LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
‘I just looked at the photos on the website, signed the lease and that was that! Bing. Bang. Boom!’
Jérémie Beaulieu is a young man in a hurry. When I interviewed him, he’d been in his condo for only two weeks, but already wanted me to come and check it out. His propensity to do things in a hurry and to make quick decisions also spills over into his professional life.
The 31-year-old, who graduated with a degree in communications from Université du Québec à Montréal, specializes in ‘social’ marketing, which seeks to make changes to society, a philosophy favoured by many of his fellow millennials. The way it works in his company, MS.MTL Media, is that a certain percentage of a project’s cost is donated to a charitable organization of the client’s choosing.
Prior to founding his company last August, Beaulieu had worked with major publishers, but he felt that his creativity was being stifled in the corporate world. Although he knew he would have to do without a paycheque for a while, he did a lot of research (“The marketing world here is so different from the rest of Canada,” he explained) and so far, he said, things have worked out well. Beaulieu has organized several major events and is gradually building up a network of clients.
At the same time as he was developing his company, Beaulieu decided to move into the city. He had been living on Nun’s Island and he was keen to be closer to downtown. Targeting Old Montreal, he searched online where he found his new abode, a rented condo on the 10th floor of a building constructed in 2014.
The condo — a corner unit — has an open-plan living room/dining area and kitchen, and is surrounded on two sides by floor-to-ceiling glass. There is a small balcony (also glassed in, so as not to impede the view) and two bathrooms. Beaulieu also has access to a wellequipped gym (where he starts his day) and a swimming pool.
Q You told me that you even made a snap decision when it came to renting this apartment.
A Well, yes. I was due to go to Mexico the following day, so I didn’t have time to visit. I just looked at the photos on the website, signed the lease and that was that! Bing. Bang. Boom!
Q I notice you don’t have a great deal of furniture. Is that because you’ve just moved in?
A Not really. I like the stark, simple look. My style is contemporary minimalist, blended with mid-century.
Q Was this the furniture you had before, in Nun’s Island?
A No. I went out and bought everything new.
Q Did you shop around?
A I didn’t have time for that! I just went to Structube — I like their style and they’re not too expensive — and I said, I’ll have that and that and that and that.
(The “thats” in question are a dark grey sofa and matching armchairs, a pale grey rug, a dining table and grey-green 1950s-style upholstered dining chairs with tapered legs. At the far end of this combined dining/ living area is a white TV stand, on top of which stands a vintage radio.)
Q Does your radio work?
A Yes. It does. Isn’t that cool? It was going to be put in the garbage so I took it.
Q But no television?
A I don’t have the patience to watch TV. I might get one eventually, but I doubt it.
Q I love your trio of forest scenes. Where did you get these pictures?
A They were taken by a photographer friend, Shanne Steven. She tinted them in different colours and printed them on different materials, like Plexiglas.
Q They’re very striking and they do lend some colour to your black, white and grey decor. I see that even your kitchen has a black and white colour scheme. I guess your countertop is black quartz?
A Yes, it is, but what I like best about the layout of the kitchen is the fact that everything is hidden away. (He opens several of the glossy, all-white kitchen cabinets to show me how the shelves slide in and out.) Even the fridge is hidden away. The kitchen has nice, clean lines. That’s what I like.
(We walk into the smaller of the two bedrooms, which serves as Beaulieu’s home office. The only pieces of furniture are a desk and a chair. From there, we stroll into the master bedroom, which, like the living room, has floor-to-ceiling windows. They look straight into a neighbouring apartment building.)
Q I see you’ve got vertical blinds in this room. Is that for privacy?
A It is, but I actually have blinds in all the rooms. I like to leave them open, especially at night. In this part of Old Montreal, the buildings are a mixture of old and new and when all the lights are on, it’s just beautiful.
If you would like your home to be considered for Shelter, please contact hloverseed@sympatico.ca.