When visiting the regional park at Poisson Blanc Lake in Quebec, you’ll find two types of accommodations. There are rustic camp spots—some only accessible by canoe, on islands that you get all to yourself. And then there are two tiny, off-grid “micro-refuges,” each designed to eke a bit more comfort out of backcountry simplicity.

The Poisson Blanc Regional Park was formally established in 2008, and it’s now a popular destination for hiking, exploring islands by boat, swimming, and camping. In 2018, the architecture firm L’Abri designed the first tiny shelter there, called La Pointe, which riffs off the A-frame typology and sleeps two people.

In 2020, the firm finished a second, slightly bigger shelter, called the Grand-Pic, to accommodate groups of four. For the interior of this project, they teamed up with the Montreal-based studio Vives St-Laurent. “Since it was a small cabin, they needed it to be really functional with custom-built furniture,” says interior designer Lysanne St-Laurent.

The cabin has a single, elongated pitched roof, under which the architects tucked 321 square feet of living space and a 267-square-foot screened porch. The entry is through the porch, which has a picnic table and an additional loft with a double bed, should visitors want to sleep closer to nature on summer nights.

Inside, the living spaces are clustered together on the main floor, and two sleeping alcoves, each with a queen-sized bed, occupy the floor above. Plentiful storage nooks accommodate trekking gear, while the material palette—including earth-toned laminate, stainless steel, and whitewashed pine—was chosen for durability, and easy cleaning and maintenance. “We just wanted a soft and natural feel to it,” says St-Laurent.

Shop the Look

“It’s not quite rustic, and not quite high-end—it’s in-between. There’s no pretension in this space, so it’s really nice to use.” —Lysanne St-Laurent, Vives St-Laurent

Learn more about the Grand-Pic and/or book your own short-term stay by visiting the Poisson Blanc Regional Park website.

Related Reading:

This Minimalist Micro Cabin Is a Tranquil Retreat in Canada’s Wilds

This Snow-White Cabin Disappears Into a Wintry Lakeside

Project Credits:

Architect: L'Abri / @atelierlabri

Construction: Modulor

Interior Design: Vives St-Laurent (@vivesstlaurent) and L'Abri