Modern touch
175-year-old Laval house offers canvas for homeowner ‘to let loose and have a blast with my passion for decorating’
A noisy neighbourhood was not the only reason Jacynthe Pelletier and her husband, Jean Dorval, sold their former house in the West Island in 2005, but it was a close second after finding a home closer to Dorval’s Montreal-East place of work.
The Laval home they found in 2004 met both those needs. Situated on 12,500 square metres of land, with the Rivière des MilleÎles as a backdrop, they found their peace and quiet bundled with a shorter commute. But in addition to convenience and serenity, it offered interior decorator Pelletier some intriguing challenges. With grounds absent of any landscaping, Pelletier could make her mark outdoors with a new garden. Before they moved in, in 2005, she also had a fresh indoor canvas for her decor and renovation ideas.
At first glance, the neat and trendy residence could pass for a recent construction, but it’s more than 175 years old. There have, of course, been many changes over the years, both before and after Dorval and Pelletier purchased it.
The previous owners brought the plumbing and electricity up to date and added a room at the back, which is now a dining room that overlooks the river.
In 2005, the three front dormer windows were joined to maximize the space inside. And Dorval and Pelletier also had an extension built on the left, bringing the dimensions to roughly 20 metres by 15 metres.
The outer walls of the original house are covered with a type of old-style masonry made of stone, resin and cement, applied at least 75 years ago. Although Pelletier searched long and hard to reproduce it, she had to settle for decorative stone for the extension, which is now an imposing entryway to the house measuring 13 square metres (3.7 metres by 3.7 metres).
“With the other two former entrance doors, you walked straight inside,” Pelletier said. “It was not practical.”
In this entryway, the 3.35-metre high pitched ceiling is lined with wood panelling to add an old-fashioned look, though the furniture is resolutely modern. The floorboards are oiled oak and a padded bench makes removing winter boots an easy task.
The kitchen is well equipped with ample cherrywood cupboards, drawers and a substantial island with a quartz countertop and an integrated wine cooler. The natural stone flooring fits well with the warm and earthy tones of the room, but is difficult to keep clean, Pelletier admitted. She uses an old Hoover floor polisher with dish soap.
An interior decorator by trade, Pelletier has developed many other talents that complement her work. For example, she did the stonework on the mantel and the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room. She also designed the glass panels hanging in the kitchen, which employ a tree motif that flows through the house.
The dining area faces north, leaving it with no direct sunlight, but the many large windows and light beige furnishings make it a bright room. Pelletier spent many hours stripping a brown table and dresser and then applying a lighter paint with an antique patina. When the room was added to the house, it was built on stilts instead of a standard concrete foundation, but stays warm with sound foam insulation and a heated ceramic floor.
The living room gives an impression of luxurious comfort with a rustic country touch. Beside one of the leather sofas, a side table is composed of piled suitcases, an original Pelletier touch, as are the elegant Christmas decorations found around the room and on the fireplace.
In the guest bedroom, she painted a forest on the wall at the head of the queen-size sleigh bed and made the curtains and cushions, which have fern and other nature motifs to match the outdoor theme.
Also on the ground floor is Dorval’s study. Here the decor is darker and heavier and the theme is equestrian, accented with a comfortable brown leather armchair. As in all rooms in the original house, the floors are made of wide pine boards laid diagonally, which create a beautiful effect.
When the couple purchased the house, the attic was not renovated. “It was messy and rough,” Pelletier said, “with horseshoes nailed to the walls, etc.”
In three months, she had transformed it into a sumptuous 4.9 metre by 9.75 metre master bedroom, with a 3.5-metre ceiling at its highest point. The room is flooded with light from the three joined dormer windows. The colour white dominates, with the struts and tie-beams also painted white for overall uniformity. The flooring is 20-centimetre-wide pinewood boards studded with lots of knots. A further luxury note comes in a whirlpool tub for two, just under the side window.
Pelletier also helped lay the travertine tiles in the upstairs bathroom.
“The tiler would cut the pieces to size and I laid them,” Pelletier said of the task that involved hundreds of tiny tiles laid over many days in a criss-cross pattern, with rectangular and square stones covering the walls and floor. The slanted ceiling above the toilet is textured plaster.
After 12 years of remodelling and decorating, Pelletier is not finished yet, and she might never be.
“Moving into this house really allowed me to let loose and have a blast with my passion for decorating,” she said with enthusiasm. “And nowadays, the only noises that fill the air are that of the trickling river, songbirds and migrating geese flying above.”