When Gerardo Rubino and Léliane Villeneuve moved from Montreal’s northern suburbs into the city center for their daughter’s schooling, they decided to embrace cosmopolitan life with gusto. After purchasing a 1950s-era rowhouse in the lively Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, the couple tapped Dupont Blouin Architectes (DBA) to treat the three-story house as it would a downtown hotspot with a strong hospitality bent. (Rubino specifically envisioned the kitchen as a “speakeasy” where he would orchestrate gatherings from behind the counter.)

DBA arranged plants along the kitchen’s ceiling-mounted shelving, to take advantage of a new skylight. Photo © Olivier Blouin, click to enlarge.