Murdoch Beach House - Fireplace and Sauna

We're Félix and Roxanne, based in Montreal.

During the pandemic we were looking for a way out of the city and closer to the mountains and the ski hill. We found Murdochville — partly by accident, mostly by falling for it — and never really left. We bought, renovated with our own hands, and today we run four homes on 8th Street.

Félix is a photographer, and the images on the walls come from his own shoots. Roxanne handles the interiors, the supplies and quality control, which is why you'll find spices in the cupboard and the linens folded properly. We're also partners in an inn in Charlevoix, which keeps us in hospitality year-round.

We're not on site full time, but Raphaëlle, who works for us in Murdochville, is. She looks after upkeep and can be there quickly if anything comes up. And we answer messages fast, even from Montreal.

We're on 8th Street, and there's a bit of history to that.

Back when the mine was running, 8th Street was where the mine bosses lived. It's the highest street in Murdochville, sitting right above the town, and it's still the prettiest one — the houses are set back, the lots are generous, and you get the best view over the valley in town.

That's what sold us. You step outside in the morning with a coffee and you're looking down at the whole valley with the mountains behind it. In winter the snow sits on the spruce all the way up the ridge. In fall the maples turn the hillside red. It's quiet, it's residential, and everything you need — grocery store, restaurant, pharmacy — is a five-minute walk downhill.

This house was taken back to the studs and rebuilt from A to Z — plumbing, electrical, insulation, siding, windows, everything. But we didn't want it to end up looking like a generic new build, so we kept a rustic edge: raw wood walls, exposed beams, a black brick wood stove, live-edge furniture.

Then there's the backyard. We landscaped the whole thing and added a six-person dry sauna, plus a fire pit, a picnic table and string lights in the trees. After a day of skiing or biking, that combination — sauna, fire, then the wood stove inside — is what people remember.

And the name isn't a joke. Between the light wood, the hammock chair and the layout, it genuinely feels like a beach house. It just happens to be in the mountains.