RESCUED& REASSEMBLED
Built from two homes from the 1850s, this log home is revered by its Laval owners. ‘You can feel its warmth and its strength.’
When this charming 1850s piècesur-pièce log home was rescued from expropriation in the leadup to the construction and 1975 opening of Mirabel Airport, it was not only lucky, but doubly lucky.
Carefully dismantled, with the pieces meticulously numbered, it was rebuilt in Laval in a location resembling its original pastoral setting of farmland and horse stables.
The extra dose of fortune comes in that this reassembled residence is actually composed of two houses from the 1850s that were combined, with the house on the left slightly bigger (9.5 metres x 7.3 metres) than the other (5.8 metres x 5.2 metres).
When Nicole Giguère and JeanFrançois Denis set eyes on the home in 1980, it had been restored in such good condition that they only needed to add their personal touches and keep up the maintenance.
“It’s a house that speaks to you. You can feel its warmth and its strength,” said Giguère.
The hand-hewn, square logs had been assembled with chink lines and dovetail corners. The roof has a short overhang and is covered with cedar shingles. The original floor plans were slightly modified, with some walls removed to allow for more spacious rooms with divisions as opposed to the openspace concept. In the anteroom, an antique oak rolltop desk stands next to a recessed wardrobe with black doors, used for coats, shoes and such.
Throughout most of the house, the floors are made of old-style wide pine planks. In the kitchen, they were replaced by ceramic tiles, but the original pine cupboards and counters were preserved. Small, yet functional, the kitchen is decorated with old-fashioned treasures, such as tin cans on the spice rack and decorative plates above the range. Add a lace tablecloth on a small round table and you have a charming atmosphere.
Giguère was very careful in her choice of furniture. “You cannot go too modern in this type of house. It would not fit in,” she said.
The living room illustrates that sensibility, as well as her keen sense of decor. The white leather sofas brighten the room and their sober lines mesh perfectly with the older furniture. On the ceiling, interlocking wooden beams form an interesting pattern. To reinforce the structure of the house, beams parallel to the fireplace are actually made of steel and covered with wood.
The wood-burning fireplace was originally flush with the wall and surrounded by fieldstones. The couple decided to have the stones covered with plaster for a less rustic look, which makes the fireplace jut out slightly from the wall.
The little cupboard embedded in the wall to the left of the fireplace was originally a window. So was the door on the right, which leads into the dining room occupying the whole ground floor of the smaller house.
There are a few factors that distinguish these very old homes from more contemporary ones. They have much fewer and smaller windows, and the ceilings are usually lower, no more than eight feet or 2.5 metres. As a result, they can be gloomy if the interior is overloaded with heavy furniture in dark colours. Those challenges were masterfully handled in the dining room.
Bright and airy, the dining area is the epitome of rustic elegance, from the colour scheme to the choice of decorative objects. The tall dresser in the left corner was originally a red-painted bookcase. Giguère gave it a more subtle look by painting it a sunny yellow with white mouldings and grey trimmings. The dining set was custommade by a local cabinet maker who specializes in reproductions, including the rawhide seats. Cushions were added for comfort.
The outside of the staircase — or stringer — is embellished with decorative mouldings. In fact, mouldings are an integral part of the decor in the house. They are the work of a skilful handyman who worked on the house for many years. He not only laid the mouldings but also sanded the floors by hand because a power tool was deemed too rough on such old wood.
He did many other small jobs, including building some of the furniture, such as the green dresser found in the large hallway of the second floor. The door next to the dresser opens up into a walkin closet. This space came about when the master bedroom was partitioned.
“It was too big,” explained Giguère.
Now, it is cosy with just enough room for a king-sized bed, two rather large nightstands and a commode. Here again, Giguère shows her talent for decoration. Each element, from the pillows and lampshades to the hat box on the floor, was carefully selected to harmonize with the colours of the striped wallpaper.
In the main bathroom, what looks like beadboard halfway up the walls and around the bathtub is actually wallpaper. The illusion is quite surprising. Another nice touch is found in the bathroom window’s old wrought-iron latches, all of which were preserved from the original home.
The guest bedroom occupies the whole second floor of the smaller section of the home and is big enough for two beds, one an antique double bed with an elaborate wood frame and another set on a platform. Here, the pine floorboards are narrower and knottier.
Giguère said she feels lucky to live in the rescued and reassembled house, which was featured in the lavishly illustrated coffeetable book Log Homes of Quebec, published in 2016.