This text is part of the special Real Estate section
With their ability to preserve the history of homes and create living environments designed according to the needs of owner-occupants and their sensitivity to the environment and the natural landscape, certain architectural and design projects succeed in proving their inventiveness through a holistic vision. A look at three of them.
Loft Elmire: when modernity and the past go hand in hand
We are on the Plateau Mont-Royal, in a historic red brick building dating from the 19the century and which was in turn a textile factory then a Campbell soup factory. Today, place at the Elmire loft which emanates from the ferment of ideas of the La Firme studio – and which also allowed it to win the prizes for best interior design and the jury’s choice for a renovation project at the BLT Built Design Awards 2023 and a prize at the Fantini Design Awards.
At the heart of the accommodation, we find a long, bright, airy and sober kitchen, specially designed to satisfy the owners’ passion for gastronomy. It is entered through its structural arches in white brick: the granite and stainless steel countertop catches the eye, while the exposed beams in British Columbia fir wood and the white oak cabinets bring conviviality to this space which also includes a coffee area with its own counter and built-in sink.
Finally, let us highlight the presence of a huge and magnificent open-plan library, where you can take the time to stop and enjoy the rays of the sun and choose your reading for the day. As for the adjacent bathroom, in a retro azure, it is breathtaking with its elegant tiled flooring, green marble slabs and its gigantic mirror. If there is no window, a strip of glass blocks invites natural light from the next room to diffuse into it.
A clever mix between the building’s past and contemporaneity, all in all.
Maison Melba: the spirit of community
Maison Melba is a place of life and creation focused on others, conducive to collaborations and meetings of all kinds. On the road to Vermont, in the Eastern Townships, in the charming village of Frelighsburg precisely, is this majestic attic dwelling – whose wooden frame has been preserved – which includes a residence, a studio work, a workshop and rooms for culinary production and meetings, whose renovations reveal the unique vision of sustainability of the L’Abri workshop.
The exterior of the house is not left out, since a plot of land has been designed using the same values of sharing and welcome dear to the new owner of the premises: a greenhouse and a garden are dedicated to a culture reasonable and reasoned vegetables, fruits and plants which will largely be consumed and processed on site. From the grounds of the Melba house, a large crossing fault and a high skylight provide a link between the interior and exterior, all encased in a setting of local natural stone and lime-coated walls.
Thanks to its large windows, the living room is also an area dedicated to conviviality and warmth from where it is pleasant to contemplate the nature of the surroundings around a fireplace. The foyer is, in fact, a central element that connects several of the common spaces together.
Hovey Residence: let’s take a walk in the woods
Here we are projected among the trees, on the shores of a lake located in the Eastern Townships, in a ranch-style house built in 1970 and recently renovated and enlarged by the architecture and design firm 1628. Although it is not part of the Hovey residence as such, the lake nevertheless holds a very special place: we observe and admire it at the back from several floors, the configuration of the site on a steep slope being there for many. The space reserved for guest bedrooms and bathrooms is surely one of the undeniable assets of the Hovey residence, since it is dedicated to calm and rest. You can indeed relax in an indoor spa, directly facing the landscape which offers its sunset every day.
The kitchen, office and master bedrooms — all rooms with large windows — offer residents a view overlooking the lake and the woods. But the other jewel of the Hovey residence can be experienced outside its walls. On the ground floor, there is a covered wooden sidewalk which serves as a promenade and an observation platform, then the sculptural exterior concrete staircase invites you to continue the walk further down, from the terraces to the land located below. below and which runs along the famous lake. The stroll finally ends on the quay, with your feet almost in the water, thanks to a hemlock boardwalk which guides guests day and night.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.