One rarely acquires a residence. One acquires the years that will be lived in it.

This one does not yet exist. No one has slept here, no one has blown out candles here, no one has left the faintest trace. A piece of land, a set of plans, and a mountain at the far end of the property. Everything else remains to be written -- and that is precisely what makes it rare.

THE FIRST MORNING
You come down before the others. The white oak is cool underfoot. In the kitchen, the light passes through the window above the sink and settles on the breakfast nook banquette, built by hand for that exact place. You make the coffee. The residence is still asleep.

THE EVENINGS
The fire is lit. It burns on both sides of the same wall: the armchairs on one side, the long table on the other. Dinner began at seven; it is eleven o'clock and no one has thought of leaving. The ceiling rises two storeys above the guests. These are rooms that make one want to stay.

THE YEARS
Four bedrooms upstairs, two more below should you wish. A gym. A twenty-six-foot family room. A laundry room handsome enough to linger in. In the dining room, a bookcase that opens -- it is a hidden door -- onto a study your guests will never find. Your children will find it on the first day.

YOUR BEDROOM
At the end of the corridor, beneath a slatted wood ceiling. The adjoining bath: a freestanding tub before an arched window, with nothing across from it but the tops of the trees. A separate shower, marble, lime plaster. This is the room you will retreat to when the day has been long.

THE MOUNTAIN
Mont Saint-Hilaire closes the far end of the property. The first UNESCO biosphere reserve in Canada. Your grandchildren will walk it.

WHAT YOU ACQUIRE
4,282 sq. ft. of living space, two storeys and a full-height basement, forty minutes from Montreal. Nothing comes from a catalogue: every piece of furniture, every island, every closet is made in the builder's own workshop. Marble in the kitchen, the pantry and the primary bath. White oak floors and staircase. Italian tile. Rubinet fittings. Bertazzoni and Miele. Pierre Royale stone and brick. Two-car garage.

And since nothing has yet been built, the privilege of choosing is still yours.