Posted at 12:00 p.m.
As soon as you enter, you understand that the house, built in 1931, has been well preserved. The apartment had only one owner until very recently, who knew how to keep its old-fashioned charm: the woodwork, the finely worked moldings, the embossed wood paneling in the hallway and even the hexagonal tiles that adorn the vestibule.
When Marc Bherer and his wife Louise Blanchet acquired the Verdun residence eight years ago, they knew it would be “their” project. Since he is an interior designer and she is a landscape architect, they had a good idea of what they wanted. It was finally last year that the owners carried out this work, in order to live there comfortably with their children Marie, 6, and Victor, 9. The kitchen and the bathroom have been redone, the basement finished, the worn floors replaced, but the cachet has remained.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
We see here one of the two Bertoia chairs, as well as the storage unit designed by Dieter Rams, more precisely called Vitsœ’s 606 system.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Marc Bherer and his family live in this recently renovated Verdun apartment. Behind, we see the built-in dresser in the dining room.
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Art everywhere
“The history of the house is a lot of favorites over the course of my 20 years of practice”, launches Marc Bherer, president of the firm Desjardins Bherer. He and his wife have filled their apartment with works by their favorite artists, as well as pieces of furniture whose inspiration has sometimes been drawn from other projects carried out by the design agency.
For example, in the living room bathed in light, there are two original Bertoia chairs, purchased from a Knoll furniture distributor; these sit enthroned in front of a Bensen Reflect glass table. On the other side, the green armchair — a Maralunga by Cassina dating from the 1970s — sits alongside a piece of furniture lined with design books and a collection of vinyl records. “It’s Vitsœ’s 606 system, by designer Dieter Rams,” says Marc Bherer about the storage unit. This is our living room, a place to listen to music, chat, and where the kids read. »
On the wall hangs the imposing painting Iceberg by Taiwanese-born Montreal artist Chih-Chien Wang. “When I started, 20 years ago, I didn’t know works of art. When I started to take an interest in him, he was one of the first artists I discovered and I really wanted to have a work by him”, explains the designer.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
A painting by André Jasmin unearthed at the Montreal Paper Fair adorns one of the dining room walls. The Nelson lamps hanging from the ceiling also blend into the decor.
It’s the same scenario in the dining room, where the built-in dresser harmonizes with the table and chairs designed by the Vaste furniture workshop, as well as the work of André Jasmin hanging on the wall.
Whether or not one knows these various artists, the eye immediately sees the harmony between the period building and the modern additions. All with the idea of creating a warm living environment.
We wanted it to look lived in. To make contemporary decors, but not too minimalist, and still finished.
Marc Bherer, interior designer and owner
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
In the master bedroom, the bed is dressed in a blanket brought back from a trip to Belgium by Louise’s grandmother.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ DOYON, PROVIDED BY DESJARDINS BHERER
On the other side of the bedroom, the owners have set up an office. Between the two, there are two large wardrobes: one for work supplies, the other for clothes.
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A second stay
At the back of the house, which overlooks the courtyard, the layout of the rooms has been revised. Walls have been knocked down to make a large open-plan kitchen, adjoined by a relaxation room where there is a comfortable sofa and the television. It’s the perfect place to chat with guests while the meal is being prepared. In everyday life, children love to relax there and watch a bit of television while having lunch. “We found it practical to have this small living room adjoining the kitchen. More and more, we do this in projects, because clients ask for it,” says Marc Bherer.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The small living room adjoining the kitchen is equipped with an Element base armchair, as well as the same storage unit seen in the living room. A work by Alfred Pellan accompanies us on the descent to the basement.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The grid pattern in the shower is a reference to the Morgans Hotel, New York’s first boutique hotel.
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This is where you access the basement, whose staircase has also been moved to enlarge the bathroom. However, the designers have taken care to keep the downspout in the same direction as the original, that is, that of the joists, so that there is only one to remove. This saves you a lot of structural work.
The basement houses a family room, the respective bedrooms of the children, as well as their bathroom. This is where another work of art, family, was hung: a photo of Iceland, sketched during a trip.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
In the basement bathroom, the owners hung a photo taken during a family trip to Iceland. Since the room is used mainly by children, they each have their own sink.
Because it is indeed a family that lives here, with two young children, even if it is difficult to guess as everything is tidied up there. It must be said that these fell in when they were little, as the saying goes. And that’s good, since they’re getting a taste for it too: they’ve chosen several aspects of the decoration of their respective rooms themselves. “They have always been used to evolving with the beautiful things we had,” says their father, happy to have passed on his love of design to the young generation.