Lagois newsletter, October 2025

It's almost November, that in-between month when it's not summer, not really fall anymore, and not quite winter. But we have some cozy ideas for you. Keep reading!

October, 2025

Reno

Perfecting the Art of Living

Perfect day for a tour

Tour Parade of Homes happened to fall on one of the most beautiful days in October this year. It felt like a day to celebrate.

Owners of a Lagois-renovated home on Ruskin Street in Ottawa opened their home to visitors who wanted to see what a real-life professional renovation looks like.

Lagois staff was on hand to welcome everyone to admire their work, answer questions and chat about special

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Homeowners opened their doors to visitors during Reno Tour. The Lagois team was there to to discuss the renovation and answer questions.

features of this beautiful home. It was a true demonstration of Perfecting the Art of Living. Many visitors brought donations for the Ottawa Food Bank, as they had been asked to do.

Reno Tour Parade of Homes is organized annually by The Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association. Lagois has been a participant for several years.

Photos by Emma Kwan

Signs showed visitors which homes to see Besides the home’s beautiful kitchen, guests liked the new covered porch

My humbling experience

By Jacob Kirst

Being on television was certainly a new experience for me. Those who know me know I’m a humble personality.

But I was deeply honoured recently to be a voice for Ottawa’s renovation community on CTV’s Your Morning Ottawa about this year’s Reno Tour Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association. It was a privilege to showcase the remarkable professional talent, craftsmanship, and industry-leading projects being created right here at home.

Our city is filled with dedicated professionals in our industry who are committed to integrity and quality. They embody what it means to be part of the RenoMark® community. Being able to highlight this superb professionalism on behalf of our members was, for me, a

special opportunity.

I’m grateful to CTV’s Rosey Edeh and the team for helping us share Reno Tour and its message with the Ottawa community. Thank you, too, to Tracey Parslow and the entire GOHBA team for such excellent leadership and collaboration. Their ongoing commitment elevates our industry and promotes the

The Lagois team, unplugged

It started with a heartfelt message.

As the recent Thanksgiving weekend approached, Jacob Kirst, Lagois president, sent a note by email out to his team.

This is what he said:

“I’ve been reflecting on what I’m grateful for, and without question one that came to mind is all of you. Each day, I’m reminded how fortunate I am to work alongside such a passionate, talented, and

caring group of people who bring our vision of Perfecting the Art of Living to life for our clients.

exceptional work being done by our RenoMark renovators.

Thank you to our Lagois clients for their trust, support, and graciousness in allowing us to share their home with the community -- and to all the homeowners who opened their doors as part of this year’s tour. Such generosity and pride in their homes bring Reno Tour to life.

This year’s tour also served a greater purpose in supporting the Ottawa Food Bank and giving back to the community for whom we’re so proud to build.

For me, this experience represents one small but meaningful way of Perfecting the Art of Living by celebrating the people, partnerships, and passion that continue to shape how we design and build homes across our city. Jacob Kirst is the President of Lagois Design Build Renovate and Chair of the Renovators’ Council of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association.

Parenting never ends (thank goodness)

By Herb Lagois

Whenyou’re a dad of adult children, your job of kissing away scraped knees and saying yes to one more cookie is long over. But you’re still a dad. Your parenting approach just needs to be different.

I’ve been a designer and builder all my own adult life, so in my case, parenting of my grownup kids looks like this:

My daughter, Nathalie, a chiropractor in Western Canada, was about to have an open house at her newly-built clinic so she could show it off to her patients and the community. Behind the scenes, Nathalie’s receptionist, Sarah, and I conspired to hatch a plan. I flew out to Edmonton, snuck into one of her waiting rooms and sat there as if I were a patient. The look on her face when she walked in was priceless.

It’s fun being a proud dad.

On Thanksgiving weekend recently, we had a wonderful gathering with our youngest, Daniel, and his family at their cottage. What did we do? When we weren’t out hiking, Daniel and I started a bunkie renovation. It was great to work with our hands and to create something together. However, although we had planned this for months, the scheduled date for the electrician didn’t happen. It was for a valid reason, one of those things that couldn’t be helped; but now I need to find a time when I can be there again to show the electrician where things go. Thank goodness the project isn’t urgent, but life has a way of turning things sideways –in parenting as in renovation.

Coming up next month, we will be visiting our eldest son, Andrew. I’ll be helping him with a bathroom renovation (this is clearly what renovator dads do, I guess). The challenge is that Andrew lives out of the province and I’m dealing with trades I don’t know. The frustrations have already begun: no returned phone calls, no honouring of promises. (My rule in this matter is three chances and you’re out.)

It confirms my pride in Lagois. We answer our phone. We honour promises, we’re honest about telling you upfront if we’re not a good fit for each other, and we ask you to be comfortable doing the same (for a good fit).

Nathalie’s clinic is a success; Daniel’s bunkie is on hold; and as for Andrew’s bathroom…if I don’t have critical trades I can rely on, we won’t rush or force things – or worse, compromise with the wrong trade. If we need to postpone the renovation until 2026, so be it. I will take the time to interview the trades in person, find the right people, and perhaps plan for later.

Maybe this, too, is like careful parenting. Don’t rush, don’t force, don’t push, don’t make it happen faster than it should. You only get one shot at this, so make it your best.

Herb Lagois is founder of Lagois Design Build Renovate.

The beating heart of Westport

It’s old, but it’s new. It’s small, but it’s big. It’s heritage, but it’s modern.

And that’s just the way Seamus Cowan wants to keep it. Owner of The Cove Inn, Westport, he is fully aware of the magic of this iconic place that has been a part of Westport longer than anyone can remember.

The Cove building dates back to 1876 when it was built as a grand private home. It was converted to an inn during the late 1920s and lovingly owned by a series of local families under different names until Mary and Terry Cowan restored it in 1988.

Terry and Mary’s three children –Seamus, his twin brother Jeff, and their sister, Jennifer, grew up with The Cove. They lived just across the street in a beautiful heritage home that, tragically, was destroyed by fire about six years ago. The loss shook not only the family but the entire community.

Westport and The Cove are practically synonymous. It’s a waterfront place for Westport residents and local cottagers to gather, dine, attend events, and listen to live music by well-known musicians every day of the week, all year round.

It’s also a destination for out-of-towners from Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and beyond, for Americans and Europeans on vacation, for business people attending conferences, for wedding guests and – maybe especially – music lovers.

In addition to a dining room, outdoor patio and lounge, The Cove has 12 cozy rooms that are both old-fashioned and impeccably modern. Another room is slated to be added soon.

Music is The Cove’s heartbeat, and it’s where Seamus shines. A seasoned professional musician himself, he plays with Young Petty Stones (“the music of Neil Young, Tom Petty, and the Rolling Stones – and sometimes The Eagles”). He also manages the inn’s busy lineup of performers and special events.

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The Cove is home base for the MUSICwestport Arts & Music Open Air Festival, which fills the town with live performances on several outdoor stages each summer. Seamus also helps support Westporch, where residents and businesses turn their porches — including The Cove’s big verandah – into mini concert venues.

“It’s actually very simple what we do here,” Seamus says. “This age-old building is a place that people love to come to for the feel of it. We continue to improve our rooms, events, hospitality, and music so they’re as current as can be but also encapsulate a sense of heritage and familiarity.”

You might call The Cove a “niche” place. It’s the best of both worlds: embracing the past while celebrating the present, the moment.

Live music is one of The Cove’s biggest draws.

“When I moved back here 18 years ago from Montreal,” Seamus says, “I wanted to make sure we were surrounded by as much music as possible. It’s helped to give the feel and the vibe of something happening every night all through the year.”

It would be easier in some ways, he admits, to just be a seasonal place. “But what would that do for the village, the community?”

A gathering place for all

In quieter times, The Cove is a special sanctuary for creatives and craftspeople who gather for retreats or workshops. An artist group meets there twice a year for a week, and a refinished, waterfront meeting room hosts conferences and gatherings.

“We do so many different things here,” Seamus says. “We have a mixed crowd – all types of people from all walks of life, all genders, all cultures. It’s important to us that everyone is welcome and no one feels we are inaccessible for any reason.”

He says more and more Canadians are

choosing places like Westport and The Cove now rather than going across the border because of recent American politics. Americans still visit here, he says, but Canadians are staying home and enjoying not only The Cove but the village and the surrounding Rideau Lakes.

Food, family, and familiar faces

Another big draw, besides the music and cozy hotel rooms, is the food. Seamus attributes this success to two creative sisters: Emily and Sarah Brown, the chefs who run the kitchen; to the incredible food production of the kitchen staff; to Maureen Price, the manager who coordinates groups, weddings and hospitality with her beautiful smile; and to the superb service by dedicated staff and longtime servers.

Seamus’s mother, Mary, still plays an active role at The Cove. Seamus praises her for this “wonderful quality. It shows people her love of the place and the community.” Mary is a familiar face, beloved in the village. Returning customers look for her year after year.

Seamus is married to Megan Bomberry, who is co-owner of The Cove with him and who is also busy with her own full-time job with 4-H Canada. They have two young sons, Freddie and Sam.

Home First with Jacob Designing homes that breathe

By Jacob Kirst

WhenI walk into a home, it’s not the furniture I notice first or the pictures on the walls.

I immediately react to the way the home links to its outdoor surroundings. How does it make me feel? Does it connect with the light, with the views from its windows? Does it celebrate the day? Does it invite the outdoors in?

I believe a home should never feel like a box sealed off from the world. It should breathe and live and be in concert with its environment. It’s such a waste when a home is like a hermit, deep inside itself with no connection with anything beyond its walls.

Homes are so much more than just structures. A building is a structure. A house is a structure. But a home? It’s the setting for your life. It determines your emotions, your way of living. When there is little boundary between inside and out, beautiful spaces emerge, spaces that celebrate the light.

Large windows, skylights, sun tunnels and thoughtful placement of openings are some of the ways to flood a home with daylight. They reduce reliance on artificial light. They create healthier, happier living environments.

When you expand livable square footage such as terraces, patios and covered outdoor rooms, they become true extensions of the home. They maximize how you live, entertain, and enjoy every season.

Studies show that our connection to nature reduces stress and improves overall health. It’s one of my primary considerations in design.

It’s a bit like framing a beautiful work of art, only in this case it’s framing the view of a garden or forest or waterfront. The view becomes natural living art that changes with every day, every season. It becomes part of you.

At Lagois, our design approach is to integrate outdoor living as early as the first sketch. It’s not an afterthought. It’s part of the DNA of the design.

This means we ask questions such as:

Where will the morning light be most inspiring? How will the living room flow into an outdoor dining area? How can a solarium or covered porch make winter feel beautiful, even cozy?

The goal of such design is perfect cohesion, where the transition from indoor to outdoor is natural, intuitive, and beautiful. There are many ways to do this – for example, sliding walls that disappear; materials that flow from inside to outside; layouts that encourage the easy gathering of people with a sense of continuity.

Home should be a place to both retreat and connect. Home should provide a sanctuary at times and a place to breathe and expand at other times. Outdoor kitchens for summer entertaining, fire features for fall evenings, sunrooms that extend spring and summer living give you those options. You can enlarge your lifestyle as well as your home or experience it as a place of quiet reflection.

To me, this is the essence of Perfecting the Art of Living: creating homes that are not restricted by or limited to four walls. These are homes that embrace the environment, extend visual possibilities and elevate how families live every single day.

Any good firm can design a beautiful interior. But not many have the vision to design a home that actually harmonizes with its surroundings, creating spaces that feel inspired in every season.

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Our team has spent decades mastering the balance between architecture and environment, ensuring that each Lagois home feels deeply connected to its site, to its roots. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a riverfront, in the heart of Ottawa, or nestled in a forest. We design to enhance, not fight against, its natural setting.

If you are considering a renovation or custom home, let’s explore how your project can do more than just transform interiors. Let’s design a home together that breathes, inspires and truly connects you to the world around you.

Jacob Kirst is President and Visionary of Lagois Design·Build·Renovate.

Your little corner of paradise – and comfort food

Some of us have a hard time with the darker months – you know, when the sun goes down earlier, rises later. The leaves are just about gone; the snow isn’t quite here yet and everything is just, well, blah.

This is the time when your beautiful renovated Lagois kitchen can be your sanctuary, your little corner of paradise, in a cold dark world.

Here’s a simple yet elegant dinner pie that will fill your home with delectable aromas.

Creamy Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Pot Pie

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced thin

3 cloves garlic, minced

500 g (about 1 lb) cremini or mixed mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)

¼ cup dry white wine (optional)

3 Tbsp flour

1 ½ cups chicken broth

½ cup heavy cream (or 10% cream for lighter version)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (about 2–3 boneless breasts)

½ cup frozen peas (optional, for colour and sweetness)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 sheet butter puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

Instructions

In a large skillet, melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and cook gently about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook one minute more.

Add mushrooms and thyme. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook until mushrooms start to brown, 6–8 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Gradually whisk in the broth until smooth, then add cream and mustard. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

Stir in cooked chicken and peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the filling a large pie dish. Lay puff pastry over top, trimming excess and pressing edges to seal. Cut a few small slits to let steam escape. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 25–30 minutes, until pastry is puffed and golden.

Serve with a fresh tossed salad… and perhaps a glass of your favourite white wine.

You won’t care how cold or dark it’s getting outside.

Great kitchens, after all, are made for moments like this.