A Saskatchewan woman will be able to bring her dream Airbnb to life after winning a $100,000 prize.
Melissa Williamson, originally from Vanguard, Saskatchewan. and now lives in Saskatoon, joined the Airbnb OMG fund hoping his concept would be accepted as one of 100 winners to receive $100,000.
Williamson’s idea, a house shaped like a larger-than-life vintage television set perched on the shores of Lake Pelletier, was selected as one of two winners from Canada and the only winner from Saskatchewan.
“It’s basically the old style that has the TV antenna on top with the hills background, buttons on the side and then the big window in the front where people can actually live inside the TV and their view is the lake,” she said.
(Courtesy of Melissa Williamson)
She said she would create a series of coffee table books that would look like old-school TV guides that would include prompts and ideas for guests to stage their own productions.
“The idea is what you want to do. You want to do a magic show, you want to do a dance recital, you want to do a play or improv or stand-up comedy, you do it,” a she said. “Get creative, and you can do that inside a TV.”
Williamson said the concept is a bit like the Globe Theater in that you can do stuff inside, but the backdrop would be backlit with a view of the lake.
“Or at night you can do it to people around the campfire and everything is lit inside,” she said. “You can put on a show for people on the lake or at the campfire sitting in front of the TV.”
Williamson said the idea was sparked by memories of her childhood.
“Growing up, we always did skits around a campfire. My aunts would round us up and we would end up doing all these ridiculous skits,” she said. “We ended up laughing and crying next to the fire, and I kind of wanted to convey that same feeling to others.”
“This time I was hanging out at a friend’s cabin and the kitchen light was on and it had a big picture window and we were by the campfire doing things around the campfire. And we just started voicing the characters inside the cabin, and then we ended up doing improv shows for people around the fire.
(Courtesy of Melissa Williamson)
Lac Pelletier is a special place for Williamson, as his grandmother’s and grandfather’s families were among the first to live on the shores of the northwest corner.
“They had won a grain silo in a draw at the time and they moved it to Lac Pelletier and made a cabin out of it. And both families shared this cabin and then eventually my grandma and grandpa got married and had six kids and now we’re over a dozen of us who have little places in that area from the lake, so it’s really sentimental for us,” she said.
Williamson said that upon hearing she was one of the winners, she was thrilled.
“I’m excited, but I know it’s going to be a long way to go. I think kind of like an evergreen project, like it’s constantly changing,” she said. “My neurons are constantly firing and I’m writing ideas and it’s going to be like that for a while but I’m excited because I’m passionate about it.”
In addition to being a ready-made concept, another requirement was that the building be sustainable in some way.
“My TV house has more or less a flat roof. It’s a bit tilted, but I’m going to decorate it with solar panels. The plug-in on the back of the TV is going to be a hose, really that plugs into this pretty big plug-in, but it’s really going to be a drip irrigation system that’s going to water plants and flowers,” said she declared.
Williamson said that at Lac Pelletier they all already have septic tanks and low-flush toilets, so she thought that was a cool aspect of the contest.
The house will be completed in August and Williamson hopes to set up a website to document the trip of the building and give people a place to voice their opinions.
“The TV house is going to be a special place and I’m thrilled to make it happen,” she said. “It feels good to shine the spotlight on Saskatchewan because I think our province has a lot to offer tourists.”
She said she hopes the TV house will attract creatives from around the world and thinks it would be great to offer artist retreats and other programming there in the future, although anyone interested can stay there.
“Family and friends can go out just to be creative, to mess around, to take their pictures,” she said. “It’s going to be like an Instagrammers dream because there’s going to be these quirky little sets. There’s going to be pops of color everywhere. It’s going to be awesome like that.
Williamson has done some exciting projects in the past, having once turned an old trailer into a nautical-themed ice fishing shack she named the “sailor’s trailer” her cousin enjoys every winter at Lac Pelletier. She also transformed a 1970s mobile home into a surf-themed Mexican retreat with “Sayu Vibes” after the surf town of Nayarit, Mexico.
“I’m always interested in doing stuff like that. I had the idea to do something like this [TV house], but I never really had the funding to do it,” she said. “I can’t really say how long, but it’s always spinning in the back of my brain, like when I get the chance, I’ll do it.”
Williamson said she would get a lot of help with the project and was ready to see her Airbnb dream come true.
“It’s going to change the shoreline of Lac Pelletier forever and it’s going to make people smile and I’m so excited,” she said. “It’s going to be so awesome and I’m thrilled to showcase Lac Pelletier. I’m excited to showcase Saskatchewan. I mean, it’s amazing.
The proposed design and the floor plan of the house are presented. (Courtesy of Melissa Williamson)
Pelletier Lake is located approximately 50 kilometers south of Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
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