SUMMER AT STEEP HILL COTTAGE
A snapshot of summer at Steep Hill Studio.
The Labour Day weekend is upon us and its arrival signals the end of the summer here on the lake. It is always bittersweet as we reluctantly part with the long, warm days and bustle of the lake, while welcoming the autumnal air and the warmth of roasted garden bounty.
Before we bid adieu to the season, we wanted to recap what’s been happening around Steep Hill and share some of the noteworthy moments from a summer well-spent.
Read on to see what we got up to:
On The Cottage Rebuild
In The Garden
On The Lake
Off The Lake
In The Studio*
At Ruhl Builds
*We are celebrating The Studio turning two with a VERY special offer, which you’ll find at the end of this post.
A patch of Rudbeckia in the Steep Hill Cottage perennial garden.
Lee and Dave installing cedar bevel siding on the cottage rebuild.
On the cottage rebuild
Our primary summer goal was to get the cottage exterior cladding completed by Labour Day, and we’ve been pushing hard to make that happen. Much like most of the projects we’ve faced here, the cladding process has been more time and effort intensive than anticipated. In turn though, the results have also exceeded our expectations. Seeing the building take on its final form has been incredibly satisfying.
Below you can see how the cottage looked at the start of the season, with just exterior insulation and furring strips in place. On the right you can see how it looks now, with all the cladding and light fixtures installed.
To save on the cost of siding we stained all the boards ourselves on-site last summer so we had the supply at the ready this year. Learn more about our approach to Cedar Bevel Siding in The Studio.
As we complete each elevation we’ve been installing the exterior gooseneck lighting one fixture at a time and this has been the true mark of a finished exterior.
Exterior lighting requires careful consideration during the building design process. If you’d like to learn more about our Three-Layer Lighting Approach and sources for all the fixtures we used, that’s available in The Studio.
The south elevation of Steep Hill Cottage shot from the dock.
Through this work Dave has mastered the craft of cedar bevel siding and I have gained an appreciation for the precision and attention to detail involved. I’ve also overcome my fear of heights thanks to many an hour spent on three tiers of scaffolding.
Lee painting over nail heads on the south elevation of Steep Hill Cottage.
Dave and Lee atop three layers of scaffold installing siding on the west gable end. Photo courtesy of our delightful neighbour.
To keep the project rolling indoors while we worked outside, we hired a drywall installer to help us take that task off the docket. The relief of not having to hoist massive sheets of drywall and spend days in the dust clouds of sanding cannot be understated. They did a great job and now we can work on the wainscotting and flooring ourselves.
With the end of the exterior work coming to a close (for this year at least), we’re looking forward to moving inside. However, our cladding days are far from over as our next interior project is to clad the ceilings in the Muskoka room and the living room (shown below). We sourced vertical grain tongue and groove fir for these two spaces and it’s one of the materials we are most excited to use on the entire project.
Stacks of vertical grain fir cladding waiting to go on the ceiling.
The perennial ribbon garden featuring a variety of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Blue Lobelia, Lavender and Peonies with the kitchen garden behind.
IN THE GARDEN
This year the maturity of the perennial gardens really started to show, delivering a wonderful display of colour throughout the season. The deer seem to have been relatively absent this summer and this made a big difference, especially in the Hostas, which are usually just a chewed nub of green by this point in the season.
The cut flower beds also did well this year. We’ve had heaps of dahlias, marigolds, zinnias, cone flowers, rudbeckia, sweet peas, and hydrangeas to admire and enjoy. My favourite morning activity has been to wander through the different garden zones cutting flowers for arrangements for friends, neighbours, and to bring up to the sleeping cabin.
A bumble bee collects pollen from one of the Steep Hill original dahlia varieties grown from seed this year.
A few of our favourite creatures to spot in amongst the flowers and foliage, Winnie, Genie, Monarchs and Hummingbirds.
Winnie waiting on the dock to let us know she’s ready for a ride in the boat.
On The Lake:
We haven’t done a whole lot of classic cottaging this summer, however, the dogs absolutely adore boat rides so we try to get out in the boat or canoe at least once a week to go for a snoodle (sniff + toodle) around the lake. We also paid a visit to the secret waterfall on the lake with some of our visitors.
Low tide along the seawall in Point Roberts, WA.
Off the lake:
We’ve had a few reasons to leave the lake this summer, one of which was to attend a family member’s wedding in Point Roberts, WA. While there, we had a chance to explore this quintessential west coast beach town, making note of the charming cottages, admiring the beautiful blue hydrangeas, and taking in the salty air.
We even got to dress up for the occasion and it was nice to escape the work uniform for an evening.
The Cottage Kitchen Garden in its prime in mid August.
In The Studio:
We recently shared an overview of the Cottage Kitchen Garden and took a look at each of the 6 beds we planted. In the episode we shared all the seeds we planted this season, our most successful companion plantings and a few things we might revise going forward. This was definitely our most bountiful summer of produce yet and we still have several weeks to go of night shades, herbs, carrots, hearty greens, root veg and squash.
We get questions about our Raised Garden Bed Covers all the time and we have an episode in The Studio explaining how we designed and built them using very inexpensive and accessible materials.
We’ve also put together a Fall Garden To-Do List for anyone wondering:
What to prune now vs later
Bulbs to plant now
How to enjoy hydrangeas all winter
Why now is the time to plan next year’s garden.
How we store our dahlia tubers.
Seeds to start collecting now.
Still from the latest video The Kitchen Garden Update, available in The Studio.
Behind the scenes, we have been capturing every detail of the cottage rebuild process and have lots of topics we’ll be sharing our thoughts on this fall and winter.
Dave and Lee face nailing the cedar bevel cladding on the south wall.
Drone footage of the cottage site Ruhl Builds is working on.
Over At Ruhl Builds:
Between all the work happening at Steep Hill and the adventures beyond our little plot, we started work on a custom design/build project for a client on another lake in Muskoka. This project has had lots of challenges but the design is complete and the permitting process is underway. The setting and configuration of the property have a lot in common with Steep Hill and it’s been a pleasure to work on a design that restores what is already in place, while adding to the existing structure to make it work for the family long term.
Here’s a peek at the exterior and interior inspiration and design:
For the exterior we are taking inspiration from the existing cottage, which features brown cladding with cream windows and trim. This is a classic cottage colour combination that settles into the landscape and has a friendly, understated charm.
The interior style takes inspiration from classic cottage details like panel and batten wall cladding, warm, weathered wood tones and simple trim profiles. Using a warm white as the primary wall and ceiling colour will keep the space bright, while the wall texture adds depth and interest.
We are very excited about how this project is coming along and can’t wait to bring it all to life in 2027!
The front elevation of the building plan for a Ruhl Builds design/build cottage project in Muskoka.
This summer Steep Hill Studio turned Two!
To celebrate, we are offering 50% Off unlimited access to The Studio*.
Join now with a single payment (ie: no subscription renewals), and get unlimited access to all the content we’ve shared to date and everything we share in the future!
It’s been such a joy to share our work with folks, such as yourself, who value craft and consideration when it comes to creating a home and garden. We’ve only just scratched the surface and still have so much we cannot wait to bring to this space.
Learn more about what we’ve covered so far here.
We look forward to seeing you in The Studio!
*No code needed, discount will automatically apply at checkout. You will be prompted to create an account prior to checkout. Discount valid through September 30, 2026.
Blooms in the dahlia garden at Steep Hill Cottage.