ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Osteopath built up to enlarge Plateau living space
Carole Dumais is an acupuncturist and osteopath and for many years she owned a country house in Racine in the Eastern Townships.
She always kept a rented piedà-terre in Montreal, but in 1997 she decided it was time to buy a residence in the city.
To that end, she bought a duplex in the Plateau, then in 2000 sold her country house. Next, she started converting her 1890-era home into a combined work and living area.
Dumais operated her clinic on the ground floor and lived on the second floor, but after a while she wondered if she could enlarge her living space, which she figured might increase the value of the building.
After chatting to her Czech neighbour, who explained in Europe it was common to build up rather than out, she decided to add a third floor. (“After a couple of glasses of wine, it seemed like a great idea,” she recalled.) That proved to be quite a challenge, but she succeeded.
Her living area, which consisted of several closed rooms, was opened up to create an all-in-one kitchen/dining/living space and small bedroom (Dumais uses it as a den and to accommodate guests). The upstairs — a large bedroom-cum-studio (she is an accomplished artist) was added in 2005. Her apartment has two terraces and a couple of bathrooms.
So what exactly were the challenges you faced in creating an upper floor?
I had to get the advice of a couple of engineers before the architect’s plans were approved by the city. First, I had to check the foundation. Luckily, this building rests on solid rock. I was advised I had to put in steel support beams for the roof. That proved to be more complicated. It was necessary for a new roof to be free-standing because the redistribution of the weight might have caused the building to buckle.
But the ceiling beams look pretty old?
That’s because they’re original. When the builder took off the existing roof there were all these wood beams underneath. They were almost like new because they’d been covered for over a century and hadn’t been varnished or anything. The wood beams you see here are actually just for decoration. They’re covering the new beams that are underneath.
What a good idea. I wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t told me.
Well, I wanted to protect the integrity of the building, to respect its age. It’s over a century old. That’s also why I put in these red pine floors.
I like the exposed brick half-wall above your queensize bed. That also gives the room an “antique” look. And these pictures on the easels in your studio. I presume you did them?
Yep. That’s a portrait of my boyfriend’s grandchild and this is what I call my “candy box” of materials.
(She indicates a table on which stands an open box filled with pastels of every conceivable shade, arranged in rows. We walk back to the bedroom end of the room.)
That’s quite a walk-in closet. So many clothes and shoes ...
(Laughs.) Me and Imelda Marcos. Actually, I call this my “walk-out” closet because it leads to one of the terraces.
You have more than one?
The other terrace is downstairs, off the kitchen. That’s the one I use most of the time. It overlooks a wall covered in vines and a modern apartment building that has won an architectural award.
(We walk downstairs to take a look. Along the way, Dumais explains the kitchen cabinets were custom built and she stained the green shutters by hand, instead of hanging drapes in front of the windows. Her two black leather couches in the seating area came from Mobilia and other pieces of vintage-style furniture, such as the dining-room table, were sourced at second-hand stores or bought from friends.)
Who painted that stunning picture of the young woman, hanging above your couch?
That’s another one of mine. She’s a lovely osteopath — my muse — whom I refer to as my adopted “daughter.” Her mom is dead and I don’t have children, so we decided to adopt one another.
I noticed as well as your own artwork, you seem to have lots of animal bones and skulls and horns around the place. Is there a story behind those?
(Laughs.) Nothing sinister. Because I’m an acupuncturist and an osteopath, I’m interested in anatomy. I’m crazy about horns — their shapes, their texture. To me, their forms are so beautiful.
It must be handy for you to have your clinic downstairs?
Actually, I don’t anymore. I got tired of looking after it, so I sold that apartment in 2014. Now, I work out of another place. I share a clinic with some other professionals.
I’m interested in anatomy. I’m crazy about horns — their shapes, their texture. To me, their forms are so beautiful.
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