You have to climb a series of steps from Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine to cross the threshold of this house dating from 1920. The beauty of yesteryear features opulent woodwork that is no longer seen today: a classic shell, revisited with a touch of insolence and a lot of humor by a decoration enthusiast who doesn’t care about preconceived ideas about “beautiful” and “good taste”!
“What would be the equivalent of pizzazz, in French? », asks Léonie Emmanuelle Duperré. “Panache, bite,… va-va-voum? », we suggest, trying to find the perfect synonym to describe the aesthetic affinities of our host. A single glance at his creations and his environment, however, makes it possible to do without words.
“I had an affection for mid-century modern homes. This was a thousand miles from what I wanted,” she confides. Her husband, the businessman and former CEO of Cirque du Soleil Daniel Lamarre, however, managed to convince her of the relevance of this purchase, sealed in 2008.
From this centenarian who saw designer Marie Saint Pierre grow up, she appreciates the stature and details. She also had the wisdom not to alter anything of this well-preserved heritage, other than to reconfigure the kitchen where light now comes generously. His touch is rather recognizable in his way of dressing this architectural body by shaking up conventions. Its tailor-made decor is unlike any other.
The visit to the place is accompanied by numerous anecdotes, each object having its own little story. “I love this sculpture. It is by Armand Vaillancourt. See that “stone”? It’s one of three bronzes that traveled with Julie Payette to the International Space Station…”
Enthusiastically, she continues listing, then worrying that this information will be perceived as a display of names or assets. “Surrounding myself with beauty and objects that touch me calms and comforts me. »
Added to these sentimental finds are several paintings and sculptures signed by his father, the painter Pierre Duperré, as well as his sons, Baltimore and Arthur Loth, both multidisciplinary artists. Irreverent nods complete this exploded aesthetic which combines the antipodes: the traditional, a disco ball and a giant Kidrobot in neon pink.
Léonie Emmanuelle Duperré is a self-taught designer, a jack of all trades, an esthete, we understand. At 16, she dropped out of school to pursue a modeling career that took her to several corners of the world, including Paris, Milan, Berlin and São Paulo. At 24, ready to change her life, she followed her father’s advice and returned to school at the New York Film Academy. She became a photographer, then a photo director in Miami.
Motherhood will put this nomadic life on hold. “I loved diving deep into motherhood. All this time, I never stopped sewing, photographing, creating,” she explains. Creating as a “visceral need”: jewelry, clothes and, now, cushions.
During a pandemic, with a surplus of energy to expend, she took out a roll of toile de Jouy that she had on hand and began to transform it. The result, cushions whose classic style is too expected for his taste, ends up being transformed with ostrich feathers, fringes, reflective strips and pompoms. This project, started for the pleasure of making and giving his creations as gifts, ultimately became the start of another new beginning.
This fall, Les trouilles de Léonie launched its range of hand-made cushions. There is no shortage of ideas for expanding the offering: dog bags, poufs, caftans, home accessories… “I am often told that my cushions are very “me”. I have a classic side that comes from my childhood, but, like my mother and my grandmother, I have this eccentric side. » Her house, with its traditional and deliberately crazy aspects, also resembles her, she ends up admitting. “Because a decor or decoration must make you smile”, with a large dose of… pizzazz!
