April Brown and Sarah Sklash had never intended to co-own a motel , nor did they dream of becoming designers. In fact, they didn’t even know where Sauble Beach, Ontario, was. “When we found this rundown motel , we didn’t have the budget to hire a big team, so we had no choice but to roll up our sleeves and learn,” Sarah says.
Sarah (left) and April.
As best friends with a nearly 20-year history, April and Sarah have the type of relationship where mutual support could potentially mean creating a life that was never anticipated. They met in college and lived in Toronto for years before they made plans to purchase a dilapidated motel together, because honestly, that’s the sort of pipe dream that’s said but never done. “I was working in public relations and Sarah was working for the government,” April remembers. And yet, April redesigned her condo, and Sarah had done the same for a cottage. By 2016, both confessed that their careers were not what they’d hoped. There had to be a way to be happy, and they were willing to take a few risks as long as they had each other.
BEFORE: The original property had 24-rooms, a pool, a restaurant, and a blank-slate space that Sarah and April turned into a shop.
“When we had the idea to buy our first motel in Prince Edward County, we saw it as a platform for our passions of wine, wellness, and curated travel,” April says. “We did most of the renovations ourselves, with the help of friends and family. They’d come to visit us on weekends, and we’d be like, ‘Great that you’re here, how about we wallpaper 10 rooms today?’”
The original June Motel was such a success upon opening—thanks, in part, to an Instagram-ready design awash in tropical prints—that the pair quickly looked for a larger property to accompany it. That’s how they ended up at Ontario’s Sauble Beach, set on a quiet edge of Lake Huron, working as the unlikely owners of a 24-room motel. “We were really into the authentically ’70s wood panelling that was pretty much everywhere. We also just loved its scale,” April says. “Our first motel had 16 rooms, but here, there was a lobby, shop, pool, restaurant, and two types of guest spaces. It was an ideal starting point to create a resort-like experience.”
AFTER: “For anyone looking to get the June look, we created an online shop where you can shop your room and products by female founders that we know and love,” April says.