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Name: Eve Martel
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Size: 1,167 sq ft
Years lived in: Just over a year, Eve is a proud first time owner!

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new_housetour08.jpgEve moved into her Hochelaga, Montreal loft just over a year ago. Her loft is in the La Biscuiterie Viau building: it used to be a candy and cookie factory and was owned by a famous local family. Built in 1906, the factory was transformed into loft units in 2007. Every unit is different and most have original architectural details like brick walls, steel beams and wood pillars.

Here, Eve has established a home that is uniquely hers after only a year of residence...

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Eve's a film buff and it shows up throughout her loft, from the framed stills in the bathroom to the vintage movie posters in the living room and a film reel inspired blanket created for her by her mother (to use while watching movies).

Her home is also filled with well-loved family relics from her grandmother and parents: from a vintage lamp to framed black and white photos of her parents, it's evident that Eve has been influenced not just by mid century design classics but also by objects from her own personal past. The paint color on her office door reminds her of the home office her father had when she was growing up. Arranged mementos reference childhood memories or inside jokes with personal meanings. It all comes together to make Eve's loft a space of warmth, wit, and individuality.

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AT Survey:

My style: Retro chic, with a dash of plastic fantastic. I grew up reading my dad’s architecture and design books (he was an architect for the City of Quebec) in a home that was full of interesting pieces. I love futuristic and mid-century design because it reminds me of my childhood.

Inspiration: My favorite movies, my dad’s Expo 67 slides, toys, old magazines and catalogs, flea market finds.

Favorite Elements: My grandmother’s vintage plastic sphere lamp from the seventies and my Saarinen table by Knoll. It’s a classic for a reason! It’s perfect to have long dinners with friends.

Biggest Challenge: - Pacing myself and only buying stuff I love. I lived without curtains for a year because I was looking for the right shade of grey, but now that the windows are dressed I see that it was worth the wait.

Trying to find a home for my DVDs without making the room look like a rental store (I have over 600 and there’s no way I’m giving up the cases and inserts to put the disks in books).

Choosing paint color. I love bright colors, but the loft-style of my condo makes it harder to be bold, since you can see the walls of the bedroom from the living room, and so on. I ended up choosing warm grays and adding pops of brightness by painting one door red and another yellow and adding a touch of blue in the bathroom.

What Friends Say: “It looks like a cool museum in here“, “When are you inviting us for dinner?”, “I love your red door.”, “Oh my God, you have three walk-in closets!”

Biggest Embarrassment: My big-ass Sony Trinitron TV. I have a cool flat-screen Samsung on my bedroom wall (perfect for watching DVDs in bed), but the one in the living room is huge and I’m not replacing it anytime soon. There’s no way I can sell it anyway, so I’ll put in another year of use or two and will probably give it away to charity.

Proudest DIY: Painting everything myself, with the help of my Dad. Those ceilings are high!

Biggest Indulgence: The Saarinen table. I was shopping around for a kitchen table when I finally figured out that the kid in me really, really wanted the Saarinen. I don’t know how many times I’ve clipped it in magazine and glued it into my “When I grow up, my apartment is going to look like this!” scrapbook. So I indulged the lust and bought it online with Gabriel Ross, a really cool store in Victoria, British-Columbia.

Best advice: Keep a sense of humor. Surround yourself with the things you love, even if you’re the only one enjoying them – be it a family heirloom or a trendy poster you love despite its ubiquity. You’re the one living in your home in the end. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And when in doubt, call an electrician!

Dream source: gabrielross.com, the stores on Amherst street in Montréal, a mid-century mecca, the Kartell store in New York, Couleurs - a fantastic vintage furniture store on Saint-Denis Street

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Resources:

Bedroom:
Ikea bed and mirrors, bed linen is from Le Germain Hotels online store , Urban Outfitters lamps, bedside tables are part of my grandmother’s set from the 1930, all the vases are flea market finds, Kartell Ghost chair, all animal sculptures and wall appliqués are flea market finds, Kozyndan bunny blossoms print is from Magic Pony, paint-by-numbers paintings are eBay finds

Bathroom:
Vintage marquee letters were a Craigslist find, as featured on AT, I made the montage of bathroom-themed movie captures myself and used an Ikea frame

Kitchen and Dining Room:
The green chest of drawer is a “roommate leftover”. I painted it and changed the hardware. DOMA print, bought from the artists (they came where I work for a special project), I found the credenza at a church rummage sale for 7 bucks, Knoll Saarinen table from Gabriel Ross, Ikea chairs (I hate them, they will go as soon as I have enough money to buy better chairs), Fly Kartell lamp bought at Triede in Old Montreal, everything else was bought at flea markets, tag sales and on eBay, shelves unit with built-in lamps are a retro find bought at Couleurs on rue Saint-Denis.

Oven is from Whirlpool, fridge is an old GE model and freezes fruit if I don’t use liners on the bottom drawers, dishwasher is Frigidaire (and is oh, so quiet!), washer and dryer are Whirlpool Duets, the blue ones. I love that they look like toys.

Washroom:
I made the curtain to hide the water heater using fabric from Reprodepot. The orange table is from Ikea and can be used as storage or filled with ice to keep drinks cold when company comes over.

Living Room:
Via couch bought at Morphée, Ikea ottoman and TV stand, Componibili unit and Eames chair from Gabriel Ross, vintage movie posters bought at Larry Edmunds’ in L.A., Grandma’s lamp, cat bed was made with a vintage suitcase after stealing the idea online, Sony Trinitron TV, B&W home theatre, shades from Pi-Ro Decor">Pi-Ro Decor, vintage chest of drawer was a retro find bought at Couleurs

Office:
The Via chair was bought at Morphée and is a very comfy spot to read while the cat sleeps on the windowsill. Expedit book shelves and Lack shelves from Ikea, Ikea red and white chest of drawers, stacked on top of each other. I’ve had them a long time; I don’t think Ikea carries them anymore. Ikea Benno towers used for DVD storage. The lamps on top are also Ikea. The typewriter is a vintage Zephyr bought at Ste-Foy flea market. The red lamp was an eBay find. The lamps in the Expedit are flea market finds. My desk table is another “roommate leftover”

(Thanks, Eve!)

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