A floating dock is one of the most approachable DIY projects out there. Unlike a fixed dock, it doesn't require driving posts into the lakebed, it adjusts naturally with water level changes, and may be best for Whiteshell area cottagers

Summer in lake country doesn't leave much time to think about maintenance. The water's warm, the dock is busy, and the last thing on anyone's mind is what's happening underneath the deck or behind the soffit.

There's a moment every cottage owner eventually faces: the siding conversation. Do you go with something classic and low-maintenance, or something that looks like real wood without the upkeep?

Fire-rated plywood doesn't get much attention until someone actually needs it and by then, it's usually because a building code inspector, an insurance company, or an architect has asked for it by name.

The Leisure Island boathouse sits on a boat-access site on Lake of the Woods, sheltering a single Bayliner beneath its soaring black roofline. The design brief called for something far from the traditional boathouse look.

A well-placed fire pit, a modest deck, a pergola for your morning coffee, or a run of cedar planters to frame: there's no shortage of DIY projects you can accomplish on a weekend at the cottage.