PARTY PERFECT

Manotick home transformed

Thirty years of memories fill a Manotick home built by Michel and Judy Rodrigue in 1987. They have watched their children grow up, celebrated milestone wedding anniversaries and, most recently, retirement in the house south of Ottawa.

Now a distant memory, Judy remembers her husband commuting from Orléans to Manotick every day to build the house piece by piece on what was originally an empty lot.

“There is a lot of love, sweat and tears in this house,” she said. After many decades, the house became worn and outdated, but never lost its sentimental charm.

It’s because of this and the couple’s attachment to the surrounding community that they decided to renovate the space instead of moving into a new home before Michel’s retirement.

Award-winning renovator Norm Lecuyer, president of ARTium Design Build Inc., and his team transformed the main floor of the house from an outdated and disconnected space to an open-concept and modern living area perfect for entertaining.

The biggest change took place in the kitchen.

“Our breakthrough design item was to actually relocate the entire kitchen to face the exterior,” said Lecuyer. His team literally flipped the kitchen so that people could view the picturesque backyard through exterior windows.

“It just feels so enlightening when you walk into that space and it’s no longer a corridor, but wide open. It’s just dramatic,” he said. “The connection. The openness. You just feel more comfortable.”

Before renovation, the kitchen donned cabinets with a dark golden-oak finish, laminate countertops and white appliances. It was semi-functional, but the layout made it difficult for more than one person to be in the space at any given time.

The kitchen was isolated from the remainder of the home with walls restricting movement from one room to another.

The renovation team knocked out those existing walls, allowing for a natural flow between the living area, kitchen and dining room. They also built a kitchen peninsula to increase counter space.

“It’s barely recognizable,” said Lecuyer and he’s right.

The open-concept layout creates a natural flow between all rooms on the main floor. The renovation was designed so that the couple could entertain in a comfortable and connected environment.

Black countertops, white cabinets and grey and beige accents complement the modern feel of the new kitchen. Light spills into the space from large windows and stainless-steel appliances blend nicely into the kitchen’s sleek look.

There is a seamless transition between the kitchen and living areas, which follow the same colour scheme. A gas fireplace sits at the far end of the room and a cosy seating area surrounds it.

At the other end of the open-concept space is a dining area and a patio door, which enters onto their back porch and allows for outdoor and indoor integration — perfect for summer parties.

The couple’s vision became a reality. Their home is now an inviting area for hosting friends and family.

“Every party becomes a kitchen party,” said Judy. The pair has continued to make happy memories in the house, including Christmas with their extended family and celebrating Michel’s retirement.

“ARTium was a really good fit for us,” said Michel. “You hear a lot about renovations that go badly and are difficult, but they made this look easy.”

PHOTOS: ARTIUM DESIGN BUILD RENOVATIONS Manotick’s Judy Rodrigue says “every party becomes a kitchen party” thanks to her and husband Michel’s new open-concept kitchen.

Before the renovations, left, the kitchen was closed off from the rest of the home and had little to no natural light. Now, right, the kitchen appears to be significantly larger than the original, but remains within its existing footprint. The two walls encasing the previous kitchen were torn down and it has been repositioned to face the exterior of the home.