RETIREMENT MEANS MORE TIME TO ENJOY
Marie Blouin Nightingale has adapted to her new smaller space
Marie Blouin Nightingale is in her late 60s. Recently retired, she was the marketing manager for a wealth management firm, but her job entailed many tasks beyond promoting her employer’s company and dealing with the media.
Nightingale, who has a law degree from Université de Montréal and is fluently bilingual, also coordinated all the translation work for her company, helped her colleagues with investment portfolios, wrote website content and was the “chief proofreader” for texts in English and French. She loved her busy job, but by the time her retirement rolled round in June, she was ready for a more laid-back lifestyle.
Nightingale’s husband had died five years earlier. Her three children had fled the nest, and she had already downsized from a large house to a condo in Côte-des-Neiges. Now, she says, “every day is like a Saturday.”
Nightingale’s condo is on the fifth floor of a complex of apartments built around a communal green space. She has two bedrooms (one serves as a den/guest room), an open living/dining area and a long balcony overlooking a rock wall covered with greenery — part of the grounds of St-Joseph’s Oratory. She shares her home with Tintin, an English springer spaniel who is named after the cartoon character.
Q I understand you found it tough to downsize after years of living in a large home?
A That’s putting it mildly. The move wasn’t the problem. My husband worked for Power Corporation and was transferred several times during the course of his career. We’d moved 18 times, seven of which were major moves, either out of Quebec or abroad — but always to a big house. The problem was adjusting to a much smaller space.
I couldn’t have managed it without the help of my two
daughters who each took a week off from their respective jobs. One came from Algeria, the other from New Brunswick. They encouraged me to use the word “purge” and put it into action. My son’s idea was to hire a dump truck, throw everything out and start anew.
Q I trust he was joking ?
A Of course, but it was difficult choosing what to take and what to get rid of. In the end, I organized a big garage sale. What I didn’t sell, I just gave away.
Q So what did you bring with you to the condo?
A Things of sentimental value. The desk in the living room, for example, came from my childhood home. The two vintage chairs beside it were my mother’s.
Q That’s an interesting diptych with the dogs and a human figure at the end of your dining table. The two panels take up almost the entire wall.
A Some people like to hang a mirror on an end wall to make a space look bigger, but I preferred to hang this piece of art. My husband and I had it for years. We bought it in St- Sauveur, and it has been in all our homes.
Q Your dining table and ghost chairs look new.
A They are. My first idea was to get a glass-topped table. I looked and looked for about a month, but one day, I happened to wander into Maison Corbeil and this set was on display. I really liked the look of it.
Q But the top obviously isn’t made of glass?
A No. It’s galvanized steel. (Nightingale points out a few other things: a painting from Cuba where she lived for a while, a new sofa and armchair purchased from Leon’s when she moved to the condo and, beside them, an antique chest of drawers from her previous home. She invites me onto her balcony, which is furnished with armchairs, cushions, plants and an old treadle sewing machine that serves as a side table.)
Q Wow! What a terrific space!
A In the summer, this is my living room. What I particularly like about it is that I’m looking out at a “forest” rather than somebody else’s apartment. The balcony is very private and it’s covered, which shields me from the sun.
(From the balcony, Nightingale walks me into her bedroom where she points out her drapes and matching bedspread. Their background colour is ivory and they are embellished with a striped, red and green floral pattern.)
Q Were your curtains custom made?
A They came from my mother’s home, and I just I love the design of the fabric. They weren’t really custom made, but I did have the drapes altered to fit my window.
(Walking back to the living room, we pass the second bedroom where there is a large photograph of Nightingale with her three children when they were young. The picture hangs above a piano.)
Q Do you play?
A I do, but now that I’m retired I want to improve. I also want to paint.
Q I guess you’ll now have time to enjoy doing those things?
A Exactly!