The great outdoors!

By Kiran Ghosh

Photography: Pierre Béland; courtesyv2com

Read Time: 2 mins 

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Interior designer, Martine Brisson invigorates a heritage home by introducing a patio that combines the idea of a garden and outdoor living through a play of levels. 

An 1887 heritage home in Montreal’s Plateau district that had the house and its two garages detached and at different levels, now stands harmonized and connected via the varying heights of its roofs, seamlessly through a play of planes, materials and vegetation. 

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The intervention was planned out in four levels to add a filter of subtle transition of spaces, where each of these spaces acts like segments of the same line, coherent in material and volume, but unique in function and feel. These spaces are connected by steps leading from the entrance of the garages to the entrance of the house through a cocoon-like living space eventually terminating at the pergola-framed dining and kitchen area.

 

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The living provides a cozy, outdoorsy space perfect to snuggle into with a hot cup of coffee on a sunny day. As one proceeds to the next level, one finds the entrance to the house immersed in a green walkway with planter boxes on either side, which reflect the natural beauty of the plateau region. The dining and kitchen area is a more private affair, bound by a vertical privacy blind on one side and black metal planter box (with lights integrated into it) on the other.

 

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The choice of materials was important in demarcating and adding a sense of uniqueness to each space. Warmth-inducing Cedar punctuated with black metal elements has been extensively used in the flooring, planter boxes, walls and blinds. The subdued grey and white of the furniture adds a sense of congeniality to the entire setting.

 

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Thanks to the meticulous lighting design, the patio transforms itself during the night into a completely different space. The flexibility of the space allows the users to enjoy it in uniquely different ways.

Martine’s work is yet another example of a restoration project, which strives to strike a balance between heritage and an urban-contemporary lifestyle.  

 

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Fact File:

Designer: Martine Brisson

Horticulture: Verdigo, Roxanne Miller landscape architect

Furniture: Designed by Martine Brisson and built by Perez Mobilier

Planter and pergola structure: Designed by Martine Brisson and built by JPtransfert

Lighting: Homier Luminaire

Location: Montreal, Canada