Charles Gane designs private cottages across Ontario's cottage country — one at a time, drawn by hand, working with you from the first sketch to the finished build.
The Haliburton Highlands call for a different reading of the Canadian Shield than Georgian Bay — set back in the trees rather than perched on open rock, granite showing through as outcrop and clearing rather than shoreline. Charles Gane brings the same approach to Haliburton that shaped his own family's cottage on Monument Channel, Georgian Bay: a low concrete base set into the granite, honest structure, and glass used deliberately rather than everywhere at once. Charles has 40 years of practice behind that design language, including 27 years as a founding principal of CORE Architects in Toronto and more than 160 projects delivered there before he turned to private cottage and home design. He is registered with the OAA and AAPEI, draws every cottage by hand, and takes on one project at a time — the architect you meet at your site is the one at the drafting table. If you're planning a new cottage, an addition, or a rebuild in the Haliburton Highlands, Charles serves the region and can talk through what your site can carry.
Every cottage begins as a hand drawing — the slow, considered way — before a single line is committed to a screen.
Charles designed and built his own family's cottage on Georgian Bay. He designs yours to the same standard he holds his own to.
Condo-grade rigour applied to a cottage: durable materials, honest structure, and a design tuned to the rock, the water and the light.
We start with a call about your land, your family, and how you want to live at the lake. No commitment — just a real discussion.
Charles studies the site — rock, water, sun, trees — and draws the first concepts by hand, then shares a fee proposal and scope.
Design development and drawings, then support through construction with your builder, all the way to the finished cottage.
Architect's fees are usually structured either as a percentage of the construction budget or as a fixed fee for a defined scope. After an initial conversation about your site and goals, Charles provides a clear, written fee proposal — so you know what you're committing to before any design work begins.
Yes — Haliburton is one of the areas Charles serves, alongside Muskoka, Georgian Bay, Haliburton, the Kawarthas, and the Greater Toronto Area.
Both. Charles takes on new custom cottages, renovations and additions, and tear-down-and-rebuild projects in Haliburton and throughout Ontario's cottage country.
It varies with scope and approvals, but most cottages move from first sketches through design and permit drawings over several months, followed by construction. Remote and waterfront sites can add time for access and approvals — Charles will set realistic expectations early.
Yes. Charles works alongside your builder through construction, and can suggest builders experienced with cottage and Shield-site construction if you don't have one yet.
Tell Charles about your site and your idea — he reads and answers every enquiry himself.
Discuss your cottage project