This Adorable Cozy Cottage Near Ottawa is Peak Canadiana

This little sign by the front door was a welcome note for Elana’s partner, Jen, following a trip to Germany. Photos from a trip to Iceland are hung above.

Related: This Entire Toronto Apartment Was Furnished and Decorated for Less Than $2,500

Elana purchased pennants from the Drake General Store of different provinces she’s travelled to and hung them throughout the home.

Related: This Eco-Conscious Montreal Home Definitely Isn’t Afraid of Colour

This dish is a piece made by Nina Marchewka, a friend of Elana’s who works as an independent potter. “She makes lots of fantastic things,” Elana said.

Related: 15 Plants That’ll Help With Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Elana loves repurposing old materials into functional furniture. This coffee table was salvaged from old barn board she found lying around the property and added cast iron piping for legs. The window looks out onto a set of defunct train tracks now used as a cross-country skiing trail.

An old church pew that once belonged to Elana’s parents has been repurposed at the dining room table. Pieces by Canadian artist Alex Coleville, a painter from Toronto, are hung on the wall above.

Elana converted an old door into her dining room table and decided to keep the vintage handle, for a touch of whimsy. “It’s quite wobbly, but people love it. They accept it because it’s hilarious,” she said. “It just fits.”

Elana calls this space her wine and yoga room. Since it’s in the lower level of the home, it stays at a consistent eight degrees Celsius – ideal for chilling wine. The vintage chair was salvaged from the side of the road in Ottawa.

One of the home’s most striking features is all of its woodwork. A local artisan was responsible for this space, which is now used for storage.

In the master bedroom, Elana has placed an old 7 Up crate at the end of the bed to help her dog step up onto the mattress.

A hat wall in the bedroom displays some of Elana’s finest hats, which she finds stay in better shape if they’re hung rather than piled.

On Elana’s dresser she’s placed a horn she picked up at a junk yard in Arizona. A pink salt lamp sits atop a vintage scale. The white dresser is from IKEA.

Here’s a closer look at the salt lamp.

Elana spotted this whale during a trip to Victoria with Jen and after seeing it three times, knew she had to have it. “I think it’s so cute,” she said. A photograph of Ottawa’s Rideau Bakery, which her family started, is framed behind the dresser.

Elana loves travelling to upstate New York to check out their country sales and this snowshoe, hanging in the guest bedroom, seemed like the perfect accent for the wall.

Related: This Cheeky Montreal Home is Pretty Much the Opposite of Minimalism

This pennant and set of antlers, found in the main living space, just so happened to fit in with the home’s Canadiana theme.

Elana is the manager at Town, an Ottawa bistro, so naturally, she’s a big fan of cookbooks. She made the stained glass art herself – a project that took at least 15 hours. “I wanted something more colourful and less predictable,” she explained.

Board games are one of Elana’s many passions and this coffee table provides the ideal nook to settle in with friends for a few hours of Catan. Elana picked up the two stools from Simons, which she found charming. “They look like little Russian hats.” For a pop of colour, she painted the front door teal.

The wood-burning fireplace is undoubtedly the heart of the home.

The Gatineau River is a short walk from Elana’s front door and this functional canoe paddle – made by local artist Andrew Szeto – was actually made from skateboards. “I’ve always loved his style,” she said. A couple badminton rackets from the 1960s pull in the home’s antique motif, along with a wineskin she inherited from her grandfather.

This is Huey, Elana’s eight-year-old white Boxer. “He was a big reason I moved out here. He’s way happier out here.”

Elana runs the bar program at Town, so keeping a well-stocked bar goes with the territory. “I hardly drink. It’s here for times I do entertain.”

Here’s a look at the kitchen, where Elana has decorated the walls with a couple vintage signs, including a Heinz pickle one, also from upstate New York.

One of Elana’s big upcoming projects is to renovate the kitchen. Already, she’s added a light over the sink the brighten up the space and hung a pennant for a bit of colour.

What’s easier than keeping plants alive? Dried flowers.

This old oil lamp probably doesn’t work, but Elana keeps it outside for fun. “It’s another kitschy thing I think is cute.”

One of the best parts of living in Chelsea is the direct access to nature. Elana loves sitting outside with a coffee in these Muskoka chairs, which came with the property.

Elana has compiled an impressive log pile, which helps her keep her home heated throughout the winter.

One day, Elana plans to convert this storage space into a guest cabin and rent it out on Airbnb. “I have a lot of handy friends. After some help, we can turn it into a liveable space,” she said.