BLENDED FAMILY COZY IN CONDO
Mile End home features loft-like feel
Geneviève Weynerowski describes herself as having “a Bohemian heart.” That perhaps isn’t too surprising. She has led an interesting life. The daughter of a diplomat, Weynerowski, who is a writer and translator, has lived in Ottawa, Tunisia and Belgium. After her parents separated, her father was posted to Baghdad and, while Weynerowski didn’t live with him there, she and her siblings did visit a number of times. A souvenir from one of those visits — an antique leather chest from a synagogue in Iraq — adorns her living room.
Weynerowski is married to Murray Jensen, a neuroscientist and businessman whose company conducts clinical trials around the world. Both have been married before and between them, they have a blended family of four children — three of whom live with the couple in their modern Mile End condo.
Until they found their present home in 2014, they had been living in their own apartments and it took them quite a while to find just the right space to accommodate two adults and three teenagers. They did a lot of research online but many of the featured apartments were basically what Weynerowski characterizes as “warrens of small rooms,” typical of many of the century-old properties in areas like Westmount and the Plateau.
Just as she was losing heart and wondering whether moving was going to be worth the effort, she came across a condo on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website.
The building that caught her eye was a work in progress. A duplex that had stood on the site had been razed to the ground and only the bones remained, however, the new structure looked promising. It was going to have four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a rooftop terrace — ample space for a family of two adults and three soon-to-be adults.
Q I guess even though it was unfinished, you could visualize what the condo would become? A I really liked the features of the building. The facade was similar to the original. As well as providing plenty of living space, the outside retained some of the features of a typical Mile End duplex.
Q What about the interior? I presume that was very different from before? A Absolutely. We were the first owners, so we were able to make some modifications to the builder’s plans.
Q Such as? A Almost everything. We designed the staircase up to the mezzanine. We chose the flooring, the tiles in the bathroom, the cabinetry. Everything! And the kitchen was custom built to our specifications.
(The kitchen has a centre island, which divides it from the living room. The floors are hardwood and the appliances are brushed steel. This space and the adjoining, open dining area and home office is flooded with light from rows of windows and white walls, making this area seem even brighter.)
Q All this light and your high ceilings give your condo the feel of a loft. A They do.
(We wander from the kitchen/ living room into the area where the family eats their meals. Splashes of colour are provided by a sienna circular rug, a woodframed mirror and wood trim on the countertops and along the edges of the built-in cupboards. A large abstract painting hanging above the dining table and a cluster of turquoise, mustard, Day-Glo pink and royal blue Charles Eames replica chairs, add another burst of colour.)
Q I like your jolly Charles Eames moulded chairs. A I chose a few different colours rather than the plain black and white ones most people seem to have. It’s a classical style.
(To the right of the dining table is a charcoal wall, covered in drawings, messages and cartoons.)
Q Blackboard paint? A Exactly. The kids can scribble away to their hearts’ content. My son Asher likes to write silly jokes.
Q You mentioned you had a rooftop terrace? A Do we have a terrace!
(We climb the stairs past the bedrooms — each decorated in different colours, including one that is a startling lime green, Asher’s favourite colour.
(The bedroom belonging to Halie Mei, the eldest child, is on the mezzanine and she has her own bathroom.
(The rooftop terrace is indeed large and wraps around the top of the building. The floor of the deck and the walls are clad in wood. A couple of trees in white planters stand opposite built-in wooden benches. A number of Montreal landmarks can be seen in the distance.)
In the summer we put out cushions on the benches — they’re blue — and sometimes, on hot days, the kids sleep here overnight.