Montreal neighbours join forces on kitchen reno
Susan and Bart and Lori and Scott own either side of this Westmount, Montreal 1928 Arts and Crafts semi and chose the same architect, R. James Aitken, to put an addition on the back of the structure that would allow both families to expand their kitchens while preserving the architectural look of the structure. Walking around the neighbourhood, Lori says she and Susan would see other semis that had been renovated at different times that looked “like a dog’s breakfast.” She reasoned that if they “did it together, we could end up with something that looked quite beautiful.” “This was really Sue and Lori’s project,” confirms Scott, Lori’s husband, adding that the two women assisted the architect by conducting tons of research (Lori comes from an engineering background).Michel Brunelle
Lori chose a local contractor to install her kitchen. Susan chose a kitchen by Bulthaup, a German company with a showroom in Toronto. “Everything’s been thought through and has a purpose and a reason for its shape,” she says. In fact, the highly engineered kitchens reminded her of Gore-Tex, the highly engineered product she had represented during her professional life with W.L. Gore & Associates.James Brittain
Bulthaup insisted on meeting architect James Aitken to emphasize the to-the-millimeter tolerances their kitchens required.James Brittain
‘At the time there were no pictures in the magazines about dark grey kitchens,’ says Susan, ‘so I was very nervous about thatJames Brittain
‘It seems silly to love your kitchen so much but I still do six years later,’ says Susan.James Brittain