Omar Gandhi's metal-clad house and workshop for a furniture maker on Prince Edward Island

There's something lovely about a house its owner built with his own hands. Furniture maker Brodye Chappell, who runs Brodye Chappell Builds and Chappell Custom Homes, led the construction of his new home and workshop in Marshfield, just outside Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, working evenings and weekends with friends, colleagues and island tradespeople. Omar Gandhi Architects shaped the form and exterior; the two had worked together before on Gandhi's own house in Halifax.

Gandhi wanted what he called "a line in the dirt" across the farmland. The result borrows the long rooflines of rural barns, pairing a gable with a stretched hip roof, all wrapped in light-grey corrugated metal broken by vertical strips of glass. The finish reflects the sky, helping it sit quietly above the fields, looking out to Chappell's parents' horse farm.

A wind-sheltered courtyard separates family rooms from the workshop. Inside the house it's warm wood, Chappell's own millwork and furniture, and art from friends; the workshop is rawer, with concrete floors, exposed structure, skateboards and wooden slats that fold open as a hidden garage door.

A private home, so this one is for looking rather than visiting, and a good read for anyone who likes a house made slowly.

Our summary of a story from Dezeen, published 14 October 2026. Read the original

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