In the evolution of Ontario’s domestic architecture, the Ontario Cottage is one of a small number of distinctive imported—and then modified—houseforms that today is among the most recognizable in the province.
A single storey, hipped-roof building with a door placed squarely in the centre with windows on either side, the charm of the Ontario Cottage lies in its symmetry, simplicity, and proportions. From stately cottages made of dressed masonry to humbler cottages clad in board and batten, it is adaptable in form, and found in different settings from Southwestern Ontario to the Ottawa Valley, including cities, small towns, and rural areas.
This is the first full-length exploration of this enduring houseform and its ubiquity in the province. Through detailed prose, architectural illustrations, and stunning photographs, this book traces the origins of the cottage, its design lineage, construction, and distinctive parts, and shares the perspectives of its inhabitants.
While explaining its ongoing appeal, The Ontario Cottage makes the case for the recognition and conservation of the Ontario Cottage as a defining attribute of the province’s cultural landscape.
Lynne D. DiStefano, PhD (UPenn), is a specialist in cultural heritage and urban conservation. Co-founder and past director of the University of Hong Kong’s Architectural Conservation Programmes, she is an adjunct professor at the university and a faculty associate at the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts. From 2006 to 2018, Lynne was an ICOMOS expert and technical evaluator for UNESCO World Heritage sites in Austria, China, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, and South Korea. Previously, Lynne was a chief curator at Museum London and an associate professor at Brescia University College, Western University. Lynne has served on the board of directors of the Ontario Heritage Foundation (now Trust) at two different times and on Heritage Toronto’s Programme Committee. She is the co-author (with Nancy Z. Tausky) of Victorian Architecture in London and Southwestern Ontario: Symbols of Aspiration and (with Ho Yin Lee) has written a number of books and articles about cultural heritage in Hong Kong. In 2024 (with Lavina Ahuja), she completed the editing of the second of two books on adaptive reuse in Asia. Lynne lives in Toronto’s Annex, where she sits on the Annex Residents’ Association’s Heritage Committee and Planning and Development Committee. From the 17th floor of her condo, she dreams of living in an Ontario Cottage.
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Dan Schneider is a heritage enthusiast, policy wonk, writer and professional heritage consultant. A lawyer by training, Dan has been active in the cultural heritage field for 45 years. Formerly a senior policy advisor with the provincial culture ministry, he was lead policy expert on many government heritage initiatives including comprehensive changes to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005. Now based in St. Marys, Ontario, Dan is Principal of Dan Schneider Heritage Consulting. His heritage policy blog OHA+M was founded in 2015 and is housed on the website of the Heritage Resources Centre of the University of Waterloo. Boasting 125 (and counting) articles on a wide range of issues, the blog is widely consulted and has won two awards including a 2017 award from the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. As a volunteer, Dan is active in Architectural Conservancy Ontario and chairs ACO’s policy committee. He is a founding member of the Stratford/Perth County ACO branch and currently serves as its president. Previously Dan has been appointed to the St. Marys municipal heritage committee and was a member of the town’s Doors Open committee. For decades Dan was proud custodian of a c. 1856 limestone Ontario Cottage near St. Marys.
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