A rural property presents different criteria – orientation of the sun and prevailing direction of the wind, views of nature, topography and vegetation.
Interview with Michael Taylor of Michael Taylor Architecture + Design

Percy lake cottage / michael taylor architecture + design

Percy Lake Cottage is distinguished by the deliberate contrast between its discreet arrival and its expansive relationship with the lake. The project was commissioned as a rural retreat for clients with whom Michael Taylor Architecture + Design had previously worked on a condominium interior in downtown Toronto. The dramatically different setting called for an architectural response shaped by the existing landscape rather than the urban context of their earlier project. The property occupies a steep, heavily wooded slope above Percy Lake, with a private beach below and granite outcrops characteristic of the Canadian Shield. Rather than clearing the site to establish a conventional building platform, the architects worked with its existing topography, allowing the forest and exposed stone to remain central to the experience.

The decision to lower the cottage into the hillside establishes both privacy and a measured relationship with the road. The building was excavated approximately six feet below the original grade, while the rock face between the house and road was retained and incorporated into a planted embankment. This intervention places the entrance behind the rise, approaching intentionally subdued. From the road, the building is largely concealed, with the stone chimney and charcoal-colored roof overhang providing only limited indications of the residence beyond. The strategy gives the cottage a presence that is discovered gradually, while preserving the wooded character of the property and reducing the visual impact of the new construction.

Within the site, the cottage is organized as three separate volumes that step back from one another. This arrangement creates greater visual openness and introduces additional opportunities for natural light to penetrate the interior. The first volume accommodates arrival, two guest bedrooms, and a screened porch, while the central volume contains the principal communal spaces. Here, living, dining, and kitchen functions converge within a great room framed by floor-to-ceiling glazing toward the lake. The principal bedroom is positioned in its own wing and connected to the shared areas by a glazed interior walkway. This separation establishes privacy while maintaining a visual and spatial connection across the house.

The great room is designed as a responsive environment that changes with the seasons. Operable windows positioned on opposite sides of the space encourage cross-ventilation during warmer months, while radiant flooring and a wood-burning fireplace provide warmth in colder weather. The fireplace, enclosed by a blackened-steel surround, acts as a central anchor within the open living area. Beyond environmental performance, the extensive glazing gives the lake a continuing presence throughout the interior, transforming the changing conditions of the water and forest into part of the everyday experience. The connection is reinforced by the Douglas fir ceiling, which extends beyond the glazing line and continues beneath the deep roof overhangs.

Material selection further reduces the boundary between the cottage and its surroundings. Dark wood siding allows the exterior to blend with the forest, while the Douglas fir ceiling folds down into the screened porch, creating continuity across enclosed and semi-outdoor spaces. Large-format porcelain tile provides a durable floor surface with an appearance reminiscent of poured concrete, suited to the practical requirements of a retreat connected directly to the landscape. Custom craftsmanship introduces warmer and more tactile elements throughout the interior. The Brothers Dressler produced a solid walnut dining table and a chandelier using reclaimed wood, while blackened steel appears in both the fireplace and a lake map positioned at the entrance.

The landscape approach remains intentionally restrained, preserving the site’s existing trees and geological character wherever possible. Mark Hartley Landscape Architects introduced stone steps connecting the cottage with the shoreline and used granite boulders relocated from elsewhere on the property to form terraces. These interventions work with the natural terrain rather than attempting to formalize it, allowing the forest, rock, and lake to remain the dominant elements. Together with the building’s recessed position, dark exterior, layered volumes, and extensive lake-facing glazing, the landscape strategy reinforces the project’s central premise. Percy Lake Cottage does not seek to dominate its setting; instead, it establishes a carefully calibrated presence that is concealed from the road while opening fully toward the landscape that defines the retreat.