Edmund & Heidi’s Traditional & Post-Modern Mix in Montreal

Name: Edmund Lam, Heidi Donnelly and Arthur (2 years old)
Location: Montreal-West; Canada
Size: 2,500 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; Owned

Sometimes it can be difficult to make the transition from downtown living to the suburbs, but when you luck out on a space to call home that screams your name (and meets your budget) you leave running! This is essentially what happened to Edmund and Heidi a little over two years ago. They traded their downtown loft for a three-bedroom, mid-century modern style home located in a suburb west of the city.

Edmund and Heidi are creative individuals by nature. They’ve known each other since high school and for many years played in a band together called Hexes & Ohs. Though the days of touring with the band are in the past, maintaining their connection to Montreal’s creative community remains important to the couple. They both now work for advertising agencies in Montreal. Edmund is a creative director at Sid Lee and Heidi is an account supervisor at Bleublancrouge. Edmund’s keen interest in lighting design is seen throughout the home, including a fixture that he and Heidi built themselves, which hangs in the living room.

As Edmund explained in his house call submission, the traditional colonial house was originally built in 1892. Around 1969, it was purchased and renovated by Thomas Blood, an architect most known for his contribution of two pavilions at Montreal’s famous Expo 67. The remodeling resulted in a colonial and post-modern mix of elements such as exposed brick, antique colonial moldings, modern skylights, angled roofs, teak wood paneling and dramatic use of space and light.

Our Style: Mid-century modern, eclectic.

Inspiration: Early 20^th century architecture and design, minimalist graphic design, abstract expressionist painting, industrial spaces, sunlight.

Favorite Element: We love the home’s central living area. The interesting juxtaposition between the old look and feel of the home’s original 1892 footprint with the thoughtful open layout of the modern additions.

Biggest Challenge: The age of the home has a lot of charm but comes with many challenges. So all updates to the home need to be carefully considered and will be likely costly.

What Friends Say: “This house is so you guys!”

Biggest Embarrassment: That room adjacent to the kitchen is this dumping ground for all the things we use everyday and want out of sight and also where we hide the kitty litter.

Proudest DIY: The brass chandelier in the living room, built based on a design by lighting designer Lindsey Adelman. It was one of the first pieces we created in the house and thus set the tone for a lot of our aesthetic choices.

Biggest Indulgence: Area rugs. We love them! There’s one in almost every room. They’re so expressive and bring so much character to a space. They’re like accessories for your floors. Also the fact that they’re not permanent means we can always change things up to suit our changing tastes.

Best Advice: Don’t over think it. Let the house become you over time.

Dream Sources: Dwell, Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, Fubiz.

FAMILY ROOM

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