House Tours
An Old Stone Farmhouse Gets A Bold New Look
Photography by Andre Rider | Styling by Richard Ouellette
House Tours
An Old Stone Farmhouse Gets A Bold New Look
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her beauty and wellness brand, Maison Jacynthe, actress and entrepreneur Jacynthe René teamed up with designer Richard Ouellette of Les Ensembliers to refresh the brand’s boutiques.
That quickly led to a revamp of her old stone farmhouse. Here, she shares what she loves about her ancestral home’s bold new colours and exciting blend of old and new.
The inspiration
Photography by Andre Rider | Styling by Richard Ouellette
“I never would have thought of working with a designer. I used to think it was out of reach,” says Jacynthe. “But a good friend of mine told me about her own design project with Les Ensembliers. They’re local designers who, year after year, are recognized among Canada’s top talents. I started following their work, and I quickly saw myself in what they were creating.”
She soon noticed that the designers lived in the countryside, just like her. And though Maison Jacynthe has 14 boutiques scattered across Quebec, each is set in an ancestral home, just like hers. She says she’d been wanting to do something special for the brand’s 10th anniversary. “I wanted a sense of cohesion. I wanted us to define our colours, and for our clients to feel special when they walk into our spaces.” And as she explains, the idea for the brand’s refresh unexpectedly led to her own home’s refresh: “One Sunday, I messaged Richard on Instagram and asked if we could work together. Right away, he replied that it would be an honour. That kind of accessibility really spoke to me. And at the same time, I asked if they could also take care of my home.”
The vision
Photography by Andre Rider | Styling by Richard Ouellette
“Since Jacynthe loves everything historical, we kept all the traditional and warm elements, but paired them with a cleaner, more refined signature,” says Richard. “We kept the light woods and gave it a slightly more contemporary feel.” For the colour palette, they used blush and citrine, a colour Jacynthe holds dear, as it symbolizes good luck. Citrine shows up as bold accents throughout the house, including the stairs, the living room curtains, and the bench in the primary bedroom; it even appears on select Maison Jacynthe packaging. Says Richard: “We also worked with tomato red [in the kitchen]. We used it for all the boutique floors. We really played with the positive energy of the colour. I think it turned out beautifully!”
The style
Photography by Andre Rider | Styling by Richard Ouellette
“History is very important to me,” says Jacynthe. “I need to feel rooted in the past, in what our ancestors have done.” But that’s only part of what she envisioned for her home’s refresh. She also wanted the design to be “warm, comfortable and inviting.” Jacynthe says: “It has to encourage connection and conversation. That’s why when we first sat around the round [dining] table as a family, I said, ‘Oh, wow!’ There’s really something special about it.”
The design crushes
Photography by Andre Rider | Styling by Richard Ouellette
“I definitely have a soft spot for the staircase and the sofa... and I’d also add the round table,” says Jacynthe of her favourite features of the redesign. “I have a lot of antiques at home, old furniture. I love the stories they tell.” Not wanting to lose that sense of history, she’d asked Richard about pairing her treasured antiques with more modern pieces, like the sofa. “He told me, ‘You’ll see, it will all blend beautifully,’” she says. (Of course, he was right.) “I also really love my bedroom. Everything is handmade. I enjoy that artisanal touch, knowing the creators behind the pieces. I find the colours we chose strike a balance between boldness and timelessness. It truly reflects everything I love.”
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