The owner’s tour | An architectural emblem

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

With the arrival of their daughter, Sarah and Alexandre Lombardi quickly felt cramped in their condo in the Old Port of Montreal. They then proposed a win-win solution to Sarah’s mother, owner of an ancestral residence in Dorval: a house exchange.

“My mother wanted to live in a smaller space, and we needed a bigger home,” explains the doctor who gave birth to a second child last year. “The simplest option was to move to each other’s homes. »

Simpler ? Yes and no. Moving into a heritage house, more than 200 years old, always has its share of challenges. “Honestly, my mother didn’t know how we were going to stay here with children,” admits M.^me Lombardi.

With the agreement of Sarah’s mother, the couple therefore undertook extensive renovation work after their move in 2020, while respecting the venerable age of this true architectural emblem for the Dorval community.

Built in the early 1800s, just across Lake Saint-Louis, this old country house was occupied by several generations of the same family for almost 100 years. It is not without reason that it illustrates the cover of a municipal history book. It is also the subject of an exhibition at the local heritage museum as a typical example of rural dwellings of the time.

Of course, the venerable residence has benefited from several renovations during its life, including the addition of dormer windows in 1910 and an annex in 1979. But, despite the repair of the roof and the insulation work carried out in In recent years, she still needed love, the couple admits.

Sarah and Alexandre Lombardi quickly got to work. Their goal: to create a contemporary interior while preserving the rustic charm of the house.

A historical character to be preserved, with a touch of modernity

Thus, in each room, the couple combined modern conveniences with period materials and textures. Here, a fieldstone wall; there, ceramic counters and rough wooden beams.

If they had a partition knocked down to better let in natural light, they also knew how to keep small, convenient storage spaces in incongruous places. Like this wardrobe at the foot of the attic staircase, as charming as it is tiny, dating from the era of large families when every space was limited.

To preserve the historic character of the house, considerable effort was invested in repairing the exposed ceiling beams, as well as the original tiger oak flooring, on the ground floor.

“We were lucky to find a carpenter who was able to replace the broken boards by taking good pieces from the entrance floor. He really worked very hard to achieve this. I think he retired after finishing here,” says Alexandre Lombardi, in front of the large living room and dining room, designed for perfect evenings.

Deep sofas, arranged in front of a gas fireplace, and a large television occupy the center of the vast room. In one corner, a 180-bottle cellar adjoins a bar worthy of a private mansion, with complete accessories and refrigerated drawers. With a simple command, guests can adjust the lighting, control the temperature, open or close the blinds or even start the music.

“We really like to receive our friends,” admits the young woman, all smiles.

Simple and warm

The cuisine is based on the same concern for hospitality. Housed in the annex, it combines old character with modern efficiency. With its powerful gas stove, its two ovens, its deep double sink and its large capacity fridge, it allows you to concoct memorable meals for a large number of guests.

That said, its dining area and pretty bench remind us that pleasures also often lie in the simplicity of a family dinner.

Despite the modest dimensions of the house, its upper floor contains no less than four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Surprisingly, the master bedroom occupies almost half of the original square without reducing the other rooms to simple cupboards.

And then, as a bonus, a narrow staircase leads to a pretty converted attic from where you can observe Lake Saint-Louis through one of the two skylights. Alexandre Lombardi, who works in the banking sector, has set up his office there… among his children’s toys.

The land is bordered by a stone wall and high cedar hedges which provide relative privacy. But today, the pair of parents nevertheless dream of large spaces to raise their family. “We renovated this house without making any compromises, because we really thought we would stay there for a very long time,” assure Sarah and Alexandre Lombardi.