Since 1987, the two have been designing and renovating Muskoka cottages and boathouses, including a renovation project on Goforth’s family cottage that was their home for a number of years in Bala. Goforth also designed their dream home in Gravenhurst, named “Temnair na ri” which is Gaelic for “Hill of the Kings.”

Perched atop a high, granite hill that has a jaw-dropping view of Lake Muskoka and surrounded by forest, ponds, and too many juniper bushes to count, the house that Goforth and Dick built is unlike most of what they built for their clients for the past three decades. Thoroughly contemporary and modern and totally distinctive from the classic Muskoka architectural style, the house is an exercise in open living and seamlessly intertwining indoors and outdoors.

Dan Goforth has a degree of fine arts plus a ten year career in the psychiatric field. Muskoka has been a part of his life from childhood, and home for the last 32 years. During those 32 years, building has been his passion. He has learned from many of the great local craftsmen and uses his skills under the respected Design & Renovation banner today. His abilities as a carpenter, project manager, and planner have earned him the continued respect of his clients.

Kevin Dick, has kept Dan in financial order and is the other half of the design duo. Kevin, the bean counter, uses his experiences from organizing medical wards in a bustling urban hospital, to control finances on projects and keep job sites operating smoothly. His 32 years in Muskoka have earned him the reputation of having the cleanest job sites in the territory. Together, Dan and Kevin have earned the respect of all who have worked with them.

Adapted from editorial by Scott Turnbull, Muskoka Magazine, July 2014. Photography by Scott Turnbull.