When a retired forester and former award-winning heritage renovator get together to envision their ideal retirement home, the results are bound to be something special.
That’s true of Philip and Donna Cottell’s split-level retreat in Brentwood Bay, which looks like a small cabin in the woods but has a roomy interior with a modern flair and Japanese sensibility.
It’s decorated with hand-made mosaics, antiques from northern India, turned-wood sculptures and local art, and clearly celebrates a partnership between two highly motivated people whose lives brim with activities.
“We love this house because we can both do our own thing,” said Donna, 72, who said they each have their own areas of interest and have divided the home accordingly.
Her domain includes the lower floor, where she creates mosaics, sews and weaves baskets, as well as a large greenhouse and back garden where she gives free rein to her green thumb.
Her husband, meanwhile, spends his days hanging out in a large woodworking shop and garage at the front of the house, where he turns both smooth and natural-edge bowls, platters, wall plaques, spinning tops, toadstools and more.
“He stays there and I stay here, so we have a separation of church and state,” explained Donna with a chuckle. “We tend to meet at the compost pile,” where his wood shavings are a well-used resource.
They also share meals on the back deck, where Philip, 76, has created a flip-down table attached to the railing.
“I suggested one day that we take out some of the spindles and have glass instead, so we could sit and admire the view,” said Donna. Her husband balked at the idea and built a fold-down table instead. She found some bar stools and now they have an over-the-top view.
These two clearly enjoy retirement — and each other — after having had very different and demanding careers in Vancouver.
An expert in value-added products, Philip worked at MacMillan Bloedel (before it was acquired by Weyerhaeuser), where he headed the research and development division in charge of wood harvesting and building materials. He was also an associate professor of forestry at UBC.
After leaving work, he took up woodturning and now enjoys collaborating with Salish artist Chris Paul. An active member of the Island Woodturners, Philip works in laurel, beach, black locust, Garry oak, maple burls, redwood, Pacific yew and spalted birch (spalting refers to colouration of wood by fungi) — and his works are in demand at Butchart Gardens and the Robert Bateman Centre.
Donna started out as a home-economics teacher but got into heritage renovations in Vancouver and quickly rose to the top of her field, winning three Georgie Awards along the way. These premier awards are given out by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association and celebrate excellence in home building.
“I was a bit infamous in the early days … but one of my main achievements was when men began to forget I was a woman.” She had prepared well by going back to university at 40 to study building engineering technology.
“I was too old to become a carpenter, so I learned the craft of professional management.”
The family jokes that Philip helped invent products such as Paralam and TimberStrand, and then promoted Donna using them.
She and Philip retired early, 20 years ago. Having frequently holidayed on the south Island and appreciated Butchart Gardens, they decided to live nearby and create an Eden of their own.
They sought the advice of family friend and architect Pamela Charlesworth after moving to their 1960s home in Brentwood 10 years ago. (They previously lived in another home she designed for previous owners.)
Charlesworth suggested three different layouts and the Cottells chose one that featured a master suite across the whole back of the house.
With Donna acting as general contractor, one of their first goals was to build a workshop for Philip that would harmonize with the house. They took off the front of the carport and moved the whole structure back, both expanding it and making room for a 500-square-foot woodworking studio.
The next reno turned a bedroom into a large ensuite with a Japanese-style soaker tub where they sit in water up to their shoulders. The Cottells had a hot tub in their previous home, but didn’t want the maintenance again. Having travelled extensively in Japan, they decided to “bring the hot tub inside.”
Donna, who enjoys making baskets and mosaics — and has exhibited her work in the Sidney Fine Arts Show — did all the bathroom tiling. “I was taught by a fellow who used to work for me.”
Thanks to a new skylight, she can shower in the sunshine and admire her new “green” roof on the garage.
“I always loved the idea of a growing roof,” said Donna, adding this one includes layers of drainage and engineering to ensure it can support an additional 25 pounds of weight per square foot, above the usual snow load.
Its depth ranges from a couple of inches to a foot in the middle berm.
Donna took a course in 2000 to become a master gardener — “that’s with a small M and a small G” — then spent 15 years since volunteering her skills.
The garden layout at the Brentwood Bay house was tricky because of the topography, so she consulted designer Robin Jones. “We took 52 different elevations, so I could tell her exactly what the slopes were.”
Then Donna hired a University of Victoria anthropology student for the summer. Together, they planted the whole garden and built all the retaining walls.
While only a third of an acre, it feels surprisingly large, because the house sits at an angle on the lot, which creates interesting pockets of space.
“When we moved here, we knew we wanted to recreate ourselves, to have space for projects,” said Philip.
“We had a 20-year plan back then and I think it was a good one, although you have to modify along the way. But we believe keeping busy is good and now we need another 20-year plan,” he added with a grin.
“We have enjoyed each place we have lived and this is appropriate for where we are in life now.”
Philip said that it’s important to retire early enough to reinvent in yourself: “Too many seniors are burned out by the time their careers end.”
Donna agreed. “We all have to go about our own way of finding expression in later life.”
