The owner’s tour | Both Norman and Scandinavian

Mathieu Lamontagne and Gabriela Valenzo have chosen, in 2020, to move from Carignan to Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville. Before COVID-19, their children aged 9 and 11 went to school in Saint-Bruno. The family wanted to get closer. They acquired this house built in 1979 at the foot of Mont Saint-Bruno and resembling traditional Norman houses, with their rounded dormer windows and thatched roofs… called thatched cottages.

“When we saw her for the first time, we thought she was very flirtatious,” says Mathieu Lamontagne. We liked the residential area, the fact of being close to the mountain, with lots of mature trees. But it was either to be put down or to be completely redone. »

The couple chose to keep the character of this house in the Sommet-Trinité district while giving a contemporary style to the enlarged rear of the building. The exterior stucco coating was redone in acrylic. “The silhouette is the same,” says Mathieu Lamontagne. The chimneys and skylights have been preserved. But we changed all the windows and the interior of the house from A to Z.”

Metamorphosis

The renovation has transformed the house. The expansion was designed and managed by Michel Boisvert, of the firm Gestion MKA. He defined a new basement and a back part in the Scandinavian style, an aesthetic contrast that cannot be seen from the front of the house. “When, in the summer, you see the house from the front and then go to the back, you’re wow,” says Mr. Lamontagne.

The work increased the living area from 195 m^⁠2 at 464m^⁠2, according to Mr. Lamontagne. Not including the 45 m double garage^⁠2. There are now 22 rooms, including 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The interior restoration, minimalist, has been neat. The floors are in oak or ceramic. The couple worked with a concrete craftswoman, Judive Jean-Gilles, to create the sinks and suspended counters for the bathrooms, the built-in sink for the laundry room, the kitchen island and the interior kitchen table. “She told us that our house is her biggest residential contract,” says Mathieu Lamontagne. She has carried out major commercial projects, notably at the Le Crystal hotel. According to our broker, this custom concrete touch is unique. »

The home theater area is cute. Created by taking advantage of the volume of the crawl space, it includes a built-in sofa where the family can stick together to watch a movie. Children can also watch TV with their friends in a room located in the basement.

Estimated at $893,700, the property is on sale for almost $3 million, as the renovations were expensive.

Outside, the landscaping has been completely redone. Behind the house, there is a swimming pool, a shed, a living room, a basketball area and, in winter, an ice rink for playing hockey. This delimited space is very intimate, green in summer and tasteful. A successful optimization of a not so large plot (1228 m^⁠2).

Difficult decision

Next year, the eldest child will join a sports-study program in another city. The family must therefore still move closer to the school. “Proximity to schools is a priority for us,” emphasizes Mr. Lamontagne. The family will miss this house that they have put so much energy and resources into transforming.

“It’s hard to leave the property and we’ll try to buy something where everything is already done, because it was a lot of work,” says Mr. Lamontagne. “I’m going to miss the common living space, the kitchen-dining room-living room and our home theater area to indulge in cocooning,” says Gabriela Valenzo. And, of course, the outdoor atmosphere, the trees, the picturesque and enchanting corner of our neighborhood. »