Five years ago, my partner, my son and I moved to our triplex in Limoilou. At that time, we would never have imagined that we would still be renovating it five years later! But hey, we’ve since realized that renovation projects are never done!
During the lockdown last spring, my partner, who is a general contractor, had to stop working for a month. After getting tired of baking homemade muffins and bread, he figured he should use the time to complete our latest home improvement projects. That's when we decided to complete the landscaping of our backyard, a project that also included revamping the exterior of the garage, triplex and annex.
When you carry renovations yourself, things never move as quickly as hoped. However, in our case, with a lot of patience and dedication we (my partner, in fact!) finally completed our outdoor project by the end of summer and we are very proud of it! You should know that when we started, we had a long way to go—a very long way. You can see what I mean in the “before” photos.
The inspiration
From the beginning, we agreed to select materials that are trendy, but above all sustainable. I wanted to go for a traditional farmhouse style for the garage and annex siding, without having to deal with the long-term disadvantages of wood. We therefore opted for sheet metal laid vertically. We chose the SuperVic colour Cambridge White from Vicwest. The look is similar to the one we had in mind, but at a fraction of the cost and of incomparable durability. It was mainly this last point that made us choose this product, as we will never have to worry about the siding’s condition or maintenance for the duration of our lifetime.
Before
After
Siding: SuperVic colour Cambridge White by Vicwest
Light: matte black, swan neck style lights by Tungstène Éclairage Créatif
Door: Lorendo
The sought-after look
Before
After
Siding: SuperVic colour Cambridge White by Vicwest
Light: matte black, swan neck style lights by Tungstène Éclairage Créatif
Windows: Lorendo
By adding matte black, swan neck style lights manufactured by Québec designer Tungstène Éclairage Créatif along with black chequered windows and doors from Lorendo, the sought-after traditional farmhouse look came into its own. I love these two Québec companies! In addition to providing exceptional customer service, their products are impeccable.
The idea is to create a timeless space, so selecting the right materials and accessories was paramount. First, there was the concern for product quality and durability. These are the first things we considered in our selection. Then, of course, you can choose durable, high-quality products made locally while maintaining a current and even traditional style, in our case.
We always aim to make choices that will pass the test of time well, both in terms of looks and durability, and we still had a small portion of the roof to cover on the annex. I've always dreamed of having a house with a pretty black corrugated sheet metal roof. I love this type of roofing’s classic and chic look that gives prestige to any home. In order to recreate the look, we turned to Vicwest's Prestige standing seam sheets that perfectly mimic this style. The result is perfect while providing exemplary durability, once again!
Before
After
Metal roofing: Prestige by Vicwest
In closing, the backyard would not be complete without the imposing touch of wood provided by the two staircases. The natural wood paired with the more industrial look of the sheet metal gives a lot of warmth to the entire project. In each of our renovation projects, we try to reuse certain materials as much as possible, so when paving our yard, we found two types of used interlocking blocks. The antique-style interlock was previously installed in the backyard of a now demolished former residence, while the more traditional herringbone pattern were unused leftovers we found in the classified ads.
We can't wait for next summer to finally enjoy our beautiful backyard!