How Much Does it Cost to Renovate Your Muskoka Cottage?

There’s nothing like summer in the Muskokas! If you’ve been summering here for decades or recently purchased an older cottage, it’s likely your place in Muskoka is looking a little dated. Cottages are much more forgiving about dated decor and bygone trends because they’re frequently nostalgic places passed down through generations, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. You can’t live with a shag carpet and a pink stove forever. It’s hard to part with the range your grandmother used to make your favourite summer treats or your dad’s dusty fly-tying desk. However, some upgrades are necessary to keep your cottage safe, comfortable, and convenient.

A skilled renovator is especially crucial when your cherished family memories are at stake. Master Edge Homes renovates from Markham to Muskoka and beyond, and we have the expertise to collaborate with you to preserve treasured elements and carefully capture your vision and cottage’s essence with upgraded features. 

Cottage Renovation Ideas and Cost

We want you to enter into our relationship equipped with a basic understanding of the cost of renovating your family cottage and the factors that might influence your budget. You should be excited about the possibilities when you’re ready to make your renovation real. Developing a realistic budget for your cottage renovation in Ontario’s Lake Country will help you feel confident about getting started.

Wondering about the process for renovations? We dive in here.

Cottage Interior Renovation Costs

Cottage Kitchen Renovation Costs

Renovating your Muskoka kitchen can be a worthwhile investment, as it can add value to your property and enhance your daily living experience. Whether you're looking to update the look of your kitchen or improve its functionality, a kitchen renovation can transform the heart of your home into a beautiful and functional space that meets your needs and style. The cost you can expect to renovate your cottage kitchen in Muskoka starts at $100,000 and can go up from there.

Cottage Bathroom Renovation Costs

Upgrade your cottage bathroom to support your lifestyle. Add extra storage for the extended family, a built-in step stool to help the littles reach, a curbless shower to keep everyone clean, and built-in Bluetooth to set the tone for fun. Cottage bathrooms should be playful and timeless. Expect to pay $40,000 or more to renovate your cottage bathroom in Muskoka.

Cost to Renovate an Entire Cottage

If you’d like to do an entire main floor renovation, you could pay as much as $250,000 to redesign and replace the whole interior. If you’re looking to tackle two stories with a complete renovation, you will likely see a price tag between $400,000 and $600,000.

Renovating Your Cottage in Muskoka for Adaptive Living

Ramps, elevators, stair-lifts, renovating for main-floor living, or wheelchair accessibility are vital steps to keep your older relatives loving lake life. Do you need to drop countertops, widening doorways, and create hallway-turn radiuses? Have you considered upgrading your light switches, door handles, and plumbing for operation with reduced fine motor use? What about a curbless shower? The cost to create an accessible space for all family members will depend on the scope you’ve got in mind. You could pay as little as $25,000 for some minor tweaks, or as much as $250,000 for a complete adaptive overhaul. 

Cottage Additions in Muskoka

Bump-Out Your Cottage

A bump-out is a small addition where no changes to the foundation are required. Need to bump out the kitchen to fit a table big enough for all the cousins. Why not add a mudroom or a sunroom while you’re at it? Sick of the pantry you inherited? Use a bump-out during your kitchen renovation to get a walk-in pantry to feed the whole crew! Depending on the site prep required, you’ll pay around $75,000 to bump out your cottage.

Cost to Add on to a Cottage in Muskoka

Adding living space, missing elements, bathrooms, or bedrooms to a cottage changes how you can use it. Gaining the ability to invite more family and friends to stay together and recreate the way you want creates priceless memories. Your builder is your best-cost resource for whether it makes better sense to add to your first story or build a second one. Your foundation, accessibility, lot size, and more, could impact their recommendation. If you’re looking to create a substantial main-floor addition, you’ll likely pay $150,000 or more.

Cost to Add a Second Story to a Cottage

You’ll pay $200,000 or more to add a second story to your cottage. Gaining a second story allows more peace and privacy for multigenerational cohabitation. Everyone’s happier when the kids and adults have somewhere separate to hang out.

Factors that Influence the Cost of a Cottage Renovation in the Muskokas

Accessibility

There are several ways accessibility limitations could impact the cost of your cottage renovations. Some cottages in Muskoka aren’t accessible year-round, which might limit our time to build and concentrate our efforts. This area is notoriously rocky. If we need to blast out a new area for an addition or traverse a steep slope while working on your project, you’ll pay more.

Changing the Layout

Moving walls or otherwise changing the layout or structure of your home will cost more, as you pay for not only the necessary engineering, demolition, and new construction, but also the cost to move vital elements like electricity to their new access points.

Plumbing/Electrical/HVAC

It bears repeating: Moving or creating new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC is more expensive than keeping your access points as is. Installing new electrical, plumbing, or HVAC requires skilled trades and the purchase of new elements when adding access points, such as new light fixtures, vanities, and sinks.

Your Selections

Choosing high-end materials, finishes, and fixtures will cost you more upfront but may be excellent investments for your cottage. We recommend sourcing the materials for your cottage renovation from specialty stores for better products, service, and warranty. For example, buy your flooring from a flooring retailer, not a one-stop home improvement store.

Ready to Transform Your Muskoka Cottage into the Cottage of Your Dreams?

Master Edge Homes would love to talk to you about your current cottage and your vision for your cottage renovations. We are confident you won’t find another builder for your Muskoka cottage renovation with our precision, personalization, and artisanship. Let’s connect today!