Budget Breakdown: They Built a Home in Newfoundland for Retirement. Until Then, You Can Book a Stay

Ann and Joe Bennett were thinking ahead. A public school teacher and an associate director at a biotech company, respectively, they were imagining what their lives could be like in retirement, even though that milestone was still a few years away.

The couple have grown children and established lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and thought they might stay put. But then they went up to Canada in 2019. "We fell in love with Newfoundland while on a family trip," Joe says. "After returning home, I contacted a realtor who sent us weekly listings, and he found this property on the Bonavista Peninsula."

Since the cod fishing industry faded some three decades ago, about as long as the Bennetts have been married, the area has shifted its attention to tourism. The couple were charmed by the natural beauty of seaside cliffs where otters and whales routinely dot the surface, and hiking trails that lead to icebergs. The land their realtor helped them find overlooks the Atlantic but is still only a few minutes from town.

Editor’s note: Figures are in Canadian dollars and exclude the designer’s fee.

Joe and Ann had started sketching out ideas for the land when Ann found Evan Hoyles on Instagram, Joe remembers. "She was very interested in his clean, Scandinavian style." The couple reached out to Hoyles in 2021, just as he was getting his own firm underway. (In fact, they were his first real clients, if you don’t count a project for his own family.) "The challenge was that they wanted this residence to be their retirement home in the future, but function as a vacation rental in the meantime," Hoyles says.

Joe and Ann shared their many thoughts with Hoyles over Zoom calls, agreeing that they wanted a traditional saltbox house by the sea. Hoyles ran with the familiar outline, creating a 2,815-square-foot plan with an aging-in-place format that has the primary suite, common areas, and a patio all on the entry level. A powder room sits off the entryway stair, and on the walkout basement level are two more bedrooms, a bathroom, another living space, and laundry; a mudroom leads outside.

"We ended up with a double-height space in the living room, but didn’t need that in the primary suite," Hoyles says. "As a fun addition for their grandkids, we decided to do a loft that’s accessible by a ladder above the kitchen."

Hoyles says that the biggest splurge was the windows, and for good reason. "Why wouldn’t we take advantage of these views?" he asks. Joe notes that from the floor-to-ceiling panes in the living room, he’s seen a family of otters, soaring eagles, and roaming foxes, as well the aforementioned whales, and some neighborhood cats. "During lobster season, I drank my coffee watching the fishermen setting traps," he says. "These are all things not seen from our windows in Wisconsin."

"We wanted it to be a destination home for families to explore the Bonavista Peninsula."

—Joe Bennett, resident

Ann insisted on minimalist interiors to keep the attention on the ocean and its rotating cast of visitors, while still making them feel warm and inviting to guests. "The materials had to be nice, yet durable," Hoyles says. "And Ann and Joe asked for us to be as sustainable as possible, including by creating local jobs." Hoyles brought on local builder Bonavista Living, who installed pre-engineered hardwood floors throughout the home and Dekton countertops in the kitchen, the idea being that both would look as good as new when the owners moved in for good. Cabinets and the dinner table are both custom, made from birch plywood.

The home is wrapped in cedar shingles, which came about on the fly. "Bonavista Living recommended them, and not only did they end up saving us money, but they also fits in better with the landscape and the area’s fishing heritage," says Hoyles.

When the home was complete after a two-year construction process, as a gift, Joe and Ann invited Hoyles and his loved ones for a stay at Windhaven, named after the tree-protected Wisconsin farm Joe’s great-grandparents established in the 1880s. "As an architect, you never get to be on your clients’ deck for the sunset or wake up in their primary suite," says Hoyles, who lives nearby. "It gave me a real appreciation for the home and Joe and Ann’s clever idea for renting it out before eventually retiring here." At which point they’ll be neighbors on Newfoundland’s wild, rugged coast.

Related Reading:

The Owners of These Refreshed Saltbox Homes in Newfoundland Have to Hike or Boat In

Foul Weather Is No Match for This Boxy New Brunswick Home—or the Steel Stair Wrapped Around It

Project Details:

Architect of Record: Evan Hoyles, Hoyles Architecture

Design Team: Evan Hoyles and Matthew Benteau, Hoyles Architecture

Structural Engineer: Steven Ducey, Peak Design Limited

Cabinetry Construction: John Norman, Bonavista Creative Workshop

Builder: John Norman, Bonavista Living; Foreman: Mitchell Short

Furniture Selection: Jenneil Cooper, SAM Design