The Wood Residence renovation reworks a typical Westmount rowhouse through a measured approach that prioritizes spatial continuity, material calibration, and precise insertions. Rather than reconfiguring the plan, the project refines the existing domestic sequence, using custom elements and a restrained palette to negotiate between inherited architectural character and contemporary habitation.
Wood Residence Technical Information
- ArchitectsPhilip Hazan
- Interior DesignVives St-Laurent
- LocationWestmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Gross Area260 m2 | 2,800 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years2023 – 2025
- Photographs© Alex Lesage
The project works within the given structure, using material and detail to create continuity rather than rupture.
– Philip Hazan
Typological Continuity within a Westmount Rowhouse
The renovation maintains the linear sequence characteristic of Westmount rowhouses, where spaces unfold from the entry toward the rear garden. The living room occupies the front bay, followed by the dining room and kitchen at the back. This arrangement preserves both spatial legibility and the established relationship between public and private areas.
Key architectural elements remain in place. The staircase continues to run alongside the party wall, anchoring vertical circulation without alteration to its position. The bay window at the front and the alignment of rooms reinforce the rhythm of the streetscape, keeping the interior tied to the neighborhood’s architectural language. The intervention avoids restructuring the plan, focusing instead on refinement.
By working within the existing framework, the project emphasizes continuity over transformation. This approach supports a reading of the house as an incremental evolution rather than a complete departure, where new layers are integrated without erasing the underlying spatial order.
Material Strategy: Between Heritage Expression and Contemporary Restraint
The material palette operates through contrast and restraint. Pale white oak flooring replaces the original surfaces, introducing a consistent, understated base that extends throughout the interior. Against this, marble appears as a recurring element, establishing moments of density and tactility at key moments such as the entry, fireplace, and bathrooms.
The checkerboard marble floor at the entrance defines a formal threshold. Its geometric clarity references traditional motifs while its crisp execution aligns with contemporary sensibilities. This use of stone is echoed in the fireplace surround and in smaller interventions, such as the powder room sink, creating continuity across scales.
Neutral tones dominate, reflecting a strategic neutrality aligned with the house’s intended resale. However, the selection of materials resists generic treatment. Subtle veining in the marble, the grain of the oak, and the interplay between matte and polished surfaces provide depth without relying on contrast or ornament.
Interior Articulation and Custom Interventions
Custom millwork plays a central role in organizing the interior. Built-in bookshelves frame the living room fireplace, extending the wall surface while reinforcing its centrality. In the entry, a seating niche and vertical storage unit respond directly to the oval window, translating a façade into an interior condition.
The staircase redesign encapsulates the project’s hybrid language. Traditional paneling along the stringer is paired with slender steel balusters and a recessed handrail. The oak treads unify it with the flooring, while the curved base detail introduces a moment of softness within an otherwise linear composition.
Discrete interventions address residual spaces. The powder room beneath the stairs is concealed behind a door integrated into the wall moldings, maintaining visual continuity along the corridor. Such insertions demonstrate a careful calibration between visibility and concealment, allowing new to coexist with existing fabric without disruption.
Light, Openings, and Domestic Atmosphere
Natural light is structured through the retention and amplification of existing openings. The oval window in the entry becomes a focal point, its form echoed in adjacent joinery. In the living room, the bay window extends the interior toward the street while framing views of the mature tree outside, softening the boundary between inside and out.
Vertical circulation benefits from the introduction of skylights, which bring diffuse light into the stairwell and upper corridor. This intervention shifts these transitional spaces from purely functional zones to areas with distinct spatial character, marked by changing light conditions throughout the day.
At the rear, a steel-framed French door introduces a sharper contrast within the otherwise muted palette. Its darker profile emphasizes the threshold to the terrace, establishing a direct visual and physical connection to the exterior. This addition recalibrates the relationship between the kitchen and the garden, extending the domestic пространство beyond the interior envelope.
About Vives St-Laurent
Vives St-Laurent is a Montreal-based interior design studio founded in 2018 by Laurence Ouimet-Vives and Lysanne St-Laurent. The firm focuses on creating timeless environments that balance functionalism and aesthetics, with an approach rooted in clean geometric lines and material richness that bridges past and future. Through a collaborative, research-driven process, the studio delivers multidisciplinary work across residential, commercial, and corporate projects.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Construction company: Modulor
- Cabinetmaker: Loeven Morcel
- Photography: Alex Lesage
