Drake Devonshire Inn / +tongtong

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Text description provided by the architects. In the small historic town of Wellington, in Prince Edward County, Drake hotelier and visionary Jeff Stober enlisted design firm +tongtong under the direction of John Tong to reinvent a tired bed and breakfast and original c. 1880 foundry into an 11-room and two-suite contemporary inn. Perched over a meandering creek and a private waterfront, with sweeping views of Lake Ontario, the inn is the rural counterpart to its hip, urban sister, Toronto’s Drake Hotel, also designed by Tong and his former firm, 3rd Uncle. The Drake’s approach was to draw inspiration from the cultural background and vernacular of the local community, while instilling a contemporary perspective. The Drake Devonshire takes aesthetic cues from a lexicon of references including; the British country inn, retreats in the Hamptons, summer camps, and Southern Ontario’s farmhouses and cottages, with their tapestry of historical layers and styles, practical ad- hoc renovations, readily available building materials, and mismatched furnishings.