This Quebec Country Home Filters Vernacular Forms Through a Contemporary Lens

Montreal-based EM Architecture combines gabled forms with rustic wood for a vacation retreat.

Writer Lauren Gallow

Seeking a counterpoint to their city abode, one family looked to Potton in Quebec’s Eastern Townships to build their ideal country home. “Their brief was specific,” architect Emilie Bédard says of the client’s directive. “They wanted a tranquil retreat that integrated seamlessly with the landscape.” She and interior designer Maria Rosa Di Ioia, the duo who make up Montreal firm EM Architecture, set about crafting a contextual vacation home for the family.

To determine the form of the new home, the team looked to what was around them. “We were heavily inspired by the local vernacular, specifically the silhouettes of traditional rural barns,” Bédard says. Taking the gabled form as inspiration, she sketched a house comprising two buildings connected by an exterior covered path. Raw-wood exterior cladding and a metal roof also nod to the local vernacular, with sharp, crisp lines lending a modern feel to the rustic materials.

The site also dictated the form of the house, with the structures flowing gently down the sloping topography and facing a small stream. “The house’s siting was carefully planned to preserve exceptional mature trees,” Bédard explains.

Inside, the gabled roof form also creates generous interiors, beginning with the double-height entry space. “Despite this volume, the layout around a central core keeps the spaces feeling intimate and connected,” says Ioia says. Clad in vertical shiplap, this central core contains utility spaces including a powder room, staircase, and pantry, and helps structure circulation. It also has plenty of large windows affording views of the forested landscape.

Throughout, Di Ioia worked with the homeowners to furnish the home in a way that would support the relaxed lifestyle they were craving for their country home. “The architecture provides an understated backdrop for their passion for midcentury modern furniture,” Di Ioia says of the homeowners.

Ultimately, the house finds a sense of timelessness as it pulls from both past and present. “By blending the rural barn vernacular with contemporary lines, we achieved an enduring form,” Bédard says. “The thoughtful organization and custom view-framing reflect our commitment to the notion of ‘inhabited simplicity,’” Di Ioia adds. “It’s design that is practical, welcoming, and deeply expressive of both the site and the clients’ lifestyle.”