On Christmas Eve, Dr. Robert Mason and his wife Denise plan to relax in front of their fireplace, chat with his parents and anticipate the excitement of their son and daughter when morning comes and the youngsters can explore the treats under the colourful designer tree.

The fireplace in the contemporary living room sets the mood, highlighting the custom millwork and the reconstructed coffered ceiling. A hand-knotted area rug was designed just for the spacious room, where the family will gather for the holidays.

Meanwhile, the heat from the fire complements the warm browns and blues in the abstract design of the custom hand-knotted carpet underfoot. Inspired by nature, this rich colour palette was chosen to wash the developing interior in a comforting glow.

The easy elegance of the scene belies the years of careful planning and hard work invested to transform this lakeside property into a perfect year-round setting for the young family.

"I pictured how it could end up and started to work on it a little bit at a time," Rob recalls. "I wanted to put my own work and design into it and make it a place of my own."

Initially, the house was custom-built for a much different family.

In 1961, a South African couple commissioned Salter and Allison Architects to design their new Canadian home. Pleased with the results, they named it Inanda (Zulu for "a beautiful place"). The two-storey house, deeply set from the shoreline, was finished with fieldstone and wood siding. About 30 years later, a large main-floor addition expanded the home's footprint to include a large bedroom with a wheelchair-accessible en suite bathroom.

Rob had the opportunity to view Inanda in 1999, but, despite its name, he wasn't impressed by what he saw.

At that time, the well-worn house and two-acre property were diamonds in the rough, but the radiologist almost missed the signs. Scrub brush veiled the 200-foot shoreline, hiding the glory of Kempenfelt Bay meeting Lake Simcoe. Inside, small windows, blanketed by heavy drapery, left the dated interior gloomy.

The boathouse can be enjoyed all year long and offers a stunning view of the water and the ever-changing landscape. There are two fully automated bays below.

After viewing other properties and watching a friend's renovation, "I returned, realized the potential and put in an offer," Rob recalls.

He moved in and immediately set about fulfilling that untapped potential. "When I moved in, the first thing I did was take all the curtains off."

Next up was clearing the wayward bushes to maximize the view of the bay.

Rob decided to incorporate a granite staircase and beach rocks to mimic the natural stone of the house. A large existing retaining wall was incorporated into the two-deck, three-tiered design as Bev Jones Construction worked to create a natural-looking landscape, placing shrubs and lawns amid the rockery.

Landscapers Jim Draper and later, Ron Bowler of Natural Elements, were instrumental in the final look of the yards.

To complete the waterfront phase of the renovation, a two-storey boathouse was completed in 2003. Built by Richard Low Construction with a façade mirroring that of the main abode, the second-floor living space takes advantage of its setting with large windows. A handcrafted granite fireplace by Greg Coughlin grounds the nautically-themed room, while a telescope promises the secrets of the stars.

The kitchen was completely overhauled. New shaker-style cherry cabinets, dark stone counters and a mosaic backsplash make the room sparkle. Rob installed the cork floor himself.

Below, two fully automated bays equipped with marine railways make boating fun only a push-button away for this active family.

With the waterfront complete, Rob and his soon-to-be wife Denise turned their attention to the main house.

Enlisting Designers Plus to help overhaul the kitchen, new shaker-style cherry cabinetry was left unstained to darken naturally, and a partition wall was reduced to a stone-topped counter. Rob installed the cork floor himself.

The existing breezeway from the kitchen to garage was closed in and the resulting sunroom was finished with a poured patterned-concrete floor. Ironwork sculptures and original artwork by Rob's creative mother adorn the counters and walls.

With the dining room now connected visually to the kitchen and to the backyard, courtesy of large new windows, it became a welcoming space to linger in. An oversized, square cherry table was constructed by local woodworker, Roman Mann, to accommodate the extended family that visits for holiday pot-luck dinner parties.

The custom dining room table is set for a Christmas feast.

Mann also re-constructed the coffered ceiling in the living room, built the king-size bed in the master suite and created several other pieces in the home.

During the decoration stage, colour consultant Thomas Ranton of Labar Sales and Distribution worked within the existing colour palette to update the new kitchen-dining room combination and adjoining two-storey front foyer.

"I pulled the colours out of the existing artwork and carpets to do justice to the beautiful woodwork," explains Ranton of the deep golden tones he selected. "The colour that had been there was almost a dead match to the wood trim and floors, and I wanted to make them stand out."

As a result, the textured artwork favoured by the Masons virtually pops off the walls. "I never noticed some of the colours in there before Thomas lightened the paint," Rob commented, looking at the Asian-inspired geometric piece in the dining room.

As an authorized dealer representative for Para Paints, Hunter Douglas, Lavolor and Maxxmar Window Fashions, Ranton was also able to stylishly protect the family's privacy by installing motorized wooden blinds on the second-floor foyer windows. A remote control solved the problem of adjusting the window coverings, despite their lofty location near the top of the 20-foot cathedral ceiling.

The family room is hip and fun.

The staircase eventually received the same care as the walls around it, when Dirks Railings replaced the outdated balustrade with cherry posts and wrought-iron spindles that fit in better with the evolving look of the house.

Ranton chose a darker version of the rich wall colour for that soaring ceiling to finish the space and highlight the substantial new chandelier.

In 2004, the home's three original bathrooms were overhauled by Designers Plus. The master bath was updated with a contemporary glass shower stall, deep tub and raised basin, all tied together with marble and tile work. The children's bath got a face-lift but retained the blue fixtures, leaving a retro look. The main-floor powder room was outfitted with a vessel sink and shaker-style cabinets to stay consistent with the rest of the house.

This phase of the ongoing property reformation, which culminated in the upstairs bedrooms being painted and carpeted, were completed one stress-filled week before the couple hosted friends and family for their 2004 wedding.

Through the years, interior decorator Terri Clark, who runs her own firm, has proven invaluable.

The Masons selected shaker-style furnishings for their master bedroom, which has a beautiful view of the backyard and the bay.

"Initially, there was nothing in there," she recalls. "When I came, we went down to the city to shop. It's really an arts and crafts-style home with some contemporary – it has a lot of the old with the new."

She was responsible for commissioning the unique living room carpet from Nepal that took five months to reach its resting place. The "stunning" results, she says, were well worth the wait.

Clark was actually responsible for a lot of the "new" in the house – from the oversized, chenille-covered chaise and other key pieces of custom-made furniture and drapery, to the high-end silk plants, artwork, cushions and bedding.

While she generally works in close collaboration with Rob and Denise, sometimes she simply picks up accessories on her travels, taking care not to choose anything "fussy" – a no-no in the Mason manor.

"She'll see something and think ‘this would be perfect for the Masons,'" says Rob, who appreciates her keen eye. "She knows our style pretty well."

A more recent renovation, which turned the main-floor addition into a multi-media family play area with the help of Entertaining Interiors, still didn't complete the overall plan. A new detached garage is under construction and they intend to renew the old one – but all in good time.

A sitting area by the large windows in the master bedroom.

And then there's the home office that has yet to be touched.

"He'll get to it whenever he's in the mood to tackle it," predicts Clark. "He's not an all-at-once guy."

In the meantime, as the holidays approach, the Masons prepare for relaxing festivities and the chance to establish family traditions with Taylor, 2, and Rachel, 9 months.

Eventually, that will include schlepping through the snow with their bundled-up youngsters in search of another perfect Christmas tree to complement their perfect home.