The Cannon Home
25 Madwayosh, Southampton
Jill and her husband Geoff, originally from Toronto, were long-time residents (nearly 40 years) in London, England. Once retired they longed to build a summer cottage and spend time in Ontario. Jill’s family history in Southampton dates back to the 1930s. Her maternal grandfather Horace Fitton co-owned the Fitton-Parker Furniture factory, now known as The Southampton Market. Her mother Joan Devlin (nee Fitton) was raised on the corner of Huron and High Street in what is now Chantry Breezes. The Devlin family holidayed every summer with the Fittons whiling away idyllic days swimming, beaching, biking, playing tennis and catching many a beautiful sunset – so Southampton became the destination.
Finding an appropriate lot in town, near the beach, in 2019 proved challenging at the time, but Doug Johnson of Johnson Realty persuaded them to venture across the river to look at a new build. The handsome coastal inspired, craftsman-like beach house built by Webertech Construction in 2018 along with its many thoughtful design features wowed them both, but its size meant it was less cottage and more of a home leaving Jill initially intimidated by the commitment. The view, however, from the porch and upper deck looking out over the mouth of the Saugeen River and beyond to Lake Huron and Chantry Island was so special and unique – Geoff announced “this was it”. They were also very fortunate to secure the adjacent lot fulfilling Jill’s lifetime dream to create an English-style country garden.
Decorating and renovating a property from abroad and during a pandemic proved pretty challenging but they’ve had immense joy reconnecting with their roots and gradually telling the story of their lives and honouring the history and essence of Saugeen Shores through their choices of furniture and art. They’ve chosen a mix of contemporary and Canadian antique furniture as well as a number of paintings by local artists, including one of their favourites, Paul Mondoux, from the Southampton Art Gallery.
Thanks to the expertise of Shawn Corrigan and Sons, they’ve made the home their own, enclosing the back porch creating an all-season room with an open fire. They’ve installed French doors and floor to ceiling windows leading to the deck and garden and flooding light into the space. The couple have added a deck, pergola, pool and pool house/bunkie at the side of the house creating a much-loved entertaining area for family and friends. In addition to the Corrigans, they are grateful to Shrubbies Landscape & Design, Rebecca Andrews (formerly of The Beach House) Rintoul Pools and Russell Fencing. They’ve still got projects in the pipeline including a café bar in the upstairs family room and renovating the laundry room but they are increasingly at home in Southampton and they welcome you and thank you all for touring their home this Christmas in support of the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Pryde Aquatic & Wellness Centre.
Decorator: Cham-bettes Team
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The Christmas Tour of Homes will be held on Friday, November 14th from 6:00pm – 9:30pm and Saturday, November 15th from 11:00am – 3:00pm. Tickets are only $30 and can be purchased at Mensch in Port Elgin or Lac and L & Co. in Southampton. A limited number of tickets will be available for each day so purchase early to avoid disappointment.
There will be no tickets available for purchase at the homes.
The proceeds of the tour will be shared between the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Pryde Aquatic & Wellness Centre.
