Transforming a magnificent 19th-century Westmount house
Located on a unique stretch of Grosvenor Avenue, just south of Sherbrooke Street, this residence forms part of a dense row of two-storey brick homes dating back to the late nineteenth century. Designed in 1898 by the celebrated architectural firm Saxe & Archibald, the home stands out for its eclectic composition that blends Queen Anne exuberance with Neo-Renaissance references, set within a richly ornamented but almost pastoral atmosphere. Drawn in by the remarkably well-preserved original woodwork and plaster mouldings, the homeowners nonetheless encountered the constraints of a dark, outdated kitchen, aging bathrooms, and, above all, tightly proportioned bedrooms on the upper floor. The question quickly emerged: how could this historic gem be adapted to contemporary life without diminishing its character?
The design strategy was guided by restraint, focusing on interventions that were truly necessary. The most substantial changes were made to the kitchen, which was entirely reconfigured around a central island opened to the outdoors through new French doors. The former service staircase, once reserved for staff, makes way for a bar and cabinetry that structures the scullery on the ground floor, and a guest bathroom upstairs. Above the entrance hall, a masterful skylight was introduced, washing the exceptional craftsmanship of the main staircase in natural light. On the upper level, the primary suite was completely reorganized—now opening onto the rear balcony—to integrate a luxurious bathroom connected to a walk-in dressing room. Inspired by the pointed arches of the original openings, the details of the new doors and custom millwork echo this motif through delicate, lancet curves.
The home’s renewed identity celebrates craftsmanship through a rich palette of textures and colours. Walls alternate between playful patterned wallpapers and vibrant limewash finishes. In several rooms, intense, saturated tones immerse the visitor in a cozy cocoon of colour. Marble mosaics and deeply hued stone tiles extend across floors and walls, offering a striking counterpoint to the carefully restored woodwork. In the living room, the original heritage fireplace surround was meticulously preserved to frame a new low-emission insert, crowned by a sculpted marble mantel. Behind this respectful restoration, comprehensive upgrades to the building envelope and HVAC systems significantly enhance the home’s energy performance. The result is a discreet, contemporary comfort, achieved with full respect for this architectural masterpiece of the past century.
On a quiet street lined with welcoming verandas and finely crafted woodwork, two women from Montreal found the perfect place to begin anew. Drawn by the village’s timeless charm and tranquil atmosphere, they purchased a neglected 1970s bungalow with a vision in mind.
Their ambition was clear: rebuild with care, honouring the character of the village and its planning rules, while imagining a contemporary home that belongs without imitating.
Set parallel to the street, the new house is modest in scale yet refined in detail. Locally crafted casement windows with divided panes echo the proportions of neighbouring homes. Red pine cladding, lightly stained, outlines the clean geometry of the façade. A discreet garage, set back behind a hedge, ensures the house itself engages openly with the street. Inside, raw basswood paneling brings warmth and a sense of continuity between country cabin and village dwelling.
The project highlights local expertise — carpentry, joinery, cabinetmaking, tiling — while embracing sustainable choices: compact volumes, high-performance insulation, and low-carbon materials.
Rather than standing out, the house settles naturally into its surroundings, adopting the rhythm, codes, and textures of this Victorian village. Designed to be lived in for many years to come, Knowlton Prairie is a home of quiet simplicity and enduring presence.
A large home in Boucherville makes peace with itself
Built in 1949, this village house had lived through several eras, accumulating scattered interventions without a clear guideline. In addition to adding a garage and reworking the basement, the owners wanted to requalify the main entrance and create a back terrace, all while preserving the home’s welcoming character.
The new garage is linked to the house by a covered gallery that highlights the entrance. This addition clarifies and organizes the once multiple and ambiguous points of access, making the sequence more intuitive. At the back, a new covered terrace becomes a second heart of the home. Built in natural cedar, it offers a bright gathering place, perfect for enjoying the yard and its leafy canopy. The renewal of the slate-grey shingles and the richer green siding brings a new sense of harmony to the whole.
Work in the basement rounds out the project, adding warmth and conviviality. Despite the challenge of a low ceiling height, the space feels brighter and more comfortable. A large wooden built-in wall unit structures the living room, while an adjoining bathroom serves the guest bedroom.
A project full of finesse, where transformation manifests itself in continuity rather than rupture!
Restoring a distinguished early 20th-century home in Ville-Marie
On the edge of downtown and Westmount, this colonial-style house retained much of its charm despite years of neglect and careless renovations. Before moving in, the owners sought to breathe new life into it— while preserving its character and the history of the neighborhood.
The project called for a complete interior renovation: the kitchen and two bathrooms were reimagined, the living room floors restored, the boiler replaced, and every surface repainted. Outside, the front porch was carefully restored to its original elegance.
At the rear, a generous covered terrace extends over the driveway to the garage, offering a welcoming outdoor living space. The landscape design was completely reworked to integrate the garage access seamlessly and showcase the residence. Storm windows were also considered to ensure both comfort and energy performance while respecting the home’s heritage value.
Sober yet warm, the design seeks to balance contemporary expression with the architectural richness of the house. Each intervention was conceived to reveal and carry forward the spirit of this dwelling, while adapting it to today’s way of living.
Construction of a farmhouse on a wooded lot in Vieux-Boucherville
What luck ! The family had long owned the last undeveloped lot on the street, a cul-de-sac near the railway. The project: to build a two-story house, discreet and well-integrated into this suburban landscape of Canadian houses, cottages, and bungalows with varied forms. Mature trees and the natural character of the site guided the design, emphasizing views and drawing inspiration from the bucolic architecture of the countryside.
Facing the street, the house is organized around a main “L”-shaped volume, which brings together the living spaces and bedrooms. Two attached volumes—the dining room and the garage—anchor the composition on the site. Its light, material expression draws from the vernacular vocabulary of Vieux-Boucherville: horizontal white wood siding, standing-seam metal roof, and rhythmically arranged openings.
The generous entrance opens onto a double-height staircase aligned with the dining room, which features extensive glazing overlooking the tree-lined edge. The large kitchen, open to the living area, features full-height white cabinetry. The interiors, bright and spacious, evoke the spirit of farmhouses: cozy nooks, simple circulation, and a direct connection to the outdoors.
Blending nature and comfort, the house reinterprets the farmhouse spirit: abundant in light, open to greenery, and oriented towards generous outdoor spaces, it offers everything expected from a family home in the inner suburban ring !
A Family Brings New Life to the Top Two Floors of an Ahuntsic Triplex
How do you settle your family into a century-old triplex without stripping it of its character? By occupying the top two floors, this young family chose to keep the ground-floor rental unit while showcasing the building’s historic charm. The goal: preserve the soul of the place while adapting it to modern needs. Painted woodwork, plaster rosettes, original brick, and period doors were carefully maintained, then paired with understated, inviting materials—light oak, terracotta, and colorful wallpapers. The result favors harmony over contrast, the warmth of embers over the abstraction of snow.
Formerly divided living spaces now open onto the backyard and its mature trees. The central staircase, opened through the full height of the home, links both floors and emphasizes verticality. Light shifts throughout the day, creating ever-changing atmospheres.
The typical central circulation of Montréal apartments is preserved, but reimagined for smoother flow. Each room naturally finds its place according to daily life. Built-in furniture—a bench, desk, and Murphy bed—maximizes every inch of space, meeting the evolving needs of the household.
The marks of the past remain intact, without compromising the comfort and functionality a city family requires. The result is a home that feels both familiar and renewed—warm, lived-in, and full of life.
One of Frelighsburg’s oldest Loyalist homes restored and expanded with a private library
On the bucolic Eccles Hill Road, a charming 19th-century Loyalist house stands proudly. It’s hard to imagine that the brick extension flanking it on the right is not part of the original construction. It is, however, the work of a contemporary architect, providing a home for the vast collection of a passionate reader!
With the greatest respect for this country heritage, the architects chose to build the extension in the Georgian style of the period. Set back from the main building, the new volume is linked to the summer kitchen by a small veranda. Its orange-red brick facades are punctuated by solid wood sash and Georgian bar windows. The solid wood frieze on the gable adorns the double-pitched metal roof. The exterior gallery that once encircled the main house has been reconstructed from historic photos found in the municipal archives. Extending into the extension, it forms a harmonious and coherent whole. Inside, the walnut woodwork and shutters contrast with the limewashed walls. High-performance insulation in the walls and roof create a soothing acoustic and thermal environment. Comfortably seated with a hot chocolate, what a pleasure to let the afternoon drift away reading and admiring the breathtaking landscape of the orchards surrounding this magnificent house !
Fifteen years later, an architect-designed house remodeled by… architects !
Originally extended in the backyard by Nature Humaine in 2010, this Rosemont shoebox featured a spacious double-height dining room that opened generously onto the courtyard, a stunning solid walnut island, and a mezzanine master bedroom. However, with their two growing children and the rise of remote work, the family found the space inadequate. How to expand this beautiful, award-winning single-family residence on a reasonable budget, without compromising its essence, in a context of marked inflation?
The architects responded by adding a floor to the 2010 extension, utilizing the new concrete foundation to create two children’s bedrooms at the rear. This new volume also includes a double-height living room with a large window overlooking the garden. To minimize the renovation’s impact while enhancing the original design, the kitchen and dining room were revitalized. At the front, one existing bedroom was transformed into an office, while another was upgraded to include a walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom for the parents.
Energy efficiency has been improved, ensuring the integrity of this precious gem of Montreal’s modern heritage is preserved. The Saint-Hubert residence embarks on its second life !
Three new designer townhouses replaces a run-down single-family dwelling in Villeray
In a severe maintenance deficit for several years, this post-war single-family home was already abandoned when a developer’s purchase offer was accepted. Built on a triple lot but detached from the adjoining duplex to the north, its volume was no longer in keeping with the densification of this neighborhood just a block from the d’Iberville metro station. Faced with regulations limiting construction to a single dwelling per lot, the developer chose to optimize the number of rooms per unit to accommodate three families.
Each townhouse is built on three levels, with living spaces on the first floor and the three main bedrooms upstairs. The hall opens onto a large ash closet that opens onto the kitchen. Central to the composition, the white volume of the wooden staircase leading to the first floor flanks the dining room on the courtyard side and the living room on the street side. Upstairs, the stairwell features an office bathed in natural light. The rear entrance, which opens onto the garden, forms a large landing-vestibule leading to the family room below. In addition to two guest bedrooms ideal for offices, the basement features a full bathroom and plenty of storage space. Highlighted by the beige clay brick motif and the khaki staircase, the repetition of the three semi-detached units creates a rhythmic composition on the front facade. The compact geometry of the townhouses benefits from an excellent supply of natural light, with generous fenestration on both the street and the alley. At the rear, wood paneling matching the windows crowns the upper floor. With its natural cedar bicycle garages and permeable paver play areas, the Triplettes d’Iberville has everything to please families who want to enjoy this quiet, very central residential neighborhood !
This Rosemont shoebox had already been expanded at the rear by a developer. Spacious and generously open to the courtyard, the living room gave the impression of a poorly laid-out loft. The rear facade concealed a deficient structure and water infiltration problems. In addition to redesigning the living area, the new owners wanted to add a third bedroom floor.
By proposing to integrate this additional room within the existing structure, the architects not only improved the organization of the living areas but also managed to keep costs in check. The new wooden volume utilized the high ceiling, creating a half-floor that provided ample storage space. Behind this volume, the living room was both practical and cozy, featuring a built-in cabinet illuminated by natural zenithal light. The rest of the open-plan area flowed into a spacious kitchen and dining room that opened onto the courtyard. To enhance composition and balance proportions, the high ceilings were lined with red oak chair rails. The project necessitated a complete reconstruction of the rear facade to accommodate the bedroom window and enhance natural light and ventilation in the living area. The original clay bricks were carefully dismantled and reinstated, preserving the warmth and efficiency of the renovation. This transformation exemplifies how a poorly configured space can be revitalized by expanding it from within.
