The Second Life of a St. Lawrence Chalet

In the ’60s, Marc-André and his family often travelled from their home in Montreal to the picturesque Bas-Saint-Laurent region some 560 kilometres away. The area, which sits on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, northeast of Quebec City, is known for its sprawling hiking trails, maritime culture and charming villages. Marc-André’s parents had friends who summered near the village of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, and the town became their home base most summers.

In 1972, after years of staying in motels and cabins in the area, the family purchased a 29-acre plot, and 12-year-old Marc-André and his brother helped their dad build a prefab chalet. That spring, he helped plant 3,000 pine trees on the property and, as a finishing touch, his mother and sister planted roses, peonies and raspberries around the house.

Throughout his childhood and adulthood, the chalet remained a cherished destination. Marc-André visited all year round—with his wife, Sophie Ouellette, when they married 36 years ago, then with their two daughters when the girls were young. After his father died in 2016, and his mom the year after, Marc-André had a decision to make: sell the home or give it new life. In 2018, the family drove up for what was supposed to be a final visit and were once again enchanted by the swaying trees, fresh air and famous Bas-Saint-Laurent sunsets. “It’s such a beautiful place,” says Sophie. “How could we give it away?”

Related: Little House in The Country

The old chalet was too small and crude to accommodate long stays and frequent visitors. So the pair knocked it down and designed a new one with the help of Marc-André’s nephew, Mathieu Lemieux-Blanchard, and his wife, Veronica, who run the Montreal-based architecture firm Atelier Échelle. “Mathieu and Veronica had us answer a questionnaire to assess our tastes. ‘Do you prefer sunset or sunrise? Water or forests? Hot chocolate or lemonade?’ ” says Sophie.

After two years of weekly calls, they landed on a final design in early 2021: a sprawling 4,000-square-foot home with a charcoal black exterior, treated with an old Japanese technique known as shou sugi ban, which involves charring the wood to seal and protect it. Five pitched roofs would create towering ceilings and mirror the architecture of the barns and rural buildings in the area. Marc-André and Sophie chose a longhouse shape to give each room stunning river and sunset views, and long passageways would divide the layout into three zones: the primary suite, the central great room and the guest quarters. Several yards from the home, they built a 950-square-foot winter garden (a detached sunroom atop the old chalet’s foundation) in tribute to the family’s British roots and Marc-André’s mother, who was an avid gardener.

In May of 2023, Marc-André and Sophie moved in. The couple now spend roughly one-third of the year in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. When guests visit, the great room becomes a buzzing hub of conversation, puzzles and games. Dinners stretch on for hours as guests look out over the sparkling St. Lawrence. 

For Marc-André, a talented home cook, the chef’s kitchen and outdoor cooking area are the main event. Using his built-in Argentinian barbecue, he fires up steaks, chicken and vegetables on the terrace. Sophie spends a lot of her time in the winter garden, which she calls her she-shed. “It’s my little place. I do my crafts in there—painting, felting, mosaics,” she says. She’s decorated the space using antique furniture passed down by Marc-André’s mother, along with heirlooms from her own grandmother. Next to the sunroom is Sophie’s outdoor vegetable and herb garden. This summer, she plans to MacGyver an automated watering system to increase the garden’s output.

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Thanks to the rebuild, Marc-André and Sophie have comfortably hosted a steady stream of family and friends, including their two daughters and Mathieu’s family, while also stealing away for many a quiet weekend, just the two of them. “There’s nothing we would have done differently,” says Sophie. “It’s our dream house.”

This story appears in the April 2026 issue of Maclean’s. You can subscribe to the magazine here or send a gift subscription here.