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Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect

Cedar cottage outside Montreal by Ravi Handa maximises its compact footprint

The primary bedroom overlooks a double-height living space in this wooden cottage by Montreal-based architect Ravi Handa, making the compact home feel much larger than its size.

Completed last year, the diminutive cabin was designed to maximise living space within a relatively small footprint of 1,500 square feet (139 square metres).

Cedar-clad cottage near Montreal
Chalet Pic-Bois is clad in cedar

Despite its size, the architect included three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a sauna within the home.

Dubbed Chalet Pic-Bois (Woodpecker Cottage) the property is located near Brome Lake, a popular skiing and hiking destination outside Montreal.

Living space inside Chalet Pic-Bois
The cabin has a double-height living space

Entrance to the cedar-clad home is from the north side, where a covered portico protects a full-height glass door.

The ground floor contains a children's bedroom, bathroom, and sauna, as well as the open-concept kitchen, living and dining space that opens to a patio on the southwest corner of the building.

Vaulted ceilings in the wooden cottage
Vaulted ceilings give the home a cathedral-like feel

One of the ways in which Handa made the interiors feel more spacious was to create a double-height living space that is open to the primary bedroom. Built as a mezzanine, this configuration makes both rooms feel larger.

"Thanks to the vaulted ceilings and the internal organisation that compresses some rooms in order to give the living room more openness, the Woodpecker Cottage fosters an open and airy expression," said the architect.

Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
The interior palette comprises wood, neutral and black tones

Upstairs, the primary bedroom and a guest room share a restroom on the landing.

"The poplar boards that cover the cathedral ceiling are visible in every room upstairs," said Handa. "This creates a relationship between the rooms, while also making them feel larger."

Throughout the home, the architect took care to curate views of the surrounding forest.

In the living room, a glazed corner creates continuity from the interior to the outdoors.

Double-height living open-plan living space
The primary bedroom overlooks the living space

Other openings are more selective, offering framed vistas of the red maples and quaking aspens that surround the home.

A simple palette of pale wood tones and monochromatic accents rounds out the design, creating a tranquil atmosphere for this isolated retreat.

Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
The property is located near Brome Lake, a popular skiing and hiking destination outside Montreal

Handa's eponymous firm, Ravi Handa Architect, recently completed a wine bar that it co-owns called Stem, and a home in neighbouring Ontario that the studio designed in partnership with AAmp Studio.

The photography is by Maxime Brouillet.


Project credits:

Architecture: Ravi Handa Architect
Contractor: Construction N.H. Blanchette

More images and plans

Site plan
Site plan
First floor plan
First floor plan
Second floor plan
Second floor plan
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect
Chalet Pic Bois by Ravi Handa Architect