Tag Archives: Colin McAllister

Colin and Justin return to their roots in Great Canadian Cottages

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan’s recent Canadian television programming has seen them up to their elbows in rotten wood, bugs and questionable style choices in three seasons of Cabin Pressure. In that series, the duo purchased and renovated their own cottages while offering tips and tricks to DIY projects.

Now the pair is back with a new series—Great Canadian Cottages, debuting Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life—that harkens back to their early days in the business.

“This is really us going back to Colin and Justin, Stage 1,” McAllister says over the phone. “Our background is newspapers and magazines and we’ve interviewed stars and celebs about their homes. We’ve always been in the market to listen to people and share their stories. We’ve done it in print media for years but this gave us the opportunity to do it on-camera.”

McAllister says Great Canadian Cottages is a natural evolution from Cabin Pressure. In that program, episodes followed their story from destruction and renovation to completion. Great Canadian Cottages turns the cameras on other cottage owners as they explain the inspiration for their getaways and digs deep into the nuts and bolts of building outside of big cities. There are also experts on hand who weigh in on some of the construction choices made. In Episode 1, that includes the windows utilized in a shimmering glass block built for a professional photographer so he could make the most of natural light.

Each 30-minute episode finds McAllister and Ryan telling the stories of distinctive cottages with amazing architectural flair, uncovering the carefully crafted design features of each home and learning more about the geographic regions they are built upon. (Fans of the pair can meet them in person at the 2018 Cottage Life Show in Toronto this weekend. Click here for more details.)

There have been plenty of surprises in Season 1. Among them are a getaway made out of straw and clay that has no 90-degree angles and the abode built by former Toronto Maple Leafs great Wendel Clark. It turns out the gritty goal scorer has a knack for gardening and a flair for fashionable homes.

“He’s a real bruiser, so we figured [his cottage] would be like a sports bar with a giant TV,” McAllister recalls. “We get to this beautiful house and gardens that you would pay money to visit. Wendel and his wife, Denise, are the most humble, down-to-earth lovely people. He talked us through the house they made, the garden that they do themselves with their own four hands. And he talks about transitional furniture and just bloody owns it.”

“Colin and I walked away from that saying, ‘If a hockey player can become an interior designer, do you think an interior designer can become a hockey player?” he continues. “I think it’s time for Colin and Justin to take up the puck!”

Great Canadian Cottages airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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Blue Ant Media brings Colin and Justin back to Cottage Life channel in new series, Great Canadian Cottages

From a media release:

Blue Ant Media, an international content producer, distributor and channel operator, today announced that it has greenlit production on Great Canadian Cottages (working title), a brand new original 8×30-minute documentary series, produced by Architect Films for the company’s Canadian television channel, Cottage Life. Presented by renowned design experts Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, the series will delve into the fascinating stories of Canadians who live in extraordinary cottages and cabins built in the Canadian wilderness. Great Canadian Cottages is set to premiere exclusively this fall on the Cottage Life channel. The series will be available for international licensing through Blue Ant Media’s distribution arm, Blue Ant International.

In each episode, Colin and Justin will travel to unique cottage country locations across Canada, giving viewers a personal tour of distinctive cottages with architectural flair. With the design duo’s trademark humour and wit, audiences will meet the owners and architects to analyse each home’s significant design features, while learning more about specific cottage country regions in Canada. The series will have a 360-degree presence across Cottage Life’s television, online and print platforms. In addition to the television debut, 16 digital videos featuring cottage-friendly tips, will roll out on Cottagelife.com. Additionally, Colin and Justin will be on hand at the Fall Cottage Life Show, taking place in Toronto from October 19 to 21, 2018, to celebrate the series and meet with fans personally.

Great Canadian Cottages is produced by Architect Films with Mike Sheerin serving as Executive Producer and Joanne Virgo serving as Series Producer. Sam Linton, Head of Original Content, Canadian Media, Blue Ant Media is overseeing the series.

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