The owner’s tour | Shelter in La Malbaie

The “cabin in Canada” in the heart of spectacular nature that so many French people dream of has become a reality for Mathias Dussaule, who had this magnificent chalet built on a vast piece of land overlooking the St. Lawrence, in La Malbaie. A dream transmitted by the stories told to him by his father who traveled… through books, since he had never taken a plane in his life.

For many French people, Canada evokes immense landscapes of snow, trees with flamboyant leaves in the fall and a wooden chalet warmed by a fireplace around which merry fellows feast dressed in checkered shirts (“ tiled”, it does not exist in French in France) while tasting maple syrup. This story, Mathias Dussaule made it happen.

“It all started in 2007 or 2008 with my friends Christophe and Sylvie Dandurand. Christophe organized snowmobile trips every year in the La Malbaie region and he owned this plot, recalls Mr. Dussaule. He often spoke to me about the region and I accompanied him there one day to go snowmobiling on this terrain. It was just magical, a heavenly place with a view of the St. Lawrence that I fell in love with. As you say at home, I flipped! “, he says with humor.

In 2010, his friends decided to sell their plot and Mathias Dussaule immediately made them an offer which they accepted. He who had never imagined one day realizing this childhood dream will be able to accomplish it and spend his winter and summer vacations in North America. Quite a change for this Frenchman born in metropolitan France who has lived in the West Indies for 27 years.

Wood at heart

So he asks an architect friend to suggest a project with large interior volumes and a slightly contemporary style. “I’m in love with the mountains and it’s true that my architectural reference was chalets, but I’m less of a fan of big logs. He then appoints a contractor from the region to take care of his project, goes there regularly to do the follow-up and gets hands-on during his vacation. “I work in construction in Saint-Barth, so I still know the subject. Obviously, we chose to do everything in local wood, inside and out. We varnished all the boards with a friend before having them installed. It was a titanic job, since there were 6700 m² of planks,” recalls the owner.

To dress and furnish the house, he went to flea markets and collected objects that belonged to his father, also a great mountain lover. The warm atmosphere is omnipresent, both in the common areas and in the four bedrooms and bathrooms. A sauna, a hammam and a spa complete this place reserved for relaxation, comfort and leisure. “We are barely a quarter of an hour from the services, but when we arrive home, we have the impression of being alone in the world”, always marvels Mr. Dussaule.

Rental allowed

A few years ago, the son of the family had to leave Saint-Barthélemy to study in Montreal. “We were going to the chalet less and less, so we decided to rent it out so that it could be occupied, so that it could live. It’s Christophe and Sylvie, who own Chalets Spa Canada, who took over the rental management of the chalet and it’s going very well, we’ve had good feedback. Finally, Mathias decided to sell this chalet because he no longer has the opportunity to enjoy it, since he spends a lot of time in New York with his American-born wife, whom he works in Saint-Barth and that he also makes a few stays in mainland France.

On his big land, he knows that you can cultivate and live in autarky. His refuge could as well become a main residence, remain a second home or even a rental project, as is currently the case. And what is certain is that it will conquer many people in search of tranquility.