Les Ensembliers are the product of a partnership between an architect, Maxime Vandal, and an interior designer, Richard Ouellette.
Recently, they completed a three-floor, 6,000 square-foot residence that unites three adjoining apartments in the Redpath Lofts. "We did not want the new space to be the simple combination of three different units. We wanted to leverage the visual power of the building's industrial character, while getting away from the loft logic of the original conversion," Vandal explained.
With that vision in mind, the designers opted for two bold architectural statements, one vertical and the other horizontal.
The basic character of each of the zones was defined by a particular treatment of the space, in terms of the design of volumes, the use of materials and the selection of furniture.
The dining room finds its expression through its stunning central steel fireplace, high ceiling, large oval table, generous windows, and lighting fixtures. Everything was designed to highlight the impressive volumes of these old industrial spaces. Meanwhile, the kitchen aligns with the approach by being reduced to its essentials: three minimalist islands, and all storage and appliances concealed behind varnished walls. In contrast, the master bedroom on the third floor expresses warm domestic comfort, with some nods to urban chic.
A marriage of the space's industrial origins and the occupants' personality, the interior spaces were built as an interplay of contrasts between raw industrial character and a taste for luxury and urban comfort.
In the living room, the angular easy chairs, cut-glass walls and broken lines of the carpet contrast with the rounded cushions and mirror. 'Each object was carefully chosen for its personality and the way it fits into the whole. Whether you are looking at a vintage frame of a piece of custom made furniture, nothing is there by chance.'
Each room was designed like an artwork, with impressionistic touches calculated to inspire unique and complex emotional responses.
