The owner’s tour | Peace and quiet in Sainte-Barbe

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes, offered on the resale market

Louise Mercier and Louis-Jacques Cadieux’s two-storey house is on Chemin du Bord-de-l’Eau in Sainte-Barbe, a small Montérégie municipality between Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Saint-Anicet, on the shores of Lac Saint-François. The couple knows this area by heart since they used to live in the big house right next door! When their children left, it became too big.

“There was a cottage that belonged to my mother on this land,” said Mr. Cadieux. “My mother had decided to sell it. So I bought the land in 2021. We demolished the cottage in 2022 and built this house.”

The façade is contemporary in design, made of stone and steel. “We worked with technologist Michel Pintal for the architecture and Johanne Bouchard for the interior design,” says M.^me Mercier. We worked hard to have the best appliances, all high-end. The ovens are Miele, including one with steam for baking or fish. The materials were also chosen from the high-end. Around the fireplaces and in the back of the cellar, we chose concrete skin.

The property comprises 12 rooms, including 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The master bedroom, like the living room on the ground floor, has direct access to the 12 ft. x 22 ft. heated in-ground pool. The bathroom, with a freestanding bathtub and double Italian shower, is adjacent to the master bedroom. The kitchen includes a 14 ft. island and a large cellar with a capacity of 150 bottles.

All the woodwork in the closets and frames, as well as the flooring in the living room and hallway, is in walnut. Like the steps of the staircase leading to the second floor, where there is a beautiful living room with bar and television, overlooking the lake and the swimming pool.

Well oriented to the sun, the house is very bright, with beautiful windows. “It’s easy to heat,” says Louise Mercier. “Even in winter, you wonder if you should turn on the air conditioning!” The home is heated by electricity, with the addition of an electric fireplace on each floor and a central heat pump. Each floor is energy independent. The ceilings are 9 feet high on the ground floor and 8 feet high on the upper floor.

“There is also a smart lighting system,” says M.^me Mercier. It’s on our phone. We can turn off and turn on the lights even when we’re outside. When we’re inside, we have personalized lighting modes. An Aperitif mode to turn on only certain lights, a TV Evening mode for a different atmosphere. And even a Dodo mode so that all the lights turn off quietly.

The couple had a covered area built near the pool, with a maintenance-free composite floor that drains rainwater. This terrace includes solar privacy screens. “It provides protection from the sun and makes it pleasant to sit outside,” says M.^me Mercier. These canvases have the particularity of cutting the wind – which allows the barbecue to function normally – and to be able to see the lake without people seeing us from outside.

The house is connected to the municipal water and sewer service. An 85-foot dock was built in concrete with steel plates and generalized piling. A boat can be moored there. The property is not in a flood zone. There is a six-foot gap between the lake level and the dock. “The lake is navigable and the water is swimmable,” Louise Mercier explains. “All water sports are practiced there.”

The couple decided to leave the property to be closer to their children and their two mothers, aged 84 and 92. Both will miss the property. “It’s a very quiet, beautiful and peaceful area,” says M^me Mercier. When you come back from working in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and arrive here, you feel like you’re on vacation. No matter the season, there’s a great atmosphere by the lake.” “The sunsets in front of us are extraordinary,” adds Mr. Cadieux. It’s hard to leave, because we’ve been living by the lake for 50 years. But we really want to be closer to our family to see them a little more often…”

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