he Bernard house is an outstanding coastal home with an expansive view of Governor’s Island and St. Peter’s Island in the Northumberland Strait. The home’s exterior features white-columned wrap-around veranda decks, wide staircases on the water side, and a south-facing second-story deck that’s accessible from the master bedroom. The house is sided with clear eastern cedar shingles that were pre finished with a bleaching stain to give that weathered gray look now and over time. The external trim is rough-sawn Western red cedar, pre finished white. Interior features include a spectacular staircase and the effective use of moldings and trim to create a level of detail that is far beyond ordinary. The three bedrooms on the second floor all have magnificent views of the Strait, built-in window seats with storage below, and ensuite bathrooms. On the main floor is a media room and a guest bedroom with bath. Engineered hickory flooring with in-floor heat is used throughout the house. Heating, cooling, and domestic hot water are supplied by a ground-source heat pump system involving an extensive system of buried pipes.


The Bernard's Experience

We came to Rob and Pat with a few ideas and pictures. They said, “Get more. Get the ideas you want together,” and from then on a group of five people worked together to design the house: the two of us, Pat, Rob, and the draftsman. We worked together smoothly, almost like one entity, with each contributing in our own way.

Rob and Pat are an awesome team. They help you through the process with a lot of humor, and Pat is especially sensitive to a woman’s perspective and wishes. We knew nothing about building and they were very patient with us, letting us know that we could call them day or night. And even after the house was built, they are still there to answer questions and deal with anything that comes up.

Rob wants to build a house that’s going to be around for 150 years. He guided us on the choice of materials, with the philosophy of, “Don’t go half way; just do it right.” Rob knew what we wanted, and would say, “If that’s what you want, here are your two choices. But take this one, the other is not really a choice.” As time went on, confidence grew that we should take their advice.

The workmanship was absolutely fabulous. Everyone who has come into our house who knows about building has commented on it. It’s probably the most positive experience we could have had in building a house — much more so than we anticipated. We got what we wanted — even more than we wanted — and that’s saying a lot. Dealing with Rob and Pat, you get a lot for your money, and we’ve got a lot here.


"We love our house!"

Donna and Danny Bernard
Cumberland, P.E.I.