Boy! I'm glad we did this!

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Renovation Resort competitors Cami & Chris reflect on their English cottage theme

Looking to level up your home design this summer? Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

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That’s the expert tip from design duo Camille (Cami) Normandin and Chris McGimsie, the only Toronto competitors featured on season two of the Home Network series Renovation Resort, where Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler oversee four teams vying for a $100,000 top prize based on how well they transform bare bone cottages near Belleville, Ontario, into stunning vacation rentals.

“Our biggest takeaway is you can’t be afraid to try new things,” said McGimsie, who admits there were times during filming when he didn’t understand what Cami was trying to do, but pushed forward anyway.

“There’s this arc of me saying, ‘No, I can’t do this; No, I don’t want to do this; Okay, maybe I can do this;’ to, ‘Wow! This looks awesome. I’m glad we did this!’” he said.

Transforming properties isn’t new to the couple. McGimsie has operated his full-service renovation company, Made by McG, for more than 15 years, and Normandin is principal designer of Living by Cami, a boutique interior design firm she founded in 2019.

Though they often have different visions, they find their common ground in their love of older homes, antiques and vintage pieces. For the competition, the couple really leaned into Normandin’s whimsical English country cottage theme, inspired by the area’s United Empire Loyalist heritage.

“Obviously these are new builds, but I wanted to get inspired by that English style and really make it cottagey and homey,” she said.

In week four, the couple secured their first challenge victory when their quaint kitchen blew the judges away with its robin’s egg cabinetry and hanging copper pots. Moving on to the outdoor space, their goal was to evoke a traditional English garden vibe by mixing luscious faux and real plants, including hydrangeas, lavender and roses that bloom all summer. They also planted rows of boxwood to frame the patio and fire circle, creating the symmetry reminiscent of formal English gardens.

To achieve the look of elegant elevated pedestal urns, they simply piled patio stones into columns and placed England-inspired pots on top. Mirroring a country cottage driveway, they used crushed landscape stone for the pathways and capped off the overall look with a small wrought iron patio set, cozy canopied swing, bird bath and croquet set.

“It was some of the hardest and longest days we’ve ever worked, but the flip side of that is it’s also some of the most rewarding work we’ve ever done,” said McGimsie. “It was really satisfying to create these magical spaces week and after week and really see the design come together so quickly.”

For new mom Normandin, the experience was particularly fulfilling because seven-month-old Leo was along. One minute she’d be hammering or painting and the next she’d be feeding a baby.

“As a woman, you lose on so many opportunities for career or work purposes because you have kids, so it was amazing that they supported us and encouraged us to do it as a family,” she said, adding that both sets of grandparents pitched in to help with caregiving. “We really pushed ourselves and went for it.”

Ed. Note: Although Renovation Resort completed its run on Home Network Sunday, May 18, all episodes are now avaiable for viewing on Stack TV. An interview with contest winners will appear in a future issue of Toronto Sun Homes.