Retro girlie look in a quiet corner of Old Montreal

It was. I hadn’t really intended to move, but a friend told me about this place because some people he knew were moving out. It’s one of the few rentals left in this area of Old Montreal. They’re tearing them all down and turning them into condominiums. It’s very cheap. I pay only $530 a month.

Having to downsize actually forced me to get rid of some of the furniture I’d brought with me from Saskatchewan. A lot of what you see here (she indicates the turquoise covered sofa and an armchair) are hand-me-downs or things I’ve picked up at St. Vincent de Paul. I paid $25 for chair and $50 for the couch. I’ve just had it re-covered.

(To illustrate her point, she shows me her camera collection, neatly arranged, with one old film camera on top of the other, on a CD rack. MacPherson is an accomplished photographer and her work, along with that of artist friends, hangs on the walls. We walk into her long, narrow kitchen. Her office space is at one end. A door to a terrace, “big enough for a barbecue” is at the other. In the kitchen, more of her collections — a row of vintage cocktail shakers and aquamarine glass containers.)

I notice you’ve used a lot of blues and greens in your decor. Are those your favourite colours?

Those and shocking pink. (She shows me the tiny bathroom, which has fuchsia walls and two bright pink gnomes, perched atop the toilet.) A friend gave these to me. I could do with a bigger bathtub, but the water pressure is great. That’s not always the case in older buildings.

His name is Mack. He’s a schnauzer and because he’s a German breed, I decided to name him after Kurt Weill’s Mack the Knife. That’s another great thing about living in this area. There are lots of places to walk him along the Lachine Canal.

Also, I’m so handy to everything. When I lived in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, friends used to remark that I lived so far away. I didn’t agree because it took me only 30 minutes to cycle downtown. (She still has a bike, leaning up against the bottom of the stairs to her apartment.) Living here, so close to downtown, I can see they were probably right.

It needed a complete makeover. My parents helped me renovate. We put in a laminate floor in the living area, painted the walls and doors and my dad — he’s very handy — modified the kitchen cabinets. The floor in the living room was all square tiles covered in some kind of ship’s varnish. It was a real “manly man” decor. I prefer a retro, girlie look!

Before my dad redesigned the cabinets, they were really high. He actually cut one of them in half so that I could fit the fridge underneath. All in all, we probably spent about $3,000.

It probably dates back to around the late 19th century. It has a colourful history. There are seven apartments within the block and they’re cut into really weird shapes. I’ve heard from a couple of sources that the building may at one time have been a brothel!

One of the apartments has a sweeping staircase, which could have been where the Madame paraded the girls. We’re so close to the harbour — lots of sailors — and near what was once Montreal’s first prison for women.

Perhaps more interesting is the personal collection that was reserved for the seacoast retreat that is now a permanent repository for museum-quality maritime art, Civil War naval maps, Revolutionary War letters from the North Carolina signers of
the Declaration of Independence, first edition North Carolina history books plus scrimshaw, earthenware pottery and more decorative accessories that resonate with meaning for the lifetime steward.

All have found a new address in one of Wrightsvilles bedroom communities overlooking the skyline of the tiny beach town from a top berth above the Intracoastal Waterway. On a clear day its possible to see the southern tip of Masonboro Island from the window hanging above the kitchen sink.

The three-bedroom condominium floorplan is simple. The kitchen gives way to a small dining area that adjoins the living room. Both areas open to a terrace anchored at its southern edge by a Carrara marble urn purchased from the Palm Beach estate of Bernie Madoff. Italian tiles cover the terrace floor. Cushioned outdoor wicker settees and chairs surround conversation tables and a few well placed conversation pieces, like the 1850 confit pot and an 18th century walnut oil vessel.

Sliding glass doors separate the terrace from the living room appointed with built-in display cases. One is a showcase for English Delft. The tin glaze pottery is rarer than its Dutch namesake. This particular assemblage includes 1690 King William and Mary Regina chargers. The large 14-inch decorative plates bear the portraits of the king and queen of England who reigned from 1689 until 1702.

The regents portrait chargers are flanked by German Westerwald jugs, scrimshaw clock hutches and a 1720 English Delft bowl from Bristol, a locale, like London, well known for its Delft earthenware.

Making way for the display of more antiquities, a chase located along the living rooms interior wall allowed the addition of French doors leading into the entrance hall. This underutilized space allows the housing for the collection of scrimshaw made from whale teeth and bones.

Out at sea, when whalers were bored they whittled and engraved keepsakes called scrimshaw for their wives and children. This display includes a childs teething ring and ball, clothespins, corkscrews, a comb, a toy spinning wheel, a yarn caddy, rolling pin, pie dough crimper and a device that strapped on a sailors belt holds needles for sail mending.