Before & After: A Brick Church in Quebec Becomes a Resonant Home

A family design-build team converts a historic church into an unforgettable dwelling that lifts the spirit.

In 2015, Nicole Petit’s husband, Pierre Boivin, broached the subject of moving into a historic church—specifically the Saint-François-d’Assise estate, built in Frelighsburg, Quebec, in 1885. As Nicole recalls, her answer was an immediate no. "There was no way I would live in a church," Nicole says. "We had a very modern house, and I had no intention to move away from this type of house."

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Melissa Dalton
Dwell Contributor
Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing for Dwell since 2017. Read more of her work about design and architecture at melissadalton.net.

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