This is the latest instalment of The Inside Story, Wallpaper’s series spotlighting intriguing, innovative and industry-leading interior design.
On Montréal's South Shore, a 1929 residence has had its modernist roots refreshed. A recent renovation by local studio Vives St-Laurent set out to be wholly faithful to the home's early-20th-century provenance, introducing contemporary interventions with a light, considered hand.
Tucked to the rear of its plot and wrapped in greenery – as was the modernist way – the three-storey house found just the right owners: a family who had previously restored a Victorian property in Toronto. This project offered them a different historic context to engage with.
Vives St-Laurent's design process was shaped by a number of inherited conditions: modest ceiling heights, pronounced roof slopes and a building modified repeatedly over the decades. The accumulated changes made it necessary to distinguish original features from later additions, and the designers chose to draw out qualities that had been buried rather than impose a new vision.
Recreate the mood
That restraint is felt in the material palette. White oak flooring and stained millwork form the foundation, supplemented by soft lacquered surfaces and painted moldings. Threads of continuity run throughout: an oak island in the kitchen is echoed in the bathroom vanities; cabinetry in a beige lacquer offers gentle contrast against the walls; and honed Calacatta marble spans both kitchen and bathroom surfaces, while ceramic tile adds texture and tonal variation in the wet rooms. A terracotta-toned floor brings warmth to the ground level, and pale wall tiles work to reflect and distribute the home's natural light.
The most substantial changes were concentrated on the ground floor, which now accommodates an entrance, shared bathroom, two offices, kitchen, dining area and living room. A glass partition carves out a semi-enclosed workspace while preserving the flow of daylight, and openings were reworked to frame views to the garden. Existing elements – the fireplace, exposed beams, chimney and original layout – were restored.
The furniture remains impeccably true to character throughout: from the Swedish midcentury armchair and Danish teak wall unit in the living space to the scattering of Artek 60 stools. In the dining room, a striking geometric rug anchors a set of vintage Cesca chairs by Knoll (and a bright red Stokke children's chair), while overhead, Herman Miller's Nelson Saucer suspension lamp provides the perfect midcentury finishing touch.
The resulting home wears its history lightly but unmistakably. This is how you honour a property's origins without announcing them too loudly.
