A City Escape To The County Cabin

Clean lines, minimalist decor, and bold pops of color make this modern farmhouse, the dream house, for interior designer, Tania Kolesnik and her architect husband, Dustin Coldicott. With the pair's background, the 'dream home' meant open spaces, natural light, and a seamless flow between indoors and outdoors. This design savvy duo made a spontaneous decision to swap city life for the country and have continued to fuel their passions with their business, County Collective. Take a step inside and see how they are officially living the dream!

Just over three years ago my husband Dustin and I traded the city life for a dream to move out to the country to build our own home. We started by purchasing a three acre lot from our now neighbor on a whim in the dead of Winter. With Dustin being in the design and architectural field, we were able to get going on dreaming up the perfect design for our family!

We knew we wanted to prioritize open, communal areas with plenty of natural light and an indoor/outdoor living feature. The house itself is three bedroom and three bath. We loved the idea of building off an idea of honoring the clean lines and simple shape of a more modern farmhouse, but with a Scandinavian twist. We kept everything but the interior and exterior of the house in simple black and white, using unconventional applications throughout the place to inject fun pops of color.We kept the floors and wall colors neutral throughout the house, however, we decided on a rich cool toned green and blush cabinetry for our kitchen. Pairing it with matte black fixtures and appliances was a great way to keep the space sophisticated and tie in the two colors in a subtle way.

Decor wise, we used pieces strategically to not only divide the space into different areas, but also to bring some of our personality into the space. Balancing the overall room with more natural feeling pieces, like our kitchen table, woodturning stove and our sectional, with vibrant elements like our velvet mustard arm chairs & sleek bar stools is a true reflection of our personal styles.

Without a doubt, one of our favorite features of the space is our retractable glass wall! Once the weather is warmer here in Canada, we love opening up the space to our outdoor living area with ease. We spend most of our times in the Summer on the back porch. We used a composite for the decking material, solid glass rails as to not obstruct the view and monochromatic outdoor furniture for a very relaxed, inviting feel.

Our master suite is a work in progress but a real retreat at the end of a long day. We've kept things very neutral, rustic and serene feeling to help us unwind. We're still trying to finalize art and a few details but are tempted to leave our beloved, color pieces casually resting on our bedsides. I love the undone feeling of the space and how much natural light shines through each morning.

Our master bathroom is by far my favorite room in the house. Even though the space is entirely white with black accents, I love how we were able to make some bold design choices. The full wall of herringbone tiles brings so much interest to the space! We wanted to keep things airy so we designed a glass wall shower enclosure that incorporates matte black framing accents similar to the windows. Our cast iron farm style sink was a chance we took but we couldn't be happier with how it pulled the space together! Our tub is a dream come true and the muted brass fixtures throughout brings just the right amount of interest to break up the space!

Our daughter Magnolia's room is a space of her very own! We started the design with a beautiful vintage rug and rattan day bed, but she truly made the rest her very own. We decided on the beautiful woven rainbow wall hanging to ground the space and she was adamant to feature her favorite photo of her & her dad in the space! She loves finding little keepsakes to put on display in her room and it's been wonderful to watch her cultivate her own sense of style. This fun, not too girly, space is a true representation of all her magic!

Our main living area is the center of our home and where we spend the most time as a family. We also created a space for the kids to feel at home and welcome in our family living area. We love to see signs of them throughout our home and creating a little nook just for them was such a pleasure.

Our home is a place where we can truly be ourselves. It is such a blessing to have a space that feels like a perfect representation of who we are, and our style. Having beautiful beaches, wineries, small makers, endless culture and incredible restaurants just minutes from us has made our move nothing but amazing. We feel so blessed to see our dreams come true before our eyes and the chance to share it makes it all the more special for our family. Since moving out to Prince Edward County we've started our very own company called County Collective. We've been so thankful for the opportunity to provide design services, retail rental opportunities and host short term rentals in our growing number of spaces!

Photography: Lauren Miller | Photography: Lauren Miller | Design: County Collective | Design/Architecture: Dustin Coldicott | Interior Design: Tania Kolesnik