FAMILY HOMES
Couple found perfect place in Vieux-Rosemont condo
Valérie Massoud grew up in Villeray and as a young adult, she spent a year in Europe. Now 40 years old and the mother of two young daughters, she is the marketing and communications director of Cirque Éloize, Montreal’s ‘other’ famous circus company, after Cirque du Soleil. Her spouse, Marc-André Gagnon, hails from Mascouche and works as a paramedic.
A decade ago, the couple were living happily in “a nice apartment” in Little Italy, a neighbourhood they both loved, but when they decided to have children, they realized they needed a larger, more practical home — one that was more suited to family life. They were living on the third floor of their building and the thought of lugging a stroller and groceries up so many stairs did not appeal to them at all.
The couple looked around for several months, narrowly missing out on a place that they liked when somebody put in an offer before them. In 2009, they found their current abode on DuProprio, the do-it-yourself website that allows buyers and sellers to forego the commission normally paid to a real estate agent, saving themselves a pile of money in the process.
Their two-storey (plus a basement) row house is part of a complex of six condos in VieuxRosemont. It’s situated not far from the Angus Shops, the former locomotive works operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is within walking distance of a supermarket, a drugstore and a slew of interesting eateries.
Their 1,800 square-foot home, which they share with daughters Elizabeth, 8, and Juliette, 6, has three bedrooms, an open living/ dining room and kitchen, a bathroom (plus a powder room) and a sizable backyard with a splitlevel deck.
Q You mentioned that you almost missed out on this house as well?
Valérie: Well yes. Four other couples made offers on the condo but we were lucky enough to get it.
Q Apart from the size of the place, what was it that particularly appealed to you?
V: Definitely the backyard. Marc-André: I added the deck three years after we moved in.
(We move from the kitchen into the yard, which is fenced in — a safety feature for the kids that was already in situ when they bought the place. The lower part of the yard, which is covered with zero-maintenance artificial grass, has a hot tub. The upper portion, constructed by Gagnon, is spacious and furnished with a dining table and chairs, as well as a large sectional sofa and a couple of side tables.)
(The living room has another large sectional sofa.)
Q That looks as if it could seat a lot of people.
V: It does. We can get at least seven people on there. That was one of the things we bought new when we renovated the interior.
Q When was that? Marc-André: Just this summer. We started the work at the beginning of June and finished at the end of July.
Q What exactly did you do? Marc-André: We opened up the living and dining area and the kitchen to create more light.
Q You sound pretty handy. Did you do all that yourself ? Marc-André: I did some of it. The rooms were separate before, so with the help of some friends, I dismantled the walls. I also installed the backsplash in the kitchen.
(The backsplash is made of white subway tiles. The white kitchen units and the matching quartz countertops were custom made.)
Q Valérie, did you and the kids live here while all this was going on?
V: Our oldest has asthma, so no. We had to move out for a couple of days.
Marc-André: There was a lot of dust flying around from pulling down the walls. I was doing some sanding as well and I installed the flooring.
Q When it came to the layout of the kitchen, did you have to hire an architect or an engineer?
V: We had a good idea of what we wanted — opening up the space, installing an island and so on — but we did have a designer, Valérie St-André, who helped us with the details. She made suggestions, drew up plans and picked out our suppliers. The little gilt
The rooms were separate before, so with the help of some friends, I dismantled the walls. I also installed the backsplash in the kitchen.
sconces for example, came from Luminaire Authentik and the chandeliers are from Royaume Luminaire.
(We walk upstairs to the bedrooms, past a wall covered with over 30 family photos and the children’s drawings. The two girls, who are very close, share a bedroom, though they used to have one each. The ‘spare’ bedroom is now their play area.)
(In the master bedroom, the walls and ceiling are painted a mellow taupe. The bedcover, drapes, paintwork and furniture are all white.)
Q It seems you really favour white?
V: I do. One time I was on a business trip to Paris where I stayed at Hotel Arc. The decor was white and it gave me the inspiration for here. White gives you a feeling of space, but I also find it very calming.