DOWNSIZING WITH STYLE
Couple in 60s leaves 17-room house for luxury condo
Until three years ago, Michelle and Guy Bouthillier lived in what Michelle describes as a “very big house.” Situated in Outremont, it boasted 17 rooms filled with antiques and original artwork. In 2015, the retired couple, who are in their late 60s, decided the home was too much to look after and started looking around for a smaller place. The Bouthilliers have four children (and five grandchildren) who had long since forged lives of their own. The couple needed enough space to accommodate the family when they visited, but they certainly didn’t need as many rooms as before. To that end, they began searching for another house, scouring newspaper ads and visiting open houses. They ended up with a 2,800-square-foot condo in Outremont, which had been two condos at one time, converted into one residence by a previous owner. That, however, wasn’t the end of the story. Michelle was initially ambivalent about moving and wasn’t keen on their new abode, so she and her husband put it back on the market. Their “very big house” was on the market at the same time and both properties sold within 10 days! The saga continued when the buyer of the condo changed his mind and the Bouthilliers took it back. They’re now finally settled in their beautiful home, part of a luxury condo development, which encompasses a health centre and a sports complex. The Bouthilliers’ condo has five bedrooms (two are home offices), three bathrooms, an open-plan living/dining room, a laundry room, a small balcony and a large, enclosed garden. Q You have a garden and yet the condo is one floor above ground level? M: The way it has been designed is ingenious. Although we were looking for an apartment, we didn’t want to live in a highrise development. The garden was what finally sealed the deal for us. It’s beautiful in the summer with all the flowers and it’s a great place for the grandchildren to play when they come to visit.
Q The condo certainly looks more like a house than an apartment. M: Yes it does. And I feel very comfortable with that.
Q Looking around the interior with your elegant antiques and all your beautiful paintings, it seems as if you’ve created a smaller version of what you had before? M: (Laughs.) That was more or less the idea. I had to get rid of so many things, but we had plenty left over to furnish this place. We still have stuff in storage that we didn’t have any room for. My children didn’t want any of it, either.