Contemporary Condo

Pointe-St-Charles, in the southwest borough of Montreal is where this beautiful and unique 3-storey condo is found. 

When homeowner Claire purchased the condo five years ago from builder Steve Steinwold, it was sold as an empty shell with a simple floorplan. She saw the potential of this space and in this up-and-coming corner of the neighborhood.

The space was planned and designed by it's homeowner alongside architect Jan Davis. The footprint of this condo was only 20 feet wide and to maximize the space they agreed it should be kept open concept. 

Since the staircase was going to be one of the main features in this space, Claire wanted it to be unique. She had always imagined a contemporary and industrial-style loft and having a custom-made floating steel staircase would help her achieve this look.

A color scheme was quickly established to be mainly white with a few touches of color in the accessories and fabrics. 

While Claire enjoys great food, she doesn't find herself cooking at home that often. For this reason, she chose a simple white galley-style kitchen from IKEA and continued the cabinets up to the ceiling. Choosing white appliances has also kept this kitchen monochromatic as well.

Craigslist and kijiji was a great resources to find several pieces of furniture for this condo such as this antique sofa and ottoman that were recovered in simple fabric. The framed art are a nice graphic compliment to the aztec-style weaving.

The dining table is quite a statement piece and its light unfinished wood matches the pale caramel tones in the curtains and sisal rug.

The basement is quite open and bright and with its big comfy couch is a great place to hang out. The framed wall hanging came from a thrift shop years ago and is a real statement piece. The pops of orange and red are a great contrast against the tone-on tone color scheme throughout and the orange pillows add just enough color to tie everything together.

This simple yet elegant bar cart is a nice contrast against the whimsical framed art piece.

An off-white faux cow skull is a nice touch against the painted brick wall. There was much hesitation from the painters as they were instructed by the homeowner to paint the original brick wall white but once it was done it turned out beautifully. 

The cost of the bathroom was kept low by using standard finishes of inexpensive white tiles with a black accent. The IKEA countertop, cabinet and sink were also simple and cost effective choices.

Our home tour concludes with the bedroom on the top floor which was kept open-concept as well to let light in from the windows at both ends of the condo. The curtains and bedding fabrics in this area are a dark bluish grey and are a nice compliment to the warm wood floors. 

After seeing this beautiful home, it's surprising that it's homeowner is not working as an interior designer but instead in pharmaceuticals.

GRANGES - 2014 Calendar

Happy New Year everyone!

For the past few years, I have been taking photographs of barns and abandoned homes (granges) throughout Québec and Ontario.

I fell in love with the weathered barn wood, peeling paint and rusted tin roofs. To me there is an unexpected beauty in these structures.

This calendar is a collection of my favorite photographs.

Favorite Things: Grasses

Over the last few years, grasses have started to appear in urban landscaping, throughout cities and in suburban gardens. Grasses move and sway in the wind and when planted together they make a gentle relaxing rustling sound.

A beautiful country setting is where True Grasses grow wild.

They often grow along farm fences and in marshy areas we can find Cattails.

New trends in landscaping have brought a piece of the country to cities and suburbs and are called Ornamental Grasses.

This condo complex uses Purple Fountaingrass in their landscaping.

Many shopping centres have planted grasses around medians like this Japanese Silver Grass.

Bronze New Zealand Hair Sedge planted on either side of this bench softens the weight and hard lines of the cement.

By the side of the road, I found Feather Reedgrass.

Timothy Grass is easy to find growing wild around cities.

Color for curb appeal

A friend of mine purchased this 1912 home outside of Montreal a few months ago. He loved its Edwardian charm and beautiful landscaping but the white-on-white exterior didn't allow the home's best features to stand out.

Many friends and family had suggestions of what color to paint the home but I wanted to show him some options in photoshop before he started tackling the job.

The color schemes I chose are respectful of the home's vintage without specifically being heritage paint colors.

The red door is what I wanted to feature in this color scheme and I chose  Benjamin Moore RASPBERRY TRUFFLE and BARREN PLAIN as the background.

This dark color scheme was one my friend had suggested from the start that he wanted to see a dark grey, this is Benjamin Moore NIGHTFALL and I paired it with a light blueish-grey for the door called SMOKE.

This color scheme features a mossy green Benjamin Moore GRAY HORSE with a dark slate green DARK PEWTER.

Which color scheme do you like best?

Garden Path

Welcome to Tara MacWhirter's beautiful five acre homestead located just outside  the town of Vankleek Hill, Ontario. It is here that Tara began Garden Path Homemade Soaps and lives with her husband and two teenage sons.

When I heard that my cousin Tara and her family bought a new home several years ago I was really excited for them. The property was a few minutes drive from her parents farm where she grew up and it was an area that she had always wanted to return to. It's previous owners were avid gardeners, and although Tara and her husband enjoyed gardening, they knew that maintaining this property would be a challenge to take on.

Over the years the gardens took well to their new owners and when Tara's hobby of soap making became a business, she began adding more plants and flowers. Many are used in the soaps such as calendula, chamomile and hopefully by next summer the newly planted lavender will be thriving.

Along with many perennials, the property also has a small apple orchard with seven varieties of trees. There are always more apples than the family can use so I brought some home and made an apple crisp.

Giant sunflowers are a dramatic feature in the garden and every year they thrive here lining the length of one of the barns.

There are so many picturesque spots on this property, a dream for a photography enthusiast like myself. This is the pond at the back of the land, there is a little foot bridge across it and a bench under the willow tree to take everything in.

Aside from the beautiful gardens, the family also has four bee hives. Tara's in-laws kept bees for many years and now her boys have been enjoying carrying on the tradition.

Many creatures call this home, but the monarch butterfly plays a special role. They are raised here and released, the property has been designated a monarch waystation by monarchwatch. This is why Garden Path Handmade Soaps uses this as their logo.

Tara has dozens of varieties of soaps from sweet grass to vanilla, and there are several bars for specific skin conditions such as acne and rosacea. There are even soaps that use local products such as Beau's All Natural Beer and the Vankleek Hill Vineyard.

Not only are there handmade soaps, there are also other products such as laundry soap, bug sprays, facial cleansers and more! Fans of Garden Path can now purchase their favorite products at the new retail shop on the property, which had been dream of Tara's for several years. I think it's pretty obvious that huge smiles run in the family.