Often, when we renovate, we want to knock down walls to open up the space. Otherwise, keep the original divisions. But adding partitions? This is a choice that is off the beaten path. However, this is the option taken by the designers of Blanc Marine Interiors, to create a warm space in a house in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
The house was already small, but the designers Mélanie Cherrier and Laurence Pons Lavigne still felt the need to add rooms, they explain in a telephone interview.
It is a former ski chalet, not far from Quebec, that the clients acquired to settle there full-time with their daughter, after leaving the Far North where they lived.
Plus, with both owners working remotely – even before the pandemic! – they each had to have a closed office. “So the idea of partitioning was also linked to customer needs,” says Laurence Pons Lavigne.
Adding walls thus made it possible to create a better layout, while bringing a little warmth to the whole, summarize the designers. “In the large open areas, there is no soul, no atmosphere, deplores Mélanie Cherrier. By partitioning, we warm up the spaces. Whereas with a large open area, you can’t create lots of small areas,” she continues.
Break up the space
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
Old windows, salvaged from a house in Outremont, were refinished and inserted into the new partition. This now separates the living room and the client’s office.
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
This gives you a glazed office, which also benefits from natural light coming from outside, since the room is also equipped with “real” windows!
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However, one must develop strategies to prevent the parts from becoming tiny, warns Mme Cherry. “When it’s small like that, you have to find a way to break up the space a bit, and create zones without putting up big solid walls,” she explains.
For example, a partition was erected in the living room, in order to create two distinct rooms, and thus make it possible to fit out an office for the client. However, this wall has been pierced with windows, even though it is an interior partition.
We added windows so as not to make the rooms too small. Thus, the space is enlarged even by partitioning it. That was kind of the goal.
Laurence Pons-Lavigne, designer
Moreover, these windows are not new, they have been refurbished, explains Laurence. “These are antique windows that came from a house in Outremont, Montreal, and that we brought here. »
Three times rather than one
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
View – from the dining room – of the entrance, whose floor is covered with black ceramic. It has been separated into three areas: the vestibule, the bathroom (at the back) and the husband’s office (the closed doors of which can be seen to the left of the entrance in the photo).
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
Behind these closed doors, the second office of the house, which also overlooks the outside.
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A similar process has been implemented in the entrance, formerly an open area, which has been divided into three sections. There is now the vestibule, a bathroom and the second office, that of the husband.
“These are very restricted spaces, but which have become hyper functional thanks to these partitions. That’s also how we add a bit of charm through all these little pieces,” notes Laurence Pons Lavigne. It also allows you to play with the furniture or change the color of the walls just in one room, for example.
Take advantage of roof slopes
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
Even if it is difficult to see in the photo, there is a roof slope in the pantry which allows you to enlarge the storage space. This is explained by the fact that the closet is located in a different part of the original square of the house.
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
View of the rest of the kitchen, airy and equipped with large windows. The pantry is on the right of the photo, in the background.
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
This part of the kitchen is leaned against the wall which gives, on the other side, on the staircase.
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To optimize the space, the designers have also used the roof slopes to their full potential. For example, the pantry adjoining the kitchen exploits the height of the ceiling to add as much storage as possible. Also, in the upstairs bathroom, the ceiling of the ceramic shower gently hugs the slope of the roof.
Upstairs, Mélanie and Laurence trimmed one of the bedrooms to add this bathroom, thus using the space more optimally.
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
Upstairs, in addition to the bathroom, we find the two bedrooms of the house. Here, the parents’ bedroom.
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PHOTO SYLVIE LI, PROVIDED BY BLANC MARINE INTÉRIEURS
And the bedroom of the couple’s little girl.
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“It’s really a major renovation, but without structural expansion, describes Laurence Pons Lavigne. We just partitioned to create different spaces in line with the client’s needs. So yes, we have smaller rooms, but on the other hand, we have a much more functional and complete house,” concludes the designer.