A mansion in his own style
ARCHITECT EXTRAORDINAIRE MARIO ADORNETTO represents his personal brand at home
Mario Adornetto is considered by many in Quebec’s building industry to be one of the province’s premier architectural designers of high-end homes. Adornetto honed his skills as a teenager, first by painting signs on commercial buildings (“my idea was to improve the appearance of the building, not just paint a sign”), then working for the Montreal branch of Claude Neon Ltd. (as in neon lighting), where he won prizes for his artistic expertise. That gave him the confidence to branch out and become an architectural designer and to subsequently open his own business.
“I learned on the job, slowly progressing to the point where I started designing houses,” Adornetto recalled. “I was eager to learn. I was motivated, and I just fell in love with the idea of creating images.”
Today, Adornetto lives in a luxurious, three-storey, four-bedroom, four-bathroom (plus three powder rooms) mansion in Boisbriand, which he designed himself. Situated within the 6,600-square-foot building are two garages and his studio, as well as office space for the other designers who work for him. (In a nearby house, also owned by Ador- netto, are the offices of Katerine Daoust, an interior designer with whom he is working on a number of projects.) The building is now on the market for close to $3.7 million.
Adornetto’s property represents, in a sense, his brand — an example of the kind of homes he creates for his clients. The front of the building, which is approached by a sweeping, cobblestone driveway, resembles a Norman-style manoir — a style that Adronet to first popularized in the 1990s. His clients enter by a door that bears the tonguein-cheek instruction to “park your carriages around the side of the house.”
The back of the building, which houses Adornetto’s living area, is more contemporary, with rows of large picture windows and a stoneclad exterior, reflecting his personal taste. With a separate entrance, it overlooks a flagstone patio, an in-ground hot tub and swimming pool and, beyond them, the Mille Îles River, framed by mature trees.
“I focus very much on the beauty of the house, both on the level of the exterior and the interior,” Adornetto explained. “Our clients are basically people who have been property owners for years and have probably bought four or five houses in their lives, but who now have the means to indulge themselves and purchase the type of home they really want.”
The type of home Adornetto designs involves a variety of elements beyond the amount of money a client is prepared to spend.
“I take into account a num- ber of factors — the location of the site, the topography of the land, the direction of the sun, the people themselves and what style they would like. The country look? A manoir? Traditional? Contemporary? By asking questions — lots and lots of questions — I can establish their taste, because everything evolves from that.
“Sometimes the client has an unrealistic idea of what they want, so my job is to balance all these factors, then narrow them down to create a focus for the building.
“After that, I can usually visualize what the house might look like.”
Adornetto describes how during this preliminary meeting, he scribbles a couple of sketches on a blank sheet of paper. Making adjustments as he goes, he builds up the image of a house, typically filling eight or nine pages. (In the case of his own home, he covered no fewer than 90 pages before he got the look he was after.)
“It’s a lengthy process, and it takes a bit of discussion back and forth. When I show the drawings to the client, we analyze the details, and during this phase, I add information about the construction of the building — the shape of the roof, the types of windows, decorative elements and so on — then I outline the interior. That involves features such as the lighting, the doors, the stairs, flooring, moulding that might be exclusive to a particular house, even the furniture, so that the home becomes unique.
“All of that solidifies the project in the clients’ mind. It builds their confidence and helps them visualize what the home will look like. It’s a very emotional moment because at this point, they suddenly realize that their dream — their very own personal dream — can actually become a reality.”
After the details have been worked out, the client, armed with the sketches, 3D images and a maquette, can then go to a construction company of his or her choosing. Adornetto does not always get directly involved in that part of the process, but he can source artisans who might have a particular specialty regarding certain aspects of the design, and he keeps an eye on things to make sure all is going according to plan.
“We encourage the construction company and our clients to come here and sit down with us, so we can exchange ideas. On the architectural side, it’s always important to anticipate any errors that might crop up between the design stage and constructing the building. I correct those as quickly as I can, so they don’t get out of hand.”
Adornetto is a stickler for detail, which becomes very evident when walking through his own home. Constructed in 2006, it features a variety of textures and unique architectural features, set amid a palette of neutral shades — exposed stone walls, Brazilian wood flooring, multi-paned win- dows, leather-covered chairs, glass-topped tables, pillars at each corner of the breakfast bar. The list goes on.
The interior exudes harmony, elegance and balance. In each room, the eye is led around the space in one continuous flow. Most of the furnishings, including the marble countertops in the kitchen, were custom-made by the artisans who are part of Adornetto’s network of contacts. Above the central staircase hangs an eye-catching abstract commissioned from an artist. The house has a wine cellar entered by an arched doorway and a lightfilled solarium overlooking the water.
According to Adornetto, 75 per cent of the 150 or so homes he designs in any given year are similarly custom-made. He also undertakes some renovations of existing properties but, he points out, there are often constraints regarding design, shape, size and so on, which he finds restrictive.
“Renovating is not something I’m very keen on. If I have a choice between the two, I would opt for a new building. My passion is really starting a house from scratch. I just love the idea of starting with a blank page and coming up with a beautiful home.”
With that in mind, Adornetto is planning a new place for himself. He is selling his house and workspace because he wants to bring both aspects of his business — the architectural design and the interior design — under one roof, incorporating the services of his neighbour Daoust. This building, too, will probably be in Boisbriand.