For a creative couple who have spent the last decade designing residences throughout Southern Quebec, designing their own forever home was an opportunity to highlight their core principles. Rebecca Bourque, founding designer of Le local Design and Frederic Arsenault, founder of La Roche Posée Paysagiste, ultimately designed, in the heart of nature and in line with their eco-conscious philosophy, a residence that blends the new and the reclaimed, the work of experts and the handmade. The house allows them to live a simple and comfortable daily life, inspiring in all seasons.
Composed of three sections, including a large cathedral living space and a two-story cottage block, the house is clad in a combination of cedar shingles and shou sugi ban, a charred wood using an ancient Japanese technique that gives the material a unique tint and texture while increasing its resistance to fire, insects, fungi, and mold.
On the ground floor, most of the concrete flooring has simply been polished. Its raw, simple, and natural appearance contrasts with the prominent presence of light wood throughout the house. In the vestibule, a mosaic of patterned ceramics in shades of gray has been embedded into the concrete, resembling a sort of ornamental entry rug. Glass and black steel partitions designed by a local artisan delineate the area.
The house also benefits from abundant fenestration, flooding the interior spaces with light that changes throughout the day. Wishing to frame views of the surrounding forest, prairie, and mountains, the designers carefully considered the placement of each opening.
Set in the volume with the cathedral ceiling, the main living room faces southwest and extends into the forest, allowing for daily observation of wildlife and flora.
“At certain times of the year, the water from the adjacent pool reflects the light of the setting sun, creating a dance of orange hues on the wooden ceiling,” notes Bourque. “It’s soft and magical.”
Some fundamental eco-responsible principles from the professional practices of the two entrepreneur-owners were concretely applied in the development and construction of their residence, such as recovery, reuse, reinvention, and upcycling. Many pieces of furniture and lighting were reclaimed or handmade from recycled materials. In the kitchen, for instance, countertops made from old bowling alley lanes are paired with reclaimed cabinets and wall coverings. Around the house, the land was also landscaped using materials recovered from other sites. Preserving the spirit of the forest, it enhances the house while intimately integrating it into its environment.
“Each element that we recover, reinvent, or reuse for new purposes tells a story and gives a soul to the house. For us, the gathering of these finds is a kind of artistic creation that has been ongoing for several years,” concludes Bourque.
Photography by James Brittain.
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