When you’re creating the cottage of your dreams, it can be tricky to find the right mix of charm and convenience.

But here at Albertsons Home Center, we’re always ready to lend our expertise ...

• Usage: Families use their cottages for radically different lengths of time, depending on their schedules, prior commitments, and its distance from their home. Is your cottage a place where you’ll be spending every weekend from spring through to early fall — or just a handful of weekends? Is it a place where you’ll stay all summer long — or will you only be staying a week or two at a time?

• Size: You know how cottages are always described as “cozy”? Well, in real estate, “cozy” is code for “small.” A cottage for a wealthier family may actually be a large-scale summer home, but most cottages are intimate spaces — allowing families to spend their time together, rather than always separating into different rooms. That’s part of their charm!

• Conveniences: You may have four bathrooms in your house, but your cottage will probably have one — maybe two. Are you dreaming of an all-white space with a deep clawfoot tub for soaking? Or are you going to be fine with a bare-bones shower to wash off that beach sand? If your family is accustomed to having multiple bathrooms, it might be good idea to incorporate a powder room in addition to a full bath — waiting in line to brush your teeth can be rough when it’s not the norm!

• Appliances and hardware: Steer clear of stainless steel, chrome, and brushed nickel if you’re going for a true cottage feel. Think white, copper, brass, or oil-rubbed bronze.

• Decor: There are certain tricks that can make any space feel more cottage-y — rather than just, uh, like a very small house. Painted clapboard walls add charm and texture, and reclaimed wood floors and cabinets add warmth. Cottage-owners tend to favour light paint colours — whites, creams, pastels — to make them look cheerful and open.