De la Coulée douce Multi-Generational Home Sutton, Canada

De la Coulée douce Multi-Generational Home

Sutton, Canada

The Maison de la Coulée douce project is the result of a collaboration between design studio La Nony FAMILI and architectural designer Le Local Design. This multi-generational residence was built in the forest on a sloping site overlooking a small pond.

With a simple, elongated form, the building is oriented to maximize natural light and visual connections to the pond, while also minimizing tree removal. From the outset, clients, designers, and the contractor shared the same goal: to create a human-scale home that blends harmoniously with its environment, performs efficiently, offers comfort and durability, and avoids superfluous gestures.

The project also builds on a long-standing relationship of trust between the clients, La Nony FAMILI, and Le Local Design, marking a second residential collaboration with this family. This continuity allowed for greater creative freedom and an in-depth exploration of the home’s actual uses, daily rhythms, and intergenerational living.

Maison de la Coulée douce is the result of an evolving process guided as much by listening as by rigor. With construction already underway and the foundation poured, a budget adjustment by the clients led to a major reconsideration of the project. In less than forty-eight hours, the designers revised the plans, removing a floor, combining certain functions, and adjusting all technical drawings. Rather than being seen as an obstacle, this change was seized as an opportunity to reinforce the design’s initial intentions: to create a more compact, discreet dwelling faithful to the project’s guiding principles.

Inside the house, the design was conceived as a tool for harmonious cohabitation. Each area offers a high level of privacy and comfort, while fostering a balanced relationship between different spheres of life. Acoustic treatment and lighting—two central elements of La Nony FAMILI’s practice—play a structuring role here, helping define the mood and enhancing a sense of calm and cozy comfort.

The main entrance opens onto a spacious living area whose centerpiece is a built-in living room with integrated custom micro-cement furniture. Organized around a central fireplace, and oriented toward the large openings facing the pond, this mineral ensemble gives the space a presence that is both sculptural and enveloping. Micro-cement, also used in the primary bedroom, evokes vernacular approaches more commonly associated with Mediterranean or Mexican interiors, still rare in Quebec’s residential landscape. This raw materiality contributes to the home’s timelessness and sensory dimension.

The kitchen, set slightly back, occupies a more intimate space, tucked away from the main living area thanks to a volume housing the mudroom and pantry. A substantial custom-built piece of furniture, designed as a discreet structuring element, is included. The central wooden unit sets a rhythm and adds dynamism to the living area.

At the heart of the interior design approach was a reflection on the emotions the occupants wished to experience daily.

Photo credit: Ulysse Lemerise Bouchard - OSA images

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