Montreal designer Fay Martel reimagines a tired Pointe-St-Charles rowhouse as a highly organized home base for a three-generation family.

It’s vastly less sexy than, say, a svelte designer sofa or a captivating wallpaper from a favourite fabric house, but when it’s done well, space planning makes a home truly sing. This was designer Fay Martel’s challenge for the dark, cramped rowhouse purchased by her clients, real estate brokers Mark-André Martel and Catherine Chuon, in Montreal’s Pointe-St-Charles area.

Making the space-starved, three-bedroom home livable for the couple, plus their toddler son and Catherine's mother, was all about addressing the function of every square inch, rejigging spaces for optimum flow, and designing thoughtful built-ins to keep life running smoothly. The showpiece, of course, is the two-storey living room. To brighten the house and conjure up the illusion of a much larger space, Fay and architect Maurice Martel pushed out the back of the house and filled the towering rear wall with glass. It’s a breath of fresh air for the whole home.

In the end, the serene new spaces belie all the careful formulations, as well as the house’s claustrophobic past. Finished in bright whites and pale greys, the rooms are airy and inviting. And that was Fay’s intent: her inspiration was the sunny Mediterranean architecture of cosmopolitan Monaco, with its pale palettes and marriage of storied European looks with busy modern living. In Monaco, just as in this corner of Montreal, tucking beauty and life into tightly knit spaces is a way of life.

Hide & Seek

Designer Fay Martel planned the front hall’s sleek, hardworking built-in to incorporate enough closed storage to hold outerwear for Mark-André Martel and Catherine Chuon’s whole family. Nothing was overlooked: deep (carpeted!) cubbies at floor level store footwear; an open shelf holds mail and keys; a broom closet keeps cleaning equipment handy; and there’s even a cushioned bench for taking off shoes. For a hint of historical charm, Fay ran decorative brick veneer down the length of one wall.

Open Sesame

Installing barely-there glass railings keeps the long, skinny rowhouse from feeling closed in. New concrete flooring throughout the main level lays the groundwork for the quiet, contemporary aesthetic; it’s fitted with radiant heating, which is especially welcome during Montreal’s legendary winters. The ash wood stairs tie in with the ash on the entryway built-in. “It’s a local wood species that has a lot of character and a unique colour,” Fay says. Floors in the second-level hall and bedrooms are also ash. 

Insightful Design

The dramatic sightline from the back of the kitchen runs right through the adjoining butler’s pantry and into the home office at the front of the house. From this back corner, which takes in much of the first floor, it’s easy to appreciate the uniformity and simplicity of the materials palette that Fay used throughout the house. Details like arched doorways and stretches of luxe marble help bring Fay’s Monaco design concept to life. 

Material Girl

As in the entry, Fay balanced all the cool-toned finishes – here, Bianco Volakas marble, white cabinet doors and concrete floors – with panels of natural ash and brassy accents. The bold ribbing on the ash panels is also a counterpoint to the gentle veining in the marble. Conversely, the range is integrated into the counter, and the fridge is panelled into the cabinetry further along. Structural beams – necessary to open up the rooms – are painted out in the same white as the ceiling to camouflage them.

Garden Party

Mark-André and Catherine both work with his busy real estate brokerage, so having a comprehensive workspace at home was essential. Using white-painted metal for the support structures of the glass wall between the office and the entry, and for the built-ins, helps achieve the chic, Monaco-inspired look Fay was after. “And it doesn’t break up the flow or stop the eye,” Fays says. Bonus: Dividing the spaces with a glass wall makes both areas feel brighter and wider. Frosted glazing on the windows looks businesslike and sunny compared to drapes. 

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