The owner’s tour | The new life of an old duplex in Saint-Lambert

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

In its first life, our property this week was a duplex in Saint-Lambert, which has remained almost as is since its construction in 1950. Its second life, which began five years ago, saw it reborn as a single-family home and transported completely elsewhere, by the magic of design.

What do you want, when you are a designer by profession and it is your passion, it is difficult to keep the status quo in your own home. The duplex had only one owner when Sophie Beaucage and her partner, Michel Robichaud, bought it in 2015. However, it was only four years later, when the tenants downstairs left, that the couple and his children left their other house in Saint-Lambert to move into their duplex.

The long dark corridor flanked by closed rooms, typical of the 1950s, was not going to last long, like many other outdated attributes. In fact, apart from the hot water heating which has been preserved, everything, absolutely everything, has been redone, both inside and outside. The final transformation into a single-family home took place after the departure of the tenants upstairs, in 2023. The result is striking, both in terms of the visual appearance and the quality of the materials. There are so many ideas per square foot!

Behind the facade

The facade of the property blends in well with those of its neighbors and, despite the contemporary nod of certain elements, it does not suggest what is hidden behind. M^me Beaucage had other ambitions for this facade, but she had to deal with the demands of the City, which wants to maintain a unity of the built heritage.

However, the originality of the house is revealed as soon as you open the front door. We then find ourselves in a welcoming and bright entrance hall, which elegantly hides its storage space. We don’t discover them right away, because the eye is already elsewhere, attracted by the central element of the house: the metal and wood staircase that the owner designed and had custom-made.

Fun and ingenious detail: the plumbing pipes that act as handrails match perfectly with the exposed steel beams that replaced the load-bearing walls, as well as with the style of the staircase. The latter is flanked by a glass wall on the side which overlooks the living room and the foyer, and a semi-openwork panel on the kitchen side, summarizes the owner.

Having difficulty finding someone here to make the fence she had imagined, she finally had it made in England. An ocean is no obstacle to a good idea.

Kitchen side

Well windowed, the kitchen is airy, functional and fully equipped. A tap, installed above the gas stove, makes it easier to fill pots. Both ovens are electric, to ease the chore of cleaning. The Dekton island is very durable and there is plenty of storage space while being discreet.

The dining room, located in what was once the living room, is topped with a dark gray stretch ceiling, which adds height. However, the owner has preserved the original plaster molding of the ceiling.

Invite the light

We moved so quickly from the entrance to the stairs that we forgot to mention Ms.’s office.^me Beaucage, cleverly placed next to the entrance hall. She can receive customers and suppliers there without interfering with the privacy of the house. Fluted glass panels separate the office from the living room, and open or close depending on the circumstances.

Letting the light shine through is a key word throughout this house.

Upstairs, the master’s quarters, with its bedroom, bathroom and large wardrobe walk-in, occupies an entire side of the house. Two more bedrooms, as well as another bathroom and laundry room, are on the other side. Windows and a skylight generously illuminate the entire floor.

In the basement, the old cement cellar has given way to a spacious living space which offers two bedrooms, a living room and a laundry section. Boasting an independent entrance, the place could easily be used as intergenerational accommodation.

Outdoor living area

When it comes to transformations, the exterior is not left out. In the courtyard, the cleverly furnished cedar terrace adds a comfortable living area during the summer. A heated above-ground concrete swimming pool has even found a home there. Corten steel panels, judiciously placed, contribute to privacy.

Outside as inside, we are struck by the details and the harmony of the whole.

“I think about everything down to the smallest detail. When I do a project, I put all my soul into it,” confides M^me Beaucage, who draws a lot of inspiration from his travels for his work.

In fact, the owners travel a lot and for longer and longer periods, which is the primary reason for putting them up for sale. The children have now left the family nest, Mr. Robichaud is retired, and Mr.^me Beaucage is also considering slowing down her professional activities. In addition, they have a country house in Estrie. The time has come for them to travel lighter, but it is not without regret that they will leave this house and their beloved Saint-Lambert, a peaceful and green town where they had the pleasure of living and raising. their children.

Consult the property file