Posted at 12:00 p.m.
This is the story of a house in Vieux-Longueuil that fell into the eye of a nomad a long time ago… Well, everything is relative, we are talking about a decade here. But 10 years under the same roof is a record for Isabelle Gagnon, who used to buy and sell her home every two years on average before.
“I worked and lived all over Quebec, but here was my favorite home. My boyfriend was discouraged”, laughs Mme Gagnon, thinking back to when she fell in love with this property on Saint-Charles Street. Here, these are the character of this house built in 1930, the extension with modern facilities and the huge green lot of 30,000 sq.2 who seduced her. The old brick stable and the location, not far from the river, bike paths and shops in Vieux-Longueuil added their assets.
“I wanted her so badly,” recalls Mme Gagnon. Go hop, our nomad has sold the new condo that she had just refurbished to her liking to settle here, with the young and fiery Petrus.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Isabelle Gagnon and Petrus
Word of welcome
Today, Petrus is 13 years old. It’s young for a great wine, but it’s a venerable age for a great dog. Be careful, Petrus always has a keen ear, responds quickly to the ringing of the doorbell and insists on introducing himself to the visitor.
Once the courtesies and hugs done, we look up, and it is the brightness of the house that strikes us. Homes from the turn of the last century were often dark and partitioned. Immediately after its acquisition, Mme Gagnon has done away with the dark colors specific to the Victorian style for lighter shades. And if partitions remain in what is called the old part, at the front, the white of the walls and ceilings, and the many windows of the new part, at the back, bring a lot of light.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
White reigns supreme in this house. Here, the staircase leading to the bedrooms.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The living room is at the back of the house and has a gas fireplace, which when lit looks like a coal stove. A detail that reminds us that this house has already been heated with coal.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
View of part of the kitchen and its dining area. To the right, behind the black door, is a room used to store food. Formerly, this is where the coal bunker was located. Note that all cabinets are hardwood. They have been professionally repainted recently.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Partial view of the dining room. The piece of furniture that can be seen on the right, on the wall, was recovered by the owner from an old house opposite La Fontaine Park. She painted it white. The dark part is copper.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Mme Gagnon set up an office in the front, in what was once a living room. The sliding doors can be closed to completely separate this room from the dining room.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
View of the corridor that connects the old part to the new. Note the charm of this old door, which now serves as a mirror. Part of the bathroom on the ground floor is reflected in it.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The upstairs bedrooms seduce by their simplicity and their soft luminosity.
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PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The upstairs bathroom is divided into two separate rooms. Here we see part of the one where the bathtub and a sink are located. The shower, which the owner has just had redone, is in the other room, where there is also the toilet and another sink. The marble tiling in both rooms is brand new.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY GROUPE GARCIA AND LAPIERRE SENC
Like a country house in town. We can see here, on the right, the old stable which has been rebuilt brick by brick, specifies the owner. This house can have several functions. The first floor is currently converted into a guest bedroom.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY GROUPE GARCIA AND LAPIERRE SENC
We are here on the floor of the house, which is a former stable.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY GROUPE GARCIA AND LAPIERRE SENC
Bird’s eye view of the property and its 30,000 sq. ft. lot2. Dining and relaxation areas are conveniently located near the house. Large trees preserve privacy.
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old and new
The new part is therefore on the courtyard side. We always oscillate between the old and the new in this property. It was also the previous owner, obviously a woman of taste too, who had this new part built in 2008. This is where the living rooms are now located, including the living room and the kitchen.
It takes skill and a few tricks of the trade to tie the new to the old without swearing. We want beauty and techno without skimping on cachet. Bet succeeded here: the transition is smooth.
It’s also soft underfoot, since the new part benefits from a heated floor. Petrus says he likes it a lot, too.
The house has four bedrooms, two of which are upstairs. The latter each have a walk-in closet (walk-in) closed by folding doors that Mme Gagnon had it done by a cabinetmaker. The ones that were there before were louvered in style and didn’t appeal to her, she reports. The new ones blend in perfectly with the sleek, old-fashioned style of the rooms.
Passion for decoration
Mme Gagnon worked primarily as vice-president of finance in the automotive industry. By her own admission, she put a lot of effort into her work. “It was a passion”, says the one who has had no children, but remains “very family”. Now that she is semi-retired, she has more time to indulge in her other passions, which include sports, motorcycling – she drives a powerful Harley-Davidson – travel, but also decoration, and even renovation.
Would you believe it, when her house was up for sale, that she decided to redo part of the kitchen, the laundry room and the upstairs bathroom? “I had been thinking about it for a while. I want to live in what I love and I don’t know how soon the house will sell”, justifies the owner.
No need to try to dissuade her, the work is already done. And it’s not just a brush stroke. We’re talking about changing the flooring to marble, ceramic, building a new walk-in shower that “gave him eight inches”, refinishing the cabinets, new light fixtures, expected for four months… The attention to detail goes as far as the electrical socket plates, which she changes for those without visible screws.
“A light fixture is missing from the wall, I didn’t have time to put it up. Didn’t you notice? she asks. When it comes to real estate, a perfectionist owner is almost a blessing for a buyer.
But in fact, why sell? Mme Gagnon and her longtime spouse each have their own house, and it works very well that way. If she now plans to put an end to her relative sedentary life, it is because the house is large for her needs, and the couple now have the possibility of traveling more often.
The property in brief
Asking price: $1,995,000
Year of construction: 1930
Appraisal: $1,285,600
Rooms: Boomtown style house all in brick, having been extended significantly in 2007 and equipped with a garage. The property also has a finished basement, a large lot and a beautiful brick pavilion that can also be used as a guest room or workshop.
Property tax: $8716
School tax: $966
Land area: 29,731 sq.ft.2
Floor areas: 2438 ft2
Brokers: Groupe Garcia and Lapierre SENC (Micheline Lapierre and Hugues Ross-Sharick)