CABIN MAGIC
Lakeside log house provides a haven of peace and tranquility
Childhood memories often play a big role in one’s adult life.
For Sylvie Gagnon-Sciortino, the summer vacations she spent at her grandparents’ place in Lac Supérieur in the Laurentians were just magical. It was a haven of peace, she recalls with emotion.
So it is not surprising she chose to build her small (27’ x 24’) log cabin in this enchanted location, especially since her family still owns the land and her parents are her nearest neighbour.
But it took another member of her family to finally persuade her to go ahead with the project.
“My son told me: ‘Mom it will be a great experience and I am sure you can do it,’ ” Gagnon-Sciortino says of her adult son François. And she’s proud to have overseen the build herself. “It was a terrific experience and, if I had known how much fun it would be, I would have done it much sooner,” she admits.
The project was fun, but it also meant making a lot of decisions. The first step was the choice of the log home supplier.
After looking at several companies, she opted for Les Maisons de Pièces Bondu Inc., also located in the Laurentians, and for which she has only praise. The company has been in business for more than 40 years and specializes in producing log cabin kits.
As Mathieu Bondu (the president) explains, milled logs have a great advantage over natural round logs. “Because the wood is dried for two years in the outdoors, there is no shrinkage once the house is built.” Another advantage is the possibility of adding insulation material between the outer and inner walls.
After selecting one of the models offered by the company, Gagnon-Sciortino sat down with one of their technicians to design the interior. Since the cabin is delivered as a kit, she had to find a building contractor and other subcontractors to install the plumbing and electricity systems. Though she owns and operates a building company herself in Montreal, she chose to employ local people.
The cabin was built using a technique called pièce sur pièce (piece on piece), with milled logs having a rectangular profile and dovetailed ends. The wood used is knotted Eastern Quebec white pine and is also locally sourced. The insulation is composed of several layers, including urethane panels and stone wool (Roxul), which has excellent thermal properties as well as being fire resistant.
In summer, the house stays nice and cool. And in winter, “even if I don’t come up for two weeks, the interior never feels cold,” Gagnon Sciortino says. “It’s really great.”
The slow, wood-burning stove in the living room is all she needs most of the time to keep the entire cabin warm. Electricity is the other source of heat when needed.
Set in natural stones of various shapes and colour, the stove is the focal point of the cosy living room, which happens to be Gagnon-Sciortino’s favourite room.
Contrasting with the pale shade of the walls, the beams supporting the second-storey floor are carved out of Douglas fir from British Columbia and Gagnon-Sciortino chose the same wood for the floor.
For the kitchen, she relied on the services of a professional designer, as it involved many technical details to work out. With the ground floor being an open area, painting the kitchen cabinets white was a clever way to make this corner of the cabin stand out. In keeping with the country theme, Gagnon Sciortino opted for ceramic tiles for the counter and island tops instead of the usual granite. Abundant daylight from two large windows illuminate the dining room area. The custom-made dining set may be new, but it has a rustic look that fits perfectly in the decor.
Two bedrooms and a bathroom occupy the upstairs floor. French doors open up to reveal the master bedroom, and with space being at a premium, there is just enough room for a queen-size bed, an armchair and an antique commode that once belonged to Gagnon- Sciortino’s grandmother. The delightful guest bedroom is also sparsely furnished and decorated like the main one, so as not to distract from the warmth of the lovely blond-coloured wood.
Also on the upstairs floor, a little mezzanine is fitted with a sleeper sofa for extra guests to spend a night or two. Gagnon-Sciortino didn’t stray from the countrychic theme in the main bathroom, choosing fixtures and decorations accordingly.
The free-standing bathtub is raised on elegant cast-iron legs and the large shower stall is lined with ceramic tiles in earth tones, both purchased from local companies.
In that regard, this owner has a near perfect record of supporting the local economy.
Being close to the water’s edge, she needed a waste water treatment system to comply with the environmental regulations set forth by the Quebec ministry of the environment. She selected Bionest, a Quebec-based company that manufactures compact and efficient septic systems that are suited to all types of soil and terrain. The cabin is also equipped with a water purification system as the drinking water must be pumped up to the cabin from the lake.
It is a bit unusual to find a finished basement in this type of log cabin. But Gagnon-Sciortino thought it would be a valuable addition to the space as the cabin is rather small, with only 648 square feet on the ground floor and about 486 square feet upstairs. The space is divided into a storage area and a large playroom where her two young granddaughters can romp, watch TV and sleep over.
Having a lakeside property is a privilege to be savoured, Gagnon-Sciortino says. She initially planned to build steps going down to the water’s edge, but her children (she also has an adult daughter) suggested a deck instead. It feels so good to lounge on the wooden deck surrounded by a beautiful environment and it’s great for entertaining, she says.
Like in her youth where she would spend her summer vacations at her grandparents’ place, her little log cabin has become a haven of peace and tranquility, a place where she can come to relax and unwind, and in a few years’ time, a place to spend her retirement. Gagnon-Sciortino is thrilled and in love with her weekend retreat, calling it “a bundle of happiness.”