Whether it’s a rugged Bay of Fundy cottage or a corner in your home, having a place to escape to is something that Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan know a thing or two about.
The designer duo and couple are the hosts of shows like Colin and Justin’s Cabin Pressure and are the authors of books helping people personalize their own homes. Their latest book, Escapology: Modern Cabins, Cottages and Retreats, features a Nova Scotia location among an international roundup of cottages.
Each cottage was selected to inspire readers to not only dream of one day owning a second home of their own but also as a manual that hopes to inspire escapology within existing homes.
And its timing could not be better, as Ryan says the pandemic has people rethinking the spaces they live in.
“The pandemic is changing the way people are thinking about home,” says Ryan. “These homes are places of emotional rebalance for their owners and designers, and I think readers will get a sense of that unbridled peace.”
Inspired by simplicity
The book has been a two-year passion project for the duo, who have fallen in love over the last decade with cottage and cabin country in Canada.
“We’d become obsessed with second homes in Canada, because being close to water, nature and the great outdoors is, of course, so quintessentially Canadian,” says McAllister.
The book features cabins from areas including Denmark, the United States, and the Bay of Fundy, where MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects and Dalhousie School of Architecture and Planning students built a small cabin on Mi’kmaq First Nation land in Hants County as a shelter for passing travellers to use.
“The idea behind it is to have a bright beacon to which people would be drawn to find a moment and take a breath, even if not staying there for long,” says Ryan.
This idea resulted in a stark yet warm structure, with modest furnishings, a woodstove, and a timber structure that light seeps through, creating a space that McAllister says is a place to share shelter from the elements.
In other words, the epitome of what he and Ryan were looking to capture.
“We just loved the purity of this space’s message as a refuge for travellers,” says McAllister. “This is what appealed to me about these escapes, built-in, hard-to-reach areas on the water, by the ocean or in a forest. They have to be special, and there’s a sense of reward when you get there.”
Connection to Nova Scotia
It’s not a coincidence that Ryan and McAllister, who split their time between Toronto and Glasgow, Scotland, included a Nova Scotian structure in their new book. Ryan says the couple are both major fans of the province and have visited several times.
The duo, who have visited areas including Cape Breton, the South Shore, and Halifax, are even looking to purchase a hotel of some kind and had begun searching for a property before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a big ambition at the moment to buy something there. We’ve certainly not taken our foot off the gas, but once COVID-19 dies down, we’ll be back,” says Ryan.
The couple has established an escapology of their own at their homes in Scotland and in Canada, where they’ve converted a three-bedroom Toronto penthouse into one open-concept living area with defined spaces – including a library in their dining room – that McAllister says are tailored perfectly for them.
Their historic, five-storey Glasgow home has a different brand of escape. Saving architectural details from when it was built in 1833 was a priority as they restored the grand home and each of its 21 rooms.
The pair are hoping that their book leaves people feeling inspired, whether it's a secondary home, a specific piece of furniture with special memories, or wanting to create a place within their homes that they can escape to and reflect from.
“Take some time, go to your favourite chair — get one if you don’t have one — and tuck yourself away. Sit there with a mug of cocoa and have some escape time,” says McAllister.
Escapology is available for purchase through independent bookstores, Indigo bookstores, and Amazon.ca.
DIY Escapology
McAllister and Ryan agree that creating escapology within your own home can be as simple as finding a spot or space where you feel most at home and grounded.
“A special space can give you a sense of escape, even if you’re not traveling far from home,” says Ryan.
McAllister says that just like the featured cottages and cabins all feature spectacular views and promote a sense of peace and relaxation, creating a view at home with a particular piece of furniture, or combination of elements, can achieve the same result.
“Use a hero piece of furniture, perhaps a credenza or sideboard, and think about the relationship of things around it,” says McAllister. “Stand in the middle of room and take pictures to help you decide if you like it, if it feels rewarding and if it makes you excited.”
McAllister says to also make space for self-care and when in doubt, clear out clutter, especially if items are broken or don’t carry meaning.
“Imagine each item as a word, and write a design sentence with your space. Get a snapshot of your style and build on that,” he says.
