The owner’s tour | A house-chapel, between sound and light

Owners open the doors of their exceptional residence to us, offered on the resale market.

Sylvain Sarrazin
The Press

Once is not custom, this week we visit a property that stands far from the whirlwind of millions, while presenting a very special character.

And it is true that it clashes, this curious house-chapel of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, in a district where the bungalows occupy many lots. “When we bought, one of the neighbors told us: ‘Your house is super beautiful, but it’s in the wrong place!’ says Alain Ste-Marie, co-owner with his wife Brigitte Ouimet since the early 2000s.

From the outside, it already announces the color, with an architecture subtly reminiscent of a Romanesque church (its silhouette could evoke that of a bell tower extended by a nave), covered with bricks and pink granite, all complemented by elements of verdigris roof, according to the instructions of the former owner, a school principal who had it custom-built with his nephew.

The impression is confirmed as soon as you enter the main door, with a cathedral roof and a rather confusing arrangement of elements, where stair railings, low walls and window panes establish a link between the entrance, the dining room, the kitchen and the living room. “At the first visit, we had a revelation! says Mr. Ste-Marie in a wink, perfectly aware that the effect caused differs from one observer to another. “It’s contemporary and design, it doesn’t appeal to everyone…”, he warns.

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Fundamentally seduced, for their part, by the open spaces, Brigitte and Alain also know the keystone, because this layout and these high ceilings are not only a matter of volumes: it is also a question of sound. “The director had the house built around the sound: he had placed his piano where the living room is so that the music invades the room,” explains Mr. Ste-Marie.

The current occupants are not musicians, but when they listen to a few songs, a tiny speaker is enough to fill the space, the echo serving as an amplifier.

And after considering adding a mezzanine to extend the living space, they finally left this central room in its original state; which does not mean that they have not put their stamp on these places. “When we arrived, everything was completely white”, remember the owners, who kept part of this tint to highlight the abundant light entering through the flurry of windows on the south side. But they also brought their touches of design and colors to it, balancing everything: the staircase, for example, was redone by Mr. Ste-Marie, while the kitchen was completely renovated by Mr.^me Ouimet, professional cook.

Upstairs, three rooms of modest dimensions have been nestled: an exercise room (which can be converted into a bedroom), the master bedroom and a bathroom, also renovated with beautiful mosaics, and which has the particularity of be inserted between the two other rooms, each of its neighbors being connected to it. As for the basement, it has been fitted out with warm accents, highlighting the original fireplace and a bar built by Alain Ste-Marie — by salvaging wood scraps from his brother-in-law! There is also a third bedroom and the garage.

The landscaping around and in the backyard (also facing south) is very pleasant, brightened up by flowering shrubs and bushes, with a terrace adjoining the dining room, a kiosk below, a small pond, a vegetable garden in the bottom of the garden, as well as an imposing silver fir. “When we arrived, there were no flowers, and behind there were lots of fruit trees. The former owner stood in the middle and stretched out his arms: the birds came to settle there”, evoke the owners, visibly marked by the personality of their predecessor.

Today, even if they say they particularly appreciate the surroundings (parks, marina and waterfront are a stone’s throw away), they will head for other shores — those of Saint-Zotique — in order to get closer of their children and grandchildren. Who will be the next generation of owners to have a revelation in this house-chapel? Only god knows. And maybe, too, a broker.