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A homeowner who runs custom builder Ivy Glen Homes became the client for a five-bedroom lake house designed with Toronto firm Forward Interiors. The 2,500-square-foot Lake Simcoe home took three years to build, with bespoke materials and personal details chosen to reflect the family’s preferences.
Forward Interiors designed a five-bedroom, three-bathroom lake house near Toronto for a homeowner who also built it through his custom construction firm, Ivy Glen Homes. The completed 2,500-square-foot home on Lake Simcoe took three years to build, with the owner’s personal preferences shaping a project that the designers said was intended to feel distinctive and lived in.
House Beautiful reported that designers Danielle De Francesco and Clare Forndran worked closely with the homeowner, who wanted a house that did not resemble a familiar, repeated cottage design. Forndran said he had put substantial personal effort into the project and wanted to create something he had not seen many times before. The report does not give the homeowner’s name.
The long build schedule reflected the attention given to details, according to the designers. Custom stained-oak wall panels, Roman clay finishes, and carefully selected furnishings and decor were among the choices intended to give the home a sense of age and personal history. The design also mixes materials and styles rather than relying on a single consistent look.
In the kitchen, De Francesco and Forndran chose Rosa Portogallo marble as the sole stone option they presented to the client, De Francesco told House Beautiful. Other featured details include a 12-foot island, a library with floor-to-ceiling shelves and a custom ladder, and a mudroom backsplash of illustrated ceramic tiles made by an artist in England. The home also includes a bunk room with reclaimed-wood walls and a guest bedroom with a canopy bed.
A Home Shaped by Its Owner
The project offers a direct example of what can happen when a homeowner is also the builder: the person commissioning the design has close involvement in how the house is made, while the interior designers bring a separate creative perspective. In this case, that overlap gave the owner the opportunity to combine his family’s needs with detailed, custom construction decisions.
For readers interested in residential design, the reported three-year schedule and the emphasis on bespoke finishes show the trade-off behind a highly tailored home: unusual materials and deliberate detailing can require extended planning and coordination. The article describes a completed home, not a cost or construction case study, so it does not establish how the project’s budget or schedule compares with other builds.
The house is also presented as a family project rather than a speculative property. Forndran described it as a tribute to the owner’s wife and two children. That characterization is the designer’s account of the home’s meaning, while the reported design and construction details show how personal preferences were incorporated into the finished spaces.
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Inside the Lake Simcoe Project
The house is located on Lake Simcoe in Canada, about 90 minutes from Toronto, according to House Beautiful. Forward Interiors was brought in to design the five-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,500-square-foot property in collaboration with the owner-builder. The report identifies Ivy Glen Homes as the building firm and the interior design duo as the project’s designers.
Its rooms combine practical family spaces with distinctive finishes. The living area, called the “Lakeview Lounge,” centers on a fireplace clad in Indiana limestone, while the dining room’s undressed windows frame the surrounding greenery. The library was designed for reading and includes vintage books; the bunk room takes inspiration from an eclectic camp style. In the primary bedroom, Gucci wallpaper references the client’s interest in fashion, the designers told the magazine.
Several details were sourced or developed specifically for the house. The designers said the mudroom’s woodland-creature tiles were made by an artist in England, and they developed a guest-room rug design inspired by 18th-century textile designer Anna Maria Garthwaite. These specifics support the designers’ stated aim of creating a home where objects and materials feel considered, rather than interchangeable.
““He wanted to do something he hadn’t seen a thousand times before.””
— Clare Forndran, Forward Interiors
Project Costs and Owner Details
The House Beautiful report does not identify the homeowner by name or provide a construction budget, the exact start and completion dates, or a detailed account of how costs were managed. It says the build took three years but does not specify whether that period includes design and planning or only construction.
The report also does not provide the homeowner’s own direct comments, explain how responsibilities were divided between him and Forward Interiors, or describe the family’s day-to-day use of the home. Claims about the project’s personal meaning and design goals are attributed to the designers. No information is supplied about permits, construction methods, or whether the house is used seasonally.
The Home Is Now Complete
According to House Beautiful, construction is finished, and the report presents the home through its rooms, materials, and design choices. It does not announce a future renovation, sale, or additional phase of work. The next developments, if any, would depend on the owner or designers sharing further details; the source report provides no scheduled follow-up.
Key Questions
Where is the family lake house?
The home is on Lake Simcoe in Canada, about 90 minutes from Toronto, according to House Beautiful.
Who designed and built the house?
Toronto design firm Forward Interiors, led on the project by Danielle De Francesco and Clare Forndran, designed the interiors. The owner built the house through his firm, Ivy Glen Homes.
How large is the home?
The reported house has 2,500 square feet, five bedrooms, and three bathrooms.
How long did construction take?
The designers told House Beautiful that the cottage took three years to build. The report does not provide exact start and completion dates.
What details make the design personal?
Reported features include stained-oak panels, a kitchen with Rosa Portogallo marble, a library of vintage books, illustrated woodland tiles, and a primary-bedroom wallpaper choice linked to the owner’s interest in fashion. The designers said the goal was a home that felt lived in and reflected the family.
Source: rss
