I would love to see the wall in more a weathered driftwood color.

Hang some old ors

There are so many wonderful nautical pieces you could hang here
Or even a mural. .

I think I would mount an old canoe on that wall;)

How about five paddles or oars under the window panes. They could be personalized to represent a family member or cherished pet, different colors plus hanging a good ole American flag.

HI -- How about a double long day bed style lounge with lots of out door pillows and some colorful small tables in front to set drinks on . Then have a big long low painting running above the lounge seating and add some galvanized lighting lanterns above the painting . Paint the door a bright color . Or do a drift wood mural .

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Had to laugh when I read the day bed suggestion. You can't see it in the picture, but there is large area behind where I took the picture and I'm going to install a day bed where the dock meets the shore. It will face south and get the sun all day.

I showed the comments to some friends and everyone agreed on the nautical theme and had suggestions where to get antiques. Still thinking about that one. Surprised no one voted to replace the planters.

Finally, I couldn't agree more about changing the wall colour to match the deck better. The original deck was stained the same colour as the boathouse. When the new cedar deck was put in, I didn't think it through when the builder offered to stain the boathouse with the same mahogany stain. It looked fine until the cedar weathered and took on its silver finish.

Hang life preservers

Northof49- speaking of those planters, why not cap them off and turn them into benches for more seating?

The wood frame that makes up the planters are rotted from the inside (water from the dirt seeped down), so they have to go.

The cottage has a 1980's Swedish vibe, so I was trying to think of ways to pull the design forward 20 or 30 years. This is what happens when you have an engineer trying to make design decisions.

HI -- For planters you could have galvanized animal water troughs but in a different location.

Why not have a beautiful mural painted with mountains and flowers that grow in Sweden. I would nix the planters and add a round glass table and comfy chairs. As to the door and remaining parts of the BH a pretty blue or light gray. On the door I would hang a sign written in Swedish saying "Come sail with me" or whatever has meaning for you. What ever you design know you are blessed with a beautiful location.

What about a long bench with planters on either side (or even two benches with a planter on either side and in the middle) and hang either ores, life preservers,an old canoe or even a kayak on the wall :)

red or blue barn style fixtures would be awesome. warehouse pan style. wondering if painting the window and trim an alternate color might make it pop, give it more dimension. as well as some planter boxes to add some green to the space. maybe a vintage ship wheel or anchor as art on the open wall section. turn the large planters into a long bench with cushion, and put smaller planters left and right of it under the lights.

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I think if you filled the pots with a combination of small evergreen trees and flowers, that would do the trick!

That wall needs a wet bar in front of it.

Red is a great accent color for doors and windows whether you go driftwood or keep the dark wood. As for oars, you don't have to buy them - you can have them made out of 2 x 12 (have your carpenter jigsaw the pattern of an oar handle and shape the corners with a dremel - have them make an odd number and then paint them with stripes and select semaphore colors and graphics to transfer to the oars -use exterior latex paint and hang them one handle up, one paddle up, alternating across the front under the windows. This will be the least expensive and the most attractive graphic solution. If you use red for doors and window trim, make sure at least 1/5 of the oars use the same red tone if only in a skinny stripe - adding white, bright yellow, a dash of royal blue and flag green, plus a little orange (think of them painted like surfboards instead of solid colors) will do it. Great space - thanks for inviting us over!

How bout paint that door bouy orange and find two huge oars to mooing on the wall that could have some orange and navy and white in them? Go bigger with the new fixtures and keep it craftsman nautical. Are those planters or benches? I'd put some pottery out there with some plants for texture

VERY cool boathouse! I kind of like the simplicity of it. Not sure I would mount old items bc it has fantastic architectural design. What if you as some large lanterns. Potentially hang them from the eaves. Let me look at it some more and think.....hold pls ;)

What about a large sunburst or clock in the middle of the wall. I love those windows so I would not want to detract from them.

I'm with Margo = hang a canoe! That's what's missing...the canoe! Or you can go with some old snow shoes. A bit wintery...but it would give another option other than nautical.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback, there are some great ideas here. I really wasn't expecting this much of a response.

The original owners were from Sweden, which has a surprisingly similar geography to northern Ontario, where we are. I have no real connection to Sweden, but I do like their clean design sensibility.

I was thinking of painting the trim around the windows and door a different colour, but the more I look at it, the more I'm thinking it looks better left the same colour.

I like the suggested idea of putting a combination bench with smaller planters on either side. I was also thinking of replacing the wood sides of the planters with a stone veneer. A horizontally cut rock with a mix of greys and browns could help tie in the deck better, although I worry that stone on a wooden deck wood look too visually heavy.

I like the idea of the benches too. Maybe you can add some large oversized tall round pots to the edge of the deck to add a barrier. It's easy to accidentally step off the edge of those

Well I just wrote an entire essay and only 1/4 of it posted. What color is your boat?

Depending on how rustic you want to go you could hang a net with some of those Japanese

glass balls in it.

How about a Lake sign?

I would add some taller up-right vine type trees or shrubs. It will give it a lot of character. Low voltage lighting will work great too.

I'd do a planter with a trellis in the middle, and then some adirondacks. In teal, perhaps? Grow something glorious and viney, like a couple of black-eyed susan vines, in the planter and let that be your big pop of color.

And yes, I'd also repaint the trim on the boathouse, and replace the lights.

I live in Muskoka and would love to see a grouping of Muskoka chairs.

Actually our place is in Muskoka and we do have a number of Muskoka and Adirondack chairs. I keep them inside the boathouse when they are not in use to protect them against the elements. It gets really windy, so the idea of a fixed bench makes more practical sense.

Emmy's idea of putting some coloured chairs is neat. I'm not a fan of plastic chairs, but they come in different colours and good quality ones are heavy and stand up to the weather.

To answer kmlynch76 question, out boat is a blue and white, but it spends most of its life in the boathouse when not in use.

My sister has a row of these plastic recycled Muskoka chairs along her shoreline on a windy bay in Lake Muskoka. They stay out year round and never move. They are close to ten years old and look like new. Like you, I prefer wood but these are a great alternative.

We have a lake house with several of those chairs as well. We chose teal blue. Most of the houses on our lake choose one bright color to accent the outside of the house. Typically shown in the umbrellas, pillows and/or lounge chairs/patio furniture. Is your home in close proximity to the lake? I think some large, round, oversized pots would look good along the edge of the dock as well as either side of the bench. Add accessories to the dock and keep the boathouse clean and simple.

The cottage is very near the water but up high and behind some trees, so its not really visible.

When we bought the place there was whiskey barrel planters on the dock. They have since rotted away, but maybe its time to replace them with something a bit more refined.