A semi-detached home in Montreal is decked for the holidays with a designer’s signature British sensibility.
Outside, it’s a typical December day in Montreal: frigid temperatures, leaden skies and snow-covered everything. But inside this family home, these wintry attributes are easily forgotten. Behind vibrant royal blue front doors, the space is calm and bright, and the air is filled with the sweet scent of freshly baked shortbread cookies. Any visitor would think it has always been this welcoming, but they’d be wrong.
Nicola and Matthew Marc – she’s a British-born stylist, designer and co-owner of Marc Gold Interiors; he works in IT – purchased the 1915-built 3,000-square-foot house in 2013 with their growing family in mind (their daughter, Clara, is now 8, and son, Luka, is 19 months). Like any ugly duckling-to-swan transformation, the place had potential – if you looked past its peach walls, dark rooms and poky kitchen and focused on the good stuff. Nicola fell in love with the 10-foot-high ceilings and the original newel posts, crown mouldings and wide baseboards. “I imagined these elements in new surroundings that were elegant yet family friendly,” she says.
Photo Gallery
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Character-filled main floor
Homeowner and designer Nicola Marc with her son, Luka. After gutting the entire main floor and much of the upstairs, Nicola added decorative flourishes that pay tribute to the British homes she grew up in and reflect her penchant for mixing classic and contemporary styles.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Character-filled main floor
Homeowner and designer Nicola Marc with her son, Luka. After gutting the entire main floor and much of the upstairs, Nicola added decorative flourishes that pay tribute to the British homes she grew up in and reflect her penchant for mixing classic and contemporary styles.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Welcoming dining area
A contemporary chandelier adds panache to the dining room and illuminates the setting for holiday meals. “We gather here for christmas lunch with turkey and all the trimmings, puddings and cakes,” says Nicola.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Classic Christmas tree
The couple’s two kids, Luka and Clara, help decorate the Fraser fir tree set in the living room’s turret. The Christmas tree is adorned with precious heirlooms, vintage decorations and modern baubles.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Bold and bright shelving
Nicola’s husband, Matthew, made the dining room shelves from planks of wood and brackets; Nicola painted them glossy blue. They sit above a bar area, arranged so guests can help themselves.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Colourful and collected kitchen
The bright blue island – equipped with wheels for easy movement when the couple entertains – livens up the kitchen’s neutral tones. The custom oak shelving unit has a modern loft sensibility that plays off the simple grey-painted cabinetry. It holds everyday dishes and cookbooks, as well as Nicola’s collections of vintage china and glassware.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Must-have appliances
Nicola loves to cook and bake – especially around the holidays – so a gas cooktop and a convection oven were non-negotiable. The couple also decided to forgo upper cabinets for a display of artwork.
House tour: Classic and contemporary charm
Bright open-concept layout
The kitchen saw the biggest transformation in the home. “We annexed a bathroom adjacent to the original galley kitchen to double the kitchen’s footprint and create an open-concept layout,” says Nicola. “We didn’t want it to feel like a typical kitchen – more like a room that complements the rest of the house.”
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