House on the River — Crafted Interiors for Seasonal Living
House on the River sits along the shoreline of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Canada, as a 4,500-square-foot house by Atelier Échelle for clients rooted in the land. The project gathers a cluster of pitched volumes around a generous winter garden, drawing on vernacular forms and rich interior materials to frame river life through every season. Inside, crafted finishes and tailored rooms give a contemporary yet quietly nostalgic reading of a family home.
Snow lies low along the riverbank as dark, charred gables step toward the water, their profiles reading against the pale winter light. Inside, warm oak underfoot and long river views pull movement through the house in a single, continuous gesture that feels both grounded and open.
This 4,500-square-foot house in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli is conceived by Atelier Échelle as a riverside residence for a couple whose family has held the land for generations. A 1,060-square-foot winter garden, anchored to the footprint of a 1970s prefab bungalow, extends that history into a new chapter rooted in gardening, shared meals, and the changing seasons. The project assembles five interlocking pitched volumes and layers of crafted interior finishes, with every room oriented to the river and to specific daily rituals.
Winter Garden Legacy
The former bungalow footprint becomes a dedicated winter garden, read as both homage and working room for lifelong gardeners. Encaustic tiles lay down bold, high-contrast patterns underfoot, their geometry echoing the pitched rooflines while holding warmth against the cold months. Victorian antiques introduce another layer of time, their carved wood and worn finishes playing against the crisp tile and glass. This room turns memory into setting, giving plants, tools, and gathering tables a place that feels richly personal.
Charred Exterior Shell
Outside, Shou Sugi Ban cladding wraps the five gabled forms, lending a deep, inky surface that cuts sharply against snow and then softens into summer foliage. The clustered volumes read almost like a small riverside hamlet, each pitch corresponding to a vaulted interior yet held together by the continuous charred skin. This material choice underscores durability and texture while keeping the visual field calm, so light and landscape remain the main actors. Blackened boards frame generous openings, turning every threshold into a calibrated view toward water and sky.
River-Facing Daily Life
At the heart of the composition, a main living volume is pinned by a 50-foot window stretching along the river, joining kitchen, dining, and lounge in one sweep. White oak floors, laid in 18-inch-wide planks, give this room a broad, almost plank-like grain that quiets sound and anchors furniture groupings. Taj Mahal quartzite countertops bring veining and subtle color shifts to the kitchen, where integrated lighting glows along edges instead of calling attention to fixtures. An oversized pantry, linked directly to a translucent-roofed carport, lets prep and storage recede from view while the open kitchen stays social and generous.
Outdoor Rooms and Guests
Beyond the central living volume, an outdoor kitchen and pool terrace extend daily life toward the river in warmer months. An Argentinian-style grill, motorized mosquito screens, and heat lamps create a flexible frame for long evenings outside, stretching the short northern summer. A separate guest wing holds three bedrooms, with one en suite finished in indigo Japanese tile and a white oak vanity, and two rooms sharing a bath split into distinct shower and toilet zones. Each guest room centers on a deep window seat in oak millwork, turning the river view into a private, quiet perch.
Quiet Private Rooms
A writing nook marks the transition into the primary suite, signaling a more intimate register within the house. Oak-lined walls and closets compress the hallway before it opens to a compact bedroom organized around a single, framed view of water. The adjoining bathroom relaxes that sense of compression, with generous daylight falling over Bianco Dolomite tile, Calacatta marble surfaces, a freestanding tub, and tumbled mosaic flooring underfoot. A dedicated makeup vanity and enclosed WC round out the suite, giving the owners a calm, highly tuned retreat linked back to the river by light and line of sight.
From winter garden tiles to rare blue stone in the nearby powder room, the interior palette is precise yet layered, always returning attention to texture, use, and view. Across seasons, charred timber outside and finely worked surfaces within hold a clear relationship to family memory and to the river that anchors the site.
Photography by Maxime Brouillet
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