This multilevel family home designed by architect Natalie Dionne is unlike its neighbors in lots of ways. For starters, the floors in the home are staggered on either side of a central atrium that divides the home into two components: front and rear. The skeletal foundation linking the levels is also exceptional: It’s a staircase which exudes natural walnut and steel and causes a terrace on the upper floor and a mezzanine level. The resulting home is sleek and cool, energized and heated by a top-floor skylight that matches every degree with natural light.
in a Glance
Who lives here: A creative couple who work in theater, film and television, and their kids
Location: Montreal, Canada
Size: 3,229 square feet
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Models in these photographs (shot before the family moved in) remind us that the home belongs to a family with teenage kids, that will easily belly around the island counter table and love the informality of pub stool dining. The swanlike commercial tap is the centerpiece — and hardest-working part — of the contemporary kitchen.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors shape an easy connection between outdoor and indoor living spaces; they also ensure that light floods the distance, giving the polished concrete floors a gorgeous sheen. Flush cabinetry communicates the walls.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
This photograph shows the house’s staggered layout. A magenta Fatboy beanbag gives a rare splash of colour in an otherwise neutral interior palette.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Black molded Eames seats with contrasting wood thighs cast dramatic shadows. The black-on-black dining area installation against the white and gray room reflects the sleek spirit of the remainder of the home.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
The steel used in the window and door frames, the table foundations as well as the outside facade is carried out in a staircase which links each degree.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Art fills what would otherwise be white space. The art compels us to look up to the skylight, the focal point of this vertical plane.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
The staircase mixes steel and walnut. The contrast of espresso and ebony tones is gorgeous, with the steps resembles art installations.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Wide sliding doors expand the bedroom space, allowing light to enter and adding a lot of intrigue to the expansive opposing walls.
Here, the sliding door partially divides the bedroom (at left of image) from the hallway. When the doors are closed, the distance allows for privacy and contemplation.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
When the doors are closed, the bedroom is totally separated from the outside. One of the other sliding doors in the hallway opens up into a bathroom as polished and contemporary as the dwelling spaces.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
Partially windows provide plenty of privacy in the bath. The vanity mirror slides, showing more storage space for toiletries and daily requirements.
Natalie Dionne Architecture
The house’s rear entrance is as unassuming and contemporary as the interiors. It’s marked with a marine-grade plywood alcove stained an espresso colour and appears to escape in the home.