The Modern Canadian

Once a typical, inward-looking, dark wooden chalet, this building has been completely transformed into a bright, bold, modern lake house.

Log walls gave way to straight lines, a two-storey glass façade and an interior bathed in natural light. The rustic heart of the house – the brick fireplace – has been preserved, but all around, spaces have been opened up, aired and purified. The old varnished floorboards have disappeared beneath polished concrete on the first floor and light oak upstairs. The spiral staircase and suspended fireplace breathe new life into the main room.

The ceilings have been bleached, the beams left raw, and the kitchen redesigned in dark, rich tones. The bathrooms, once old-fashioned and partitioned, have become sober, mineral refuges, where every material is brought to the fore.

The chalet has retained its soul, while becoming something resolutely contemporary. A place in tune with the lake, the light and the times.