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L’Atelier
L’Atelier
The Gallery they call home
The Gallery they call home
By collecting art from young and emerging creatives, one couple has turned their Montreal home into an atelier.
While architect Maxime Vandal was letting himself be lulled into real estate fantasies, he came across a listing for a circa-1890 Second French Empire-style home in the historic Westmount neighborhood of Montreal. A week later, he and his husband, designer Richard Ouellette, made an offer on the property.
As partners and co-owners of the design-and-construction firm Les Ensembliers, the pair is always up for a new challenge. This specific project was more of a restoration, and meant stripping back a 1980s refurbishment to restore the structure to its former glory. The kitchen and bathrooms were completely demolished to make way for more modern conveniences, and moldings were added to match the originals; walls were moved and floors were painted to hide inconsistencies.
Art is central to the couple's personal and professional lives: Ouellette and Vandal act as ambassadors for young talent, and then use these works to enhance their own designs.
The house has become a place for artistic experimentation, where both architect and designer can test the limits of a contemporary aesthetic through a traditional framework. Furniture is placed slightly askew in the living room, resulting in a dynamic space that feels more like a salon than a suburban gathering place, and the kitchen’s open shelving continues right across the windows. In fact, much of the house’s design was driven by the duo’s existing range of fabrics for Brunschwig & Fils (their collection of wallpapers is soon to launch), which creates a sort of living showroom.
By collecting art from young and emerging creatives, one couple has turned their Montreal home into an atelier.
While architect Maxime Vandal was letting himself be lulled into real estate fantasies, he came across a listing for a circa-1890 Second French Empire-style home in the historic Westmount neighborhood of Montreal. A week later, he and his husband, designer Richard Ouellette, made an offer on the property.
As partners and co-owners of the design-and-construction firm Les Ensembliers, the pair is always up for a new challenge. This specific project was more of a restoration, and meant stripping back a 1980s refurbishment to restore the structure to its former glory. The kitchen and bathrooms were completely demolished to make way for more modern conveniences, and moldings were added to match the originals; walls were moved and floors were painted to hide inconsistencies.
Art is central to the couple's personal and professional lives: Ouellette and Vandal act as ambassadors for young talent, and then use these works to enhance their own designs.
The house has become a place for artistic experimentation, where both architect and designer can test the limits of a contemporary aesthetic through a traditional framework. Furniture is placed slightly askew in the living room, resulting in a dynamic space that feels more like a salon than a suburban gathering place, and the kitchen’s open shelving continues right across the windows. In fact, much of the house’s design was driven by the duo’s existing range of fabrics for Brunschwig & Fils (their collection of wallpapers is soon to launch), which creates a sort of living showroom.