Houzz Tour: Organic and Natural in an Island Cottage

Going all natural is part of everyday life for interior designer Carrie McCarthy. She always wears gray, eats mostly organic food and prefers soft, neutral colors in her home. “There’s really no separation from the way I dress, eat or create a home,” McCarthy says.

Her outlook permeates every square inch of the cottage she shares with husband Cameron Thorn, 5-year-old son Leighton and Goldendoodle dog Billie. All-white walls, painter’s canvas cushions and natural linen define the bright space, creating an always-fresh feel that encourages everyone who visits to kick back, relax and enjoy being on remote south Pender Island, in British Columbia. “It’s all about a vision of natural and no plastic,” McCarthy says. “Everybody walks in and feels calm.”

Houzz at a Glance
Location: South Pender Island, British Columbia
Who lives here: This is a summer home for interior designer Carrie McCarthy, developer Cameron Thorn, 5-year-old son Leighton and Goldendoodle Billie.
Size: 830 square feet (77 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom

A designer who deals with bold colors during her workdays, McCarthy says she’s more drawn to earthy colors in her own home. “My favorite colors are mucky and muddy,” she says. “After working all day, I like to come home to a soft, neutral palette.”

To achieve that, McCarthy used Benjamin Moore’s Simply White on most of the walls and ceilings. She’s a big believer in using the same color for baseboards, walls and ceilings, because it’s cost effective and fast.

The coffee table is from McCarthy’s grandparents. She swapped the original glass top for a piece of sealed marble but didn’t like the polished look, so she turned it over to show the more porous side. “Nothing is precious in here,” she says.

Wall paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore


The furnishings are simple; the sofa is wrapped in natural burlap linen. McCarthy filled an Ikea planter with organic paper she uses for fireplace kindling. “The experience of pure resources and materials is really important to us,” she says.

Rug: sisal, Ikea; lamp: Secto Design



McCarthy used painter’s canvas for the seat cushions that flank the fireplace. The storage bench on the right holds pantry items; the one on the left is for linens. In-floor heating beneath the polished concrete supplements the heat from the wood-burning fireplace.


The bright and simple vibe continues in the adjacent kitchen, where organic colored pottery from Vancouver potter Janake Larsen fills the open shelving along with white plates and cups that McCarthy found at thrift stores over the years.


Organic linen hand towels keep the theme going in the bathroom.


The home is nestled in the woods on Pender Island, which the family gets to by taking a three-hour ferry ride from Vancouver. They bought the adjacent three lots and are building a little compound of houses. They’re using the 830-square-foot cottage while they construct a 2,000-square-foot retirement home and an art studio on the property.

Because they are building a larger home, the size of the cottage was restricted. To make the most of the square footage, McCarthy wanted a loft-style bedroom. That dictated having the peaked roof. But the shape of the house also is in keeping with the natural approach to the overall design, and recalls simple English or French cottages.

The home sits on a poured foundation surrounded by a dry-stacked rock wall (nothing holds the rocks together except the weight of each rock).


Here you can see how grass and leaves have fallen between the rocks.

The couple splurged on wood windows because they liked the look, and Thorn, who acted as general contractor, applied the cedar shingles himself to save money. It took them about eight tries to get the stain’s taupey-gray color with a bit of dark indigo just right. “The exterior is like the book cover to us and was really important,” McCarthy says.

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