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Toronto designer Paolo Ferrari has created the interiors for Alchemy, a marijuana dispensary that “rejects staid cannabis clichés” with mirrored ceilings and custom-made sniff jars connected to digital display screens. More
Canadian studio Jean Verville Architecte has created a theatrical interior inside a Montreal house by adding a large steel structure capped by a skylight that casts dramatic shadows.For the project, called MSO; Play/Pause, the studio completely reorganised the interior of the building and built a 12-metre-high steel lightwell in the centre of the three-storey house.
Top image: the steel structure casts dramatic shadows. Above: it runs through the house
The house belongs to a pair of actors, Sophie Cadieux and Mani Soleymanlou, so Jean Verville Architecte designed them a home that could double as a performance venue.
“We subtracted floor sections from the heart of the house to insert the steel structural installation, ” studio founder Jean Verville told Dezeen.
“The rooms on the outskirts have been kept but redistributed to new versatile functions.”
Light from the skylight is scattered across the ground-floor kitchen
The steel installation measures five by five metres. A skylight caps the structure, turning it into a lightwell that casts theatrical shadows in the rooms.
Its addition breaks up the shapes of the existing rooms, creating an interesting new layout for the owners as they go about their daily lives.
The steel grids create decorative shadows
As the structure unfolds over the three floors of the four-bedroom house, it creates what the studio describes as “pauses,” with functional spaces at the bottom of the building followed by living spaces and then bedrooms.
“We start with the first two scenic pauses on the ground floor with the kitchen and the multifunction room,” Verville said.
“Then the six scenic pauses of the living spaces and artistic creation to then end with the two scenic pauses of sleeping breaks. Each space has been designed to be versatile and re-modelable with a new function, nothing is permanent!”
A greige hue was chosen to enhance the shadow play
Metal grid screens and low walls were also added to the interior to create intriguing divisions between the spaces.
The studio chose a monochrome greige colour for the interior to underline the shadows and light patterns created by the steel structure, and to work as a background for potential future theatre events in the house.
Jean Verville Architecte creates “luminous” white triplex in Montreal
“The great calm of monochrome greige and the changing and dancing light offer as much visual spectacle as inspiring spaces for theatrical rehearsal, and even soon the possibility of performance before a small audience,” Verville said.
Jean Verville Architecte shot a series of playful images with the owners
To capture the final result of the renovation, the studio shot a photo series of the MSO; Play/Pause space with photographer Felix Michaud that features the owners in different staged situations inside their home.
Jean Verville Architecte recently finished another Montreal project, a white triplex adorned with gold windows. Previous projects on Dezeen include an electropop-informed installation created with students in Quebec City.
Photography is by Studio Jean Verville Architects and Felix Michaud.
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Toronto studio Ali Budd Interiors has transformed a dated wooden log cabin into a comfortable Canadian holiday home, with a wood-lined sunroom, vintage rugs and art by Andy Warhol.The studio was asked to renovate the cottage in Muskoka, Ontario and turn it into a neutral but comfortable backdrop for its owners’ extensive art collection.
“As the clients are big art collectors, we wanted to not only design the perfect space for the family to enjoy the surrounding nature, but create the perfect canvas to showcase their artwork,” founder Ali Budd told Dezeen.
Top: monochrome furniture in the Great Room. Above: a crumpled newspaper artwork by Paul Rousso
In each of the cottage’s rooms, fabrics designed to withstand an “indoor-outdoor” lifestyle are chosen for their practical but chic appearance.
Mindful of Ontario’s extreme climate and the many visitors who are invited to enjoy a family’s second home, the studio made sure to choose materials that will endure considerable wear and tear.
“While maintaining the charm of a cottage, we modernised the space by mixing textures, incorporating custom furniture designed by Ali Budd Interiors, and adding hints of black to give it that contemporary look,” explained Budd.
Ali Budd Interiors chose materials for their ability to withstand wear and tear
Ali Budd Interiors’ design choices balance this practical need with its clients’ love of both white interiors and natural wood.
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In the cottage’s Great Room, the main living room, these design elements include neutral-coloured armchairs and a sofa by Ali Budd Interiors that have been fabricated by Cooper Brothers.
Monochrome furniture surrounds a bespoke coffee table
A pair of plush shearling ottomans from Luxe Pour Maison sits nearby, complemented by a bespoke Ali Budd white oak coffee table topped with a white Corian surface. A newspaper artwork by Paul Rousso adds colour to the room.
The cottage also has a Muskoka room, a type of screened-in porch that acts as a sunroom. In this instance, it acts as an open-plan living room attached to the property’s dining area.
Patterned Moroccan poufs add colour to The Muskoka Room
The dining area is complete with a custom-made white Ali Budd dining table, and an iconic Campbell’s soup artwork by Andy Warhol. Black and white chairs from Restoration Hardware are positioned around the monochrome table.
The Muskoka room’s panoramic windows give guests the feeling of being outside while they lounge on a custom curved grey sofa that hugs the room’s curved walls.
“There is so much beauty outside this property, and we wanted to ensure that all of those elements shone through,” said Budd.
Other interior highlights in the Muskoka room include a central round coffee table by Garcia Group, and vintage rugs and colourful Moroccan pous from Mellah Rugs.
An iconic piece by Andy Warhol hangs in the dining room
Throughout the house, colourful accents such as these poufs add bright texture to an otherwise white and minimal backdrop.
“As we were working with a monochromatic palette, we were able to layer different finishes and textiles to create something part eclectic and part chic,” continued Budd.
Porcelain countertops are seen throughout the sleek kitchen
This monochrome theme is particularly emphasised in the black and white kitchen. Perhaps the most pared-back and modern of the cottage’s rooms, exposed natural beams are the kitchen’s only hint of the former log cabin.
Durable porcelain forms the room’s countertops, and a Sonneman pendant light is suspended over the sleek kitchen island.
An original artwork by Douglas Copeland fits between the staircase’s wooden beams
More exposed beams above the cottage’s wooden staircase perfectly frame an original painting by Douglas Copeland, its bright colours offsetting the plain white walls on which it hangs.
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Upstairs in the main bedroom, a black woven bed from American brand CB2 continues the cottage’s overall monochrome theme, while wiggly Graffito-print cushions by Kelly Wearstler soften the room’s clean lines.
Graffito-print cushions add pattern to an otherwise minimal bedroom
A final standout feature is the cottage’s renovated powder room. Originally one of the most dated-looking parts of the property, Ali Budd Interiors redesigned the room with bespoke millwork and an elegant custom-made mirror.
Ali Budd Interiors is a female-led Toronto-based firm founded in 2010.
More cosy cottages include this off-grid cabin in upstate New York and another log cabin renovation for a lake house in Quebec.
Photography is by Ali Budd Interiors.
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Canadian studio Ménard Dworkind has unveiled a retro-themed coffee bar featuring Rubik’s Cube mirrors and a floor tiled to look like checkerboard Vans shoes.Situated in downtown Montreal, Caffettiera Caffé Bar features a monolithic black terrazzo bar that welcomes people into the open space.
Visitors are greeted with the terrazzo bar upon entering the cafe
Combining refreshments and a retail display, this main bar emphasises Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s social focus and curves down to meet the checkerboard mosaic floor.
“The checkered floor was inspired by Vans checkered shoes,” Ménard Dworkind co-founder David Dworkind told Dezeen. “As Guillaume Ménard and I both grew up in the 90s we tapped into our own personal nostalgia.”
The checkerboard mosaic floor is influenced by Vans shoes
The cafe’s owner wanted to bring Italian coffee culture for Caffettiera Caffé Bar, where customers are encouraged to linger over a cup.
“We placed a footrest at the coffee bar so clients can stand there and have a chat with the barista,” said Dworkind.
“We included a long, standing bar in the middle of the space to increase the density of people with spots in the cafe, which helps to encourage socialising”.
A standing bar encourages socialising
Curved mirrors are mounted onto faux-wood plastic laminate panels, a retro material that aims to connect customers through a sense of nostalgia.
“The 90s theme was the driving force for the colour palette”, explained Dworkind. “The use of plastic laminate fake wood panels on the wall and bright colours were all popular in the 90s. The Rubik’s Cubes to frame the mirrors in the bathrooms is another example of something from our personal memories of the 90s”.
Rubik’s Cube mirrors feature in the cafe’s bathrooms
Circular tables boast a variation of five coloured laminates in graphic shapes and framed photographs of iconic fashion models from the decade embellish the walls.
Tables sit alongside two comfortable tan leather banquettes that face the main bar, making use of the small but open space to create a sociable atmosphere.
90s nostalgia is emphasised by photographs from the decade
All of Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s available space offers a chance for customer interaction. The banquettes intersect at a self-service station, behind which a backlit planter is enhanced by the mirrors’ reflection.
“The long shared banquettes provide the option of sticking the round tables together, and since it’s linear people are actually all seated together”, explained Dworkind.
Reupholstered vintage chairs match tan leather banquettes in the seating area
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Curving furniture echoes the shape of the mirrors. Rounded vintage chairs sourced from classified ads have been reupholstered in the same tan leather as the banquettes.
Continuing the cafe’s curving lines, the ceiling’s exaggerated cornicing is another retro visual element. As with the main bar and the checkerboard floor, the cornicing seamlessly blends the walls and the ceiling together.
Dynamic blue cornicing brings the ceiling to life
Lambert & Fils pendant lights are suspended from yellow telephone wire above the seating area, bathing the tables in a warm glow.
Traditional Italian food products are displayed on a long shelf behind the main bar, where a selection of sandwiches and pastries are served. Cafe merchandise is also for sale.
The products stocked on the large shelf behind the main bar
Italian signs illustrating where to pay and order slide along an orange painted steel beam above the bar. Their locations can be rearranged by staff depending on each day’s flow of customers.
Various 90s books, toys and stickers feature in Caffettiera Caffé Bar’s windows, and around the space, making it a wholly nostalgic experience.
A similarly retro feel can be found at Baseball, a food court in Hong Kong designed by studio Linehouse, influenced by 70s films.
Co-founded by Ménard and Dworkind in 2017, previous projects from the Montreal-based studio include a kitsch Chinatown-themed pan-Asian restaurant and a recreation of a 1970s New York pizza parlour.
Photography is by David Dworkind and Alison Slattery.
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Design pair Michael Godmer and Catherine Lavallée created a sequence of meditative, beige-tone spaces in the partial renovation of this home in Montreal. Résidence Esplanade is situated in Mile End, a trendy area of Montreal host to various eateries, coffee bars and vintage stores.
The property was originally built as two separate apartments, but five years ago was converted into the two-floor house it stands as today.
The colour beige has been applied throughout Résidence Esplanade
Much of the property’s unique decor details were eliminated during the renovation works. Its new owner, a young professional who collects furniture and works of art, tasked Michael Godmer and Catherine Lavallée with designing a slightly more distinctive interior.
“We wanted to add identity to the house’s soul,” Godmer told Dezeen.
Michael Godmer and Mathieu Turgeon renovate their Montreal design studio and home
He and Lavallée have, for now, overhauled the home’s upstairs landing, study and one of its bedrooms – the rest of the rooms will be worked on at a later date.
Walls in the bedroom have been loosely limewashed
The three revamped areas have been completed in various shades of beige, a colour that the design pair says is “reminiscent of the soft winter light” that they saw on the first day they visited Résidence Esplanade.
In the bedroom, walls have been loosely rendered with lime paint that leaves behind an eggshell-coloured finish.
A tall wardrobe inlaid with cane panels has been set towards the rear of the room, while a white-oak sideboard has been set beneath the window so that the owner can display personal trinkets or ornaments.
In the corner of the room is also a blush-pink slouch chair.
In the study, a work desk has been set into a niche in the wall
Limewashed surfaces continue into the home’s study. An oak work desk has been built within a niche in the wall, accompanied by a simple black tub chair and a spherical pendant lamp that dangles from the ceiling.
Textural interest is added by the corrugated panelling that has been set at the back of the niche.
Finally, fluted glass doors with buttermilk-coloured framing have been fitted in front of each of the rooms on the first floor.
The back wall of the niche is corrugated
Godmer and Lavallée say they plan to apply a similarly calming aesthetic throughout the rest of the home when they start the second phase of the renovation.
“We are also looking at adding a mezzanine and a rooftop terrace for [the owner] to enjoy summer days having views of Mont-Royal mountain,” added Godmer.
Fluted glass doors have been installed on the home’s first floor
Résidence Esplanade is one of several homes that Michael Godmer has designed in his home city of Montreal. Others include Elmwood Residence, a Victorian-era townhouse in the Outremont neighbourhood which Godmer updated by creating a sequence of monochromatic living spaces.
Earlier this year, Godmer also made over the Montreal home that he shares with his partner, Mathieu Turgeon and their two poodles. Inside, it boasts fresh white walls and an array of wooden fixtures and furnishings.
Photography is courtesy of Catherine Lavallée.
Project credits:
Design: Michael Godmer and Catherine LavalléeConstruction: Frédéric LalondeCabinetmaking: Il Fabrique
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Cycling shoes are tucked into all-black shelving in this boutique spinning studio in Montreal, Canada, designed by locally based Ivy Studio.Ivy Studio chose the material palette for the indoor cycling facility to reflect the monochrome branding of ELMNT, a boutique gym providing spaces for yoga, spin, barre and high intensity interval training (HIIT).
Above image: Ivy Studio chose the palette to complement ELMNT’s brand. Top image: the spinning room
Black runs heavily throughout the 1500-square-foot (139-square-metre) studio but is intended to provide a different atmosphere between the calming lobby area, with lockers and changing areas, and a spin room for “excitement and energy”.
“Although both areas are united by the brand’s all-black colour palette, they each suggest opposing ambiances,” said Ivy Studio.
Existing concrete beams are teamed with stained-black wood
ELMNT’s space, which occupies the ground floor of a residential building in the city’s Griffintown neighbourhood, features exposed concrete columns and concrete floors in the lobby.
This is teamed with built-in furniture made from black stained oak and reflective laminate.
A curved black wall wraps around gender-neutral bathrooms
Among these is a black wooden bench leading from the entrance door along a glazed wall and then around an existing column. A black plant pot filled with greenery is tucked into a nook on the other side of the column.
Ivy Studio models Montreal dry cleaners on a Parisian apartment
Facing the bench is a curved black wall that wraps around the studio’s gender-neutral changing rooms, including four showers covered in black tiles.
Cycling shoes are stored in black shelves
Before entering the studio, class attendees pick up their allotted spin-bike shoes – specially designed to click into the bike pedals – from black shelving. They can also store belongings in black lockers and fill up their water bottles from a cylindrical black fountain.
The spinning room is intended to provide a more electric atmosphere.
Red LEDs illuminate the spinning room
“A series of color-changing LED lights span across the ceiling from one end to the other,” said Ivy Studio. “The walls are surfaced in acrylic mirrors that distort the reflections of their subjects.”
Ivy Studio is led by architects Gabrielle Rousseau and Philip Staszeksi in Montreal.
The firm has completed a number of interior projects in the city such as a dry cleaners that is modelled on a Parisian apartment, a grungy, tropical restaurant and a stark white boutique.
Photography is by Alex Lesage.
Project credits:
Project team: Kyle A Goforth, David Kirouac, Guilaume B Riel, Gabrielle Roussea and Philip Staszeweski
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Canadian studio Odami has redesigned a 1980s apartment in Toronto with bold and rich features like dark quartzite, walnut and green walls. The project, called St Lawrence, involved renovating an apartment that was previously transformed from a parking garage in the 1980s, with finishes that Odami said had now become dull and outdated.
Odami removed walls to open the kitchen to the skylight-topped dining room
“[The apartment] came to us completely in its original state: popcorn ceiling; an enclosed and very dated kitchen; mirrored walls; and beige carpeted floors,” the local studio said. “With a new owner, the entire unit was in need of an extensive update.”
Odami redesigned the 1400-square-foot (130-square-metre) apartment to make the most of two “very theatrical” elements: views of the Cathedral of St James and five level changes that are created by steps between the rooms.
Dark walnut contrasts with quartzite in the kitchen
“In general we were really looking for materials that were rich and had a lot of depth to them, which would create a sharp contrast with the white walls throughout,” studio co-founder Michael Norman Fohring told Dezeen.
“The change of levels and the views make the space naturally very theatrical, and using dramatic material and colour juxtapositions sort of amplified this.”
A ribbed, black quartzite fireplace features in the living room
A green sunroom, whose decoration references the Cathedral of St James viewed through the window, is one of the standout spaces.
“Pulling in the colours and shapes of the nearby Cathedral of St James, the room is painted completely in green, and fitted with a dramatic pendant,” said Odami.
A black wooden table and chair furnish the space
“With its warmth and depth this space marks a moment of calm and stillness, perched amidst the steady flow of the condo and the hectic city below,” it added.
Walnut engineered hardwood flooring runs throughout the apartment and, aside from the sunroom, all the walls in the condo are painted bright white.
A big window in the sunroom offers views of the Cathedral of St James
In the kitchen, the studio removed a partial wall and existing cabinets so it could be entirely open to the adjoining, skylight-topped dining room. Particle board cabinets in the kitchen are covered with a dark walnut veneer with solid walnut handles, contrasting the Super White natural quartzite.
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Walnut steps lead from the kitchen down into the living room. Rich, dark materials continue in the form of a ribbed fireplace made of a dark quartzite, called Diamante Nero, with a matching black wooden table and chair. Wooden logs are stacked in an inlet to the side of the fire.
Steps lead from the living room down to two bedrooms
Two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms flank either side of the living room.
The main bedroom suite was rearranged to include a walk-in wardrobe featuring white wardrobes with black handles. A skylight in the wardrobe floods natural light through a frosted glass wall into the bathroom.
A translucent glass wall brings natural light into an en-suite bathroom
Odami is an architectural, interior, and furniture design studio that Canadian designer Fohring founded in 2017 with Spanish architect Aránzazu González Bernardo.
It has previously completed a restaurant in the city called Sara with curving plaster walls and designed a wood furniture collection made from one dying tree.
Photography is by Kurtis Chen.
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Coffee roasting and tasting takes place in this industrial-style coffee shop in Vancouver, which local studio Alice D’Andrea has designed inside a historic factory building. Located in Vancouver’s Railtown neighbourhood, the space was built in 1923 as the Settlement Building, a steel foundry for manufacturing machinery parts, and then later used as a warehouse for lighting company Bocci.
The roastery features existing industrial windows and ceiling beams
It now forms the headquarters for speciality coffee company Pallet Coffee Roasters with space for team training, a tasting area, roastery operations, seating and merchandise.
Douglas fir beams punctuate the ceiling, large, industrial-style windows bring natural light to the back of the building, and exposed concrete runs throughout, providing a nod to its history.
Seating is set under a large skylight
“The main goal for this project was to design a ‘destination’ for coffee lovers,” said Alice D’Andrea. “A place where customers could enjoy their coffee while being educated on the process and the passion that goes behind their product.”
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The 7000-square-foot (650-square-metre) open space has been separated into different areas. To the rear of the space the roastery is furnished with a long table made of reclaimed fir, which is used for coffee tasting and team training.
An L-shaped counter divides the open space
An L-shaped coffee counter, patterned with black-stained oak planks in a herringbone pattern, forms the centre of the space. A gridded glass partition that echoes the former foundry’s industrial windows rises from the middle of the counter to offer glimpses of the production area at the rear.
“The glass partition between the counter and the production leaves the view open on the production, on the machinery and the people working behind the scenes,” the studio said.
Black-stained wood patterns the counter
“Customers can enjoy their beverage while watching how raw beans from around the world turn into their favourite drink; a truly unique customer experience,” the studio added.
The black volume is broken up by glass volumes that form display cabinets for pieces on sale and nooks for seating.
The roastery occupies the rear
Large copper pendant lights hang overheard to complement the warm hues of the wooden ceiling beams. Other copper detailing can be found in the counter kick and shelving.
Customers can sip their coffee on a seating alcove under a huge skylight, or on wooden benches either side of large planters and stools. Decorative elements are provided by coffee bags piled atop pallets, and pops of greenery.
Copper details add warmth
Pallet Coffee Roasters HQ’s entrance has white-painted walls, greenery and pendant lights from Bocci – the building’s previous owner.
Other coffee roasteries on Dezeen include Pilot Coffee roasting warehouse in Toronto that Williamson Williamson recently extended with offices and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo designed by Kengo Kuma.
Photography is by Andrew Fyfe.
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