Manitoulin Island Off-Grid House sits quietly on a coastal property on Lake Huron. Varied ceiling heights, expansive sliding doors, and well-placed windows bring light into the home that changes throughout the day and the seasons. The owners are professional artists, and this play of light and shadow provides inspiration and delight for their ongoing creativity.
The couple first came to know the island through friends who live there, and they fell in love with the surroundings. They bought their land and spent many years camping on it, first in a tent and then in a bunkie they built themselves. When the time came to sell their house in Toronto, they knew it was time to build their dream home on the Manitoulin property they had come to know so well.
The driving design principle for this home was a connection to nature, to feel in touch with the ground, to be just one step away from the outside. With light pouring in and the huge, covered porch spanning the entire lake side of the house, one can feel the outside occupying the inside, and you can just step out at any moment and immerse in nature.
Expertly built by Quantum Builders Inc in nearby Espanola, the 1,500 square-foot home is beautiful and practical; it is essentially a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house, with guests accommodated in a home office that doubles as a guest room, and the detached bunkie.
Photography by Nanne Springer