I love seeing residential designs that embrace the natural materials that this great country has to offer.
The Gatineau Hills home by Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc., located on a hilly plain in Quebec, is such a design, using wood to create a contemporary, nature-inspired home.
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
The earthy tones and grains in the horizontal wood paneling create a dynamic expression of movement, allowing the eye to sweep across the design and visually accentuate the length of the house.
Much of the wood used at the Gatineau Home is in fact reclaimed, exemplifying an environmental consciousness in the design process.
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
This motif is carried on in the interior of the home, as wood floor panels run through the kitchen, dining room and living room, which all follow an open-floor concept that unifies the space.
The dark wood is offset by an abundance of white. This not only creates a visually appealing contrast in colour, but in design aesthetics as well as it juxtaposes a rustic look with a modern, sleek one.
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the design bring natural light into the home, and work to minimize the barriers between indoor and outdoor as the first floor comes level with the ground.
The upper floor windows offer the stunning views of Gatineau Hill’s scenery, bringing the tall trees that enclose the area to eye-level.
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
The outdoor pool is set into the sloping hillside and overlooks the vista, becoming a perfect haven to cool off in the hot Canadian summers while being immersed in the great outdoors!
Image Courtesy of Peter Fritz, source: Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc.
With the Gatineau Hills home, nature is right at your front door.
I can almost hear the birds chirping!
Check out more work by Christopher Simmonds Architect Inc here.
Researched and Written by Gorana Tolja, Graduate of the Ryerson School of Interior Design & a MA Student at OCAD University in the Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories program, focusing on contemporary design history.
