Madrid terrace chair W58*D61*H92 cm SH42 cm Terrace chair Madrid with seat cushion blue W58 SH42 cm Terrace chair Madrid with seat cushion bordeaux-red Terrace chair Madrid with seat cushion yellow W58 SH42 cm Industrial-style rental loft in Montreal's Quartier International This gorgeous rental flat serves as the perfect backdrop for an online art gallery owner’s expansive collection of work. It’s rare to move into a rental flat - a furnished one, at that - and barely change a thing. But that’s exactly what happened when Alessandra Salituri, a globe-trotter and the founder of online art gallery Citizen Atelier, went shopping for a Montreal pied-à-terre. “It was the second place I saw on Air-bnb, and I felt instantly at home,” she says. “I’ve developed a distinct style that’s very monochromatic, punctuated with blues and blacks, and this space looked like it was designed for me.” Touring the petite place in the city’s Quartier International in person only reinforced her first impression.
She loved the way the entry’s lacquered cement floor gave way to a diagonal checkerboard-painted one in the kitchen. And then there was the architecture – soaring, sophisticated and inspiring. “With its 11-foot-tall ceiling, the space was the perfect bridge between a Parisian apartment and a New York City loft,” she says. “I had a coup de coeur – meaning I fell instantly in love – when I saw those doors in the dining room. The Creative Flats loft is one of several furnished rental apartments owned by the design duo of Nathalie Bouchard and Annie Horth in the historic area. Move-in ready, the space already housed an enviable mix of contemporary pieces and Mid-Century Modern furniture – not to mention a bistro-style kitchen. “All I had to do to make it my own was bring in some art, family heirlooms and bedding,” says Alessandra. Its ease was ideal for the frequent traveller, who often finds herself in Los Angeles, New York City and parts of Europe looking for new artistic talent to feature on her site.
Loft tour: Industrial-style rental in Montreal's Quartier International Chic home office space Between the bedroom and bathroom sits a chic home office area. The industrial look of the vintage chair and Eames desk is softened with a beautiful piece of underwater photographic art and an antique Chapman ram’s horn lamp. An enchanting gallery wall Though tenant Alessandra works as an art dealer, she was enchanted by the gallery wall already installed in the living area by the flat’s owners, Nathalie Bouchard and Annie Horth. “Annie works as an artistic director and fashion stylist, and some of these photos are her collaborations,” says Alessandra. “I love the editorial feel of them.” Alessandra leaned two dramatic works of art by photographer (and floral designer) Ashley Woodson Bailey on either side of the TV in the living area to create a pleasing sense of balance. A little goes a long way Instead of loading up on small decor throughout the home, Alessandra chooses to use a few select bright accessories along with artwork to pull the display together.
Get inspiration anywhere and everywhere Alessandra often uses the dining table as a workspace; she finds it inspiring to look through the windows across the room at historic Montreal. The custom doors are an architectural highlight. “This is definitely not a cookie-cutter rental kitchen,” says Alessandra of the modern bistro-style space, which is open to the rest of the loft. Creating a relaxed vibe Renters are often hesitant to hang artwork because it puts too many holes in the walls, but this wasn’t a problem for Alessandra, who prefers to lean her pieces to create a more relaxed vibe. In the bedroom area, a floor-to-ceiling black velvet curtain acts as both a backdrop and space divider. Natural light, natural art A windowsill affords an opportunity for art: Alessandra chose this work by Spanish photographer Rebeca Cygnus because she loves its moody blue-black palette. A vintage wall-mounted unit provides much-needed storage in the front hall.
Alessandra uses the lower surface for display purposes. Wendel Clark's lakefront Muskoka cottage Image: Donna Griffith / Styling: Morgan Lindsay Image by: Tracey Ayton / Design: Kerrisdale Design Image by: Tracey Ayton"We were invited to visit this haunted house in Blainville(an hour north of Montreal) Quebec, Canada. The main problem there is that the owner (who was not there at the time)was feeling presences in different part of the house, particularly in the office and in one bedroom. In the office was occasionally of somebody sitting on a nearby velvet chair. It was just a presence felt but no contact was made with whoever that was. In the bedroom the owner would feel as if being watched, it was as if someone was staring at her." "We arrived a bit late the first time but managed to take a quick look inside and see if we pick up something. There was 6 of us but only 3 went in plus the lady who was showing us the house and one of her sons. The psychic decided not to go in this time.
So me and 2 others headed toward the house and as we did i could feel somebody a man staring at us from one of the windows on the second floor. The feel was that of a man wondering and saying something like "Who are we ?" "What are we doing here ?" I didn't say nothing to nobody at first. We took a peak at the first floor(the house was empty btw) then we were taken to the second floor where the office is. There was a lot of ghostly vibes present in that office and the vibes were that of a man. We looked around a bit and as we did i started seeing the back side of a human head. It was the quarters of a man's back head side(no idea why he was showing this particular part of his head, but anyways he made contact. He had short white hair. The age that came to me was 55 or 60 years old." Then this perception started to get weaker and weaker. Most of those that went in stayed outside that office close to the staircase. Then the lady's son (around 10 years old)spoke up and said " I just saw somebody leaning behind me(above his right shoulder) and he had white hair".
We asked the boy what else did he see? He only saw that, he replied. It was a very quick thing. He didn't have time to think what or who was that ? It was just a man with white hair. This is all that was picked up in there so we decided to leave and come back again when the owner of the house was there because who was showing us the house was a very good friend with the owner. So We walked downstairs then got out of the house then as i looked back to see where the office is located from outside then i said " There was somebody looking at us from....". Then before i finish my sentence and point to where i was picking up that from then JJ( another sensitive/psychic from our team) jumped in me then said " Yes !..As she pointed to where i was going to point with my finger. She picked up the same thing that i picked up earlier on when we arrived that somebody was staring at us as we were heading toward the house but she didn't say anything about it." "This was the end of the investigation for that day.
But we came back about a month later and Judith(a psychic in our team) came along with us. And the owner was there and again i made contact with the same white haired guy. This time he showed his face it was very vague and foggy but was good enough to have an idea of what his face looks like. The psychic made contact also and explained to the lady the owner of the house what was going on and why this man was still here. I was shown later one pictures of the family and in one of these pictures there was a man sitting down holding a baby on his lap and i said to the lady "That's the the man that i saw". This person turned out to be the Father-in-law and had problem with his family. Then one day he was found dead in his hotel. So there was a lot of unfinished business between the soul of this man and his family and he was trying to communicate trying to explain things and make peace." "As for the haunted bedroom. The feeling in there was that of someone who don't know who he is or where he is.
It's like he fell in here by accident or mistake. There seems to be more then one presence there actually that are felt occasionally. So we are yet to solve the bedroom haunting problem. The owner used to give psychic readings to people in the past so we think it could be related to previous contacts with souls that came through by mistake during a reading. They came through and still and stayed here. Other possibilities is that it could be connected with the grounds that this house was built on. Possible ancient meeting spot for traders maybe? But we are not through yet with the bedroom so we will come again and try to help who ever is here back to where he came from. The most probable reason is the "by accident" one. Imagine yourself traveling on a bus (heading to Quebec city for instance)then you got off by mistake at a bus stop(in a town you're not familiar with) and it's after you got off that you realize your mistake and start looking around. Imagine what your feeling would be and you'll have an idea about the feeling i'm talking about here in that bedroom.