Yes, the colorful, curated workspace interior designer Nathalie Perron has crafted for herself and her team in a former Quebec City accounting office is impressive. But even more covetable? Her commute—Perron’s apartment is right upstairs.

Before: Condo Kitchen

After: Condo Kitchen

Before: Condo Dining Room

After: Condo Dining Room

Housing the founder and principal designer of Perron Design wasn’t the intention when the team set out to find a new office; they were just on the hunt for a location with some foot traffic. Sometimes, though, opportunity knocks. “We had the chance to have the whole building...to have it all,” says Rebekah Maciagowski, a designer with the company.

The street-level unit became a new Perron Design studio for 15 members of the staff, and Perron now calls a renovated condo upstairs her personal home. Each level is 2,500 square feet of color and charm that perfectly represent Perron’s signature style. (Future plans include renovating the other residence in the building for Perron’s sister, Giselle, too.) They named the project Maison Perron—a moniker many design firms use, but here, it’s delightfully literal.

Before: Condo Entrance

After: Condo Entrance

Before: Condo Bedroom

After: Condo Bedroom

Before: Condo Bathroom

After: Condo Bathroom

In its previous life as an accounting firm, the space was “gray and closed off,” explains Maciagowski. Perron and team knew it had potential, but it wasn’t until renovations began that the space’s true raw beauty was revealed: peeling away flooring, ceiling panels and drywall, they found original wood floors, soaring ceilings, and pristine brick.

Before: Condo Living Room

After: Condo Living Room

Though Perron’s workspace and home have distinct designs, they’re speaking a shared language. “Color is the main thing,” says Maciagowski. “We wanted people to understand how colorful we are.”

Before: Office Corridor

After: Office Corridor

Before: Perron’s Office

After: Perron’s Office

In case it isn’t obvious from the shared address, togetherness is the name of the game here. The team gathers around a big blue table to share ideas, hops into Perron’s pink-on-pink office to work through projects, and pours after-work drinks atop the sunshine-colored countertops.

Before: Office Reception

After: Office Reception

Before: Meeting Room

After: Meeting Room

Perron’s guiding philosophy through all her work is that color is what makes a space fun to live in, and here, the belief is put into gorgeous practice.

Before: Work Stations

After: Work Stations

For Perron, the blurred work-life balance here is aspirational, not a cautionary tale." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Paul Dussault" photoUserId=""/>

“She wanted the studio to feel like home, even if we were all at work,” says Maciagowski. Some might worry about the idea of living so close to work—how challenging the boundaries might become—but the way Perron describes it, the blurred work-life balance here is aspirational, not a cautionary tale. Perron regularly brings her morning coffee down from upstairs to join the team, but “naturally separates” when the work day is done. “My clothes and shoes go back and forth and sometimes stay downstairs,” Perron admits. “I’m not working in my pajamas, but it’s close.”

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

More Before & After stories:

In Menorca, a Family’s Crumbling Farmhouse Is Revived With Local Materials

A Designer Embraces the Hippie Vibes in Her Portland Kitchen for $45K

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Perron Design / @perrondesign

Also Appears In

Before & After: This Color-Obsessed Quebec Designer Lives Above Her Studio