A French-Colonial Home in Quebec Is Restored and Expanded

Built in 1811, Maison Aubé has been given new life with a thoughtful redesign by Montreal-based architects YH2.

Writer Evan Pavka

Since its construction, the modest fieldstone residence dubbed Maison Aubé has witnessed the storied lives of countless occupants. Built in 1811 on the north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, the two-storey French-colonial structure eventually fell into the hands of painter Geneviève Jost, who commissioned the first of many additions to the complex. When its current owners took possession, they knew the piecemeal renovations required a substantial re-envisioning.

After generations of residents and countless refurbishments, the property had become largely disconnected from its rich history. To remedy this, the family tapped the award-winning local practice YH2 to reconfigure the disjointed scheme, not only to celebrate the site’s architectural heritage but also to create a more unified living environment that marries past and present.

To begin, the Montreal-based architects stripped back a number of modifications to the existing structure while restoring key features that had since been obscured—including its cedar roof and windows. Once complete, the architectural character of Maison Aubé took centre stage. Discreet insertions—including a kitchen clad in light wood and a housing a sprawling living room, playroom, office, and library—contrast with the exposed timber framing and roughly hewn stone walls while highlighting the monumental hearth that grounds the double-height volume.

A long glazed corridor now links the historic residence to a new single-storey structure comprising a bedroom, washroom, gym, office, and principal bedroom with ensuite, all separated by transparent vestibules. This transitional feature helps organize the public and private areas within the home while also creating two distinct atmospheres between the more luminous interiors of Maison Aubé and the contemplative quality of the contemporary addition with its dark wood details. Within, spaces expand and contract, gentling sloping along the natural topography of the site.

Ensuring a deeper conceptual and formal link to the surroundings, exposed joists stained in an ebony finish recall the framing of the 19th-century structure, while the river-pebble roof nods to the vernacular materials used in the original construction. Furthermore, carefully choreographed vistas connect the muted interiors to the adjacent pool, nearby riverbank, and lush forest beyond, allowing dappled light to trickle in throughout the day. According to the architects, the result is a subtle but incisive 3,860-square-foot multigenerational abode reclaiming its role as “a repository of memory” and better suited for another two centuries of being “constantly written, reinvented, and passed on.”