Montreal studio Thomas Balaban Architect has turned a gabled farmhouse in Quebec's Eastern Townships completely white, and then contrasted it with an extension covered in weathered cedar cladding.

The Knowlton Residence is located in rural Canada, a few hours outside of Montreal, in a popular ski destination. The clients enlisted the architects to turn their existing vacation into a residence where they could live permanently.
TBA added a two-storey volume was added to the site to site atop the footprint of a previous expansion. "Going up instead of spreading out allowed for more space and better views without the need to excavate across the hilltop," said the studio in a project description.

The barns that are abundant in the area influenced TBA's choices for the exterior treatment of both structures. The firm subverted the selection, however, updating the existing farmhouse in contemporary materials, and rendering it white, and then using more traditional materials for the extension. "A new sleek corrugated metal roof and painted white brick update the existing structure, while the new extension is clad in custom cedar boarding, charred and silvered to replicate weathered wood," said TBA.
"However, both materials speak to the numerous old barns and newer agricultural sheds found throughout the Eastern Townships."

The main entrance to the 300-square-metre home leads into the original gabled structure, which contains the family's open-plan k...