Houses in living color in Saint-Pierre-et- Miquelon

Although there are a few stone buildings in Saint-Pierre, most of the town is still made up of wooden houses, often very colorful, reminiscent of Nordic countries like Finland or Greenland as well as mainland Canada.

The forests of the archipelago do not allow for extensive lumber exploitation: the trees are small and grow very slowly. The wood for the houses, therefore, comes mainly from Canada or the eastern United States. As early as the 19th century, when the oldest local houses were built, oak, beech, maple and cherry boards arrived in Saint-Pierre by boat. Building wooden houses was also a financial choice, as this material was much less expensive than stone or brick.

The houses of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are all different but form a harmonious whole. All are shingled, with unshuttered windows (almost) always decorated with patterned curtains. The home's entrances are through the drum, a typical small airlock, where one can take off one's shoes and coat without bringing the cold into the house.

The grey house was once a saltworks: a warehouse where fishermen could store their equipment. It now houses the part of the Ile aux Marins museum dedicated to dories, the traditional boats of the region.

In the past, to protect it, the wood of doors and windows was coated with red or yellow ochre-based paint mixed with an odd ingredient—cod liver oil! This oil, once a dreaded cure-all for children, was abundant, as cod was one of the most plentiful fish at the time. As for the bright colors of the Saint-Perraises and Miquelonnaises houses, they date back to the 1950s: the inhabitants used the remains of the paint intended for the boats to paint their houses.

Purple facade and green window frames. Red facade and white doors. Orange and blue, yellow and green, green and orange, mauve and pink, blue and white—the inhabitants of Saint-Pierre take great pleasure in displaying bright colors throughout the town, sometimes attempting daring associations. Winter is undoubtedly milder when you spend surrounded in color, don't you think?