Quebec: The story of this 100-year-old sheds restoration is fascinating – Architectural Digest India

Take a tour with us as we discover how this property was saved from despair

Louis Beliveau, the designer of Montreal based La Firme Studio created magic by turning an abandoned shed into a warm and versatile family space, lovingly called The Barn. This residential project in Quebec has saved a 100-year-old building from loss while preserving its vernacular quality.

The Barn is a 4,500-square-feet home, which includes a utility and mechanical room, mudroom and a garage in its basement. The property also embraces a patio, an outdoor swimming pool, and a garden.

The property owners wanted to turn the old barn on the property of their chalet into a secondary country residence. Additionally, owing to their busy lives, they wanted a self-contained retreat, far removed from the noise of the city. The objective was to preserve the rustic character of the barn without compromising modern comfort. The redesigned space separations followed the existing wooden structure, says Beliveau.

Taking up this challenge, Beliveau teamed up with architect Michel Lemieux on the project, which involved stripping an old shed and moving it to a new location on a farmhouse property in Quebec.Beliveau adds, We avoided vertical elements to preserve the eye-line to the view. Since the foundations had to be reworked, every salvageable piece of the original hemlock construction was numbered and carefully stored.

There were plenty of open, semi-open and closed areas at the space, which provided different degrees of privacy. The 30-feet ceiling allowed the space to breathe and invite the natural surroundings inside. Additionally, the large windows rolled a spectacular view of the Sutton Mountains and agricultural landscape. The Barn is located on a hillside and has to be accessed by a footbridge, which leads into the main part of the home on the middle floor. Additionally, there is a basement and a first floor, completing the three-storey property. The entry is enclosed in glass, accessing a double-height dining room with a 35-feet glass wall. The living room has two grey couches, a light grey coffee table and a dark feature wall that accommodates a fireplace. The main floor houses a television room, a space with a pool table and a power room. A steel staircase with powder-coated white steps leads up to four bedrooms and three bathrooms that are arranged in a U-shape. This leaves an opening with views down to the dining table below.

La Firme concludes, Our approach balanced utility, the clients needs and desires, and uncompromising aesthetic standards. From the perspective of a rural house project, one of our concerns was achieving a harmonious balance between the building and its natural surroundings. Additionally, love and respect for materials are in our DNA and we feel them out for their inherent beauty and identify what relates them to the environment. In the case of The Barn, natural materials and textures make for an organic feel that helps integrate the building into the surrounding environment, even from the interior.

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Quebec: The story of this 100-year-old sheds restoration is fascinating - Architectural Digest India