By their own admission, Diane and Daniel didn’t feel an immediate crush on their typical 1960s bungalow.
“The sun came in from everywhere in the dining room,” recalls Diane Legros, still under the spell of the moment, ten years later. “The three walls are glazed. The room is sunny at any time of the day. When I saw that, I immediately said to myself: ‟This is our home.” »
At the time, this dapper fifties had just sold her house in the Rosemont district to go live with her new husband in Beloeil. She loved her coquette shoe box, where she lived with her daughter for 13 years, for its comfort and privacy. This little house, however, had a terrible defect: natural light was terribly rare. To her great regret, Diane had even had to part with the indoor plants she had cherished for years.
“It was a big loss for me. My African violet had been given to me by my former mother-in-law when I was at university in Sherbrooke. My plants had always followed me with each move, at each stage of my life. They were part of my story,” says this school publishing project manager.
“That’s why I wanted to live in the light from now on. That was my first house hunting criteria. All this sun has allowed me to relaunch my cultivation of plants,” she continues.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Flowers and plants abound around the edges of the dining room windows.
The result is grand. Today, his dining room resembles a veritable interior garden. On the sills of the large windows, Diane’s magnificent orchids, spathiphyllums, anthuriums and geraniums rub shoulders with her lover’s crassulas, cacti, hibiscus and begonia maculata. Indeed, the latter also discovered a love for the green plant.
“I water his plants, he waters mine. The kids think we’re really funny,” laughs Diane.
The generous fenestration not only nourishes all this beneficial nature. It also offers guests an unstoppable view of a bucolic green setting. The large backyard, surrounded by high hedges, is enhanced with tall fir trees. Three vegetable gardens provide fresh vegetables during the hot season.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Diane Legros
When you sit in this room, whatever the season, it feels like you are outside.
Diane Legros
Inspiration between four walls
This sunny house has another favorite space: a piece of music for Daniel Picard, amateur bassist and professional inspector of metal structures. What was initially intended to be just a rehearsal room has become over time a space for artistic exploration.
“When I set foot there, I feel like the door is closing behind me, even if I leave it open. This room soothes and inspires me,” confides the 58-year-old man in the center of the small room whose walls are covered with old musical instruments, especially string ones, all unearthed at auction.
Does he play these instruments? No, replies the collector, especially attracted by the history and aesthetics of these antique pieces rather than by their usefulness.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The piece of music for Daniel Picard has several collectibles.
“I bought a banjo from a man who gave me chills when he told me what he had experienced with this instrument. The mother-of-pearl keys, yellowed by time, speak for themselves. They represent the soul of the instrument”, he underlines.
The spirit of all these instruments, beautiful and silent, becomes transcendent. It exudes a zen, perhaps monastic atmosphere, which inspires Daniel with an artistic curiosity. This is how he felt the urge to study musical writing, he who had always played music only by ear.
Then, without asking why, he bought himself a lovesick sitar, still at auction, with the intention of giving it back all its grace. A luthier, unearthed in India on the internet, served as his mentor. The parts needed for the repair cost him hundreds of dollars.
Does he play it? No, Daniel replies again. But whatever. In his eyes, all the interest of the object lies in the experience it inspires.
It is in the same artistic impulse, without restraint, that he felt the urge to dabble in sculpture. Isn’t he a structure specialist? Thus, on one of the walls of his favorite room is an exploded electric bass, each piece seeming to hang in the air, detached from the body and the neck.
“Daniel experiences music like mathematics. A series of notes will make him shiver,” says Diane.
“A lot of my inspiration comes from music”, confirms her lover, a great fan of Rush. “This room is a learning room for me. It is always evolving. When I’m there, my mind calms down. This is where I become available to discover and learn. »
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