Once the rental accommodation renovations were completed, we moved the team upstairs to attack the upper floors. For this we had to turn to our Architect friend Anne to lead the expanded team of artisans. With Anne’s genius idea of installing a new inner staircase, we could provide a stunning and first-time access from the second floor to the old unused attic floor above. Check out the amazing before & after pix as this project took shape…
At the time of purchase, this room was resplendent with reams of hanging electrical cables and shredded wallpaper. Our Canadian neighbours Milt & Sharon immediately saw the potential here and set about teaching my Mum and I how to peel back the layers and expose the hidden stones to the former glory. In memory of my Mum’s labour of love, Ian created a dedicated stone shelf niche where her beautiful photo adorns the stone wall.
Next we took out the old wall separating the living from the kitchen and replaced the former kitchen with a custom made “Loft Kitchen” design from Eric Hanriot’s kitchen design studio in town. Ian painstakingly revealed the former wooden beamed “French ceiling” in one corner. The mind’s eye can imagine the rest of it in the same form. The new industrial floor is a dream to wheel a suitcase over. Laurent a local tiling expert turned wood and steel connoisseur single handedly constructed Anne’s concept stairs and a glass floor “passerelle” that I had first seen in a French home déco magazine. Laurent also built the wood and iron “air dressing” on the 3rd floor.
Formerly the previous owners’ dining room, this space always felt like the future heart of the floor with its (formally unauthorisd) velux window. We turned the opening previously between the kitchen and dining room into a full door; and sealed the previous doorway into a nest of wooden shelves. Result: a reading / writing / tea and breakfast room, filled with natural light and inspiring déco.
With a similar layout to the first floor, this section didn’t require any structural change. But it did undergo an entire facelift, from floor to ceiling and everything in between. This are which now comfortably accommodates friends and family has a main bedroom with walk-in closet; a bathroom with tub & shower and a separate WC.
Ian and Patty are the two most responsible for all the improvements, while Kevin, Ziggy, and Florent took great care of the invisible plumbing and electric improvements.
Not just a passageway or storage area any longer between the Velux and the family and friends guest bedroom, we’ve managed to create a lovely bright and airy second telework space here.
Inspired by one of my favourite French déco magazines “Maison et Travaux”, the whole reno project was inspired by one single image of a swooping staircase and walkway. Architect Anne and talented Laurent are the wonders behind this custom-designed staircase and glass walkway. However, due credit to my Literature 12 and Drama teacher Tim McKinnon who together with Marc hammered through the old floor to first give daylight and access between the two floors.
I love to watch how newcomers dare to take a first step on the glass walkway, some too doubtful of the reinforcement to walk across it. In fact, this glass is as stable as cement, if not more so! You need only pay attention to what you’re wearing (or not) when above, mindful of those passing by with head tilted up from below…
Anne Immediately understood my desire for achieveing the maximum among of natural light on this floor. So she proposed to leaded glass windows on either side of the bathroom, the space that separates the Telework office on one side and the bedroom on the other.
We chose what we all thought the perfect bathroom wall tiles, only to discover it was a type of wallpaper and a nightmare to install! But with persistence and vision, this shower & WC fits perfectly on this floor.
With an element of style inspired by a holiday to Madagascar, Ian constructed a wall to separate the bed from the sink basin table. On the bed side, a niche carved into the separation wall serves as a bookcase and odds ‘n ends shelf which I love.
Laurent’s “air dressing” also inspired by a magazine spread pairs beautifully with his stairway masterpiece and the leftover floor tiles Ian laid for us. I wanted to incorporate a bit of the Paris Pompidou centre with a warehouse loft feel to it, so the evacuation air pipe is visible from one end to the other. The leaded glass on either side of the bathroom were a perfect choice from Anne.
At the foot of the bed, the former tiny door onto a rickety balcony of sorts is now replaced by a massive folding window and door frame onto a new and much needed reinforced breakfast balcony looking out onto the main terrace. The evening sun shines directly onto this private balcony and casts a beautiful sunset glow onto the floor. Too hot to dine in the summer, too cold in the winter, so we dash for the in-between season when it’s just right!
