Did Sarah Di Domenico manifest this 100-year-old house when she made a napkin sketch of her dream office in 2020? Whether the power of magical thinking is real or not, here she is: running her branding studio, Wedge, alongside life and work partner Justin Lortie out of a warm and homey workspace that has the exact same arched door and facade that she had drafted during a blue-sky brainstorming session.

Before, Wedge was in a traditional studio space, explains Sarah, a loft with concrete floors and white walls. “We just felt like we needed something new and different. It just wasn’t the energy anymore,” she recalls. The couple were itching for a new space in Montreal, where the company is based, that would foster yet more connection and community for their team of 12—another example of a growing trend of designers seeking out homey vibes for their post-pandemic workspaces.

Sarah envisioned a nontraditional environment, one where the team could have lunch in the garden, pad around colorful carpet in their socks, or curl up on a couch for a call, and made that sketch of a little house; that same week, Justin found a real estate listing that looked exactly like it.

“It was a total gutter, a smasheroo,” laughs Sarah. “But we’re people who can see the potential in things.” With the help of InForm Architecture and interior design studio Vives St-Laurent, they put that potential to work.

Though the Wedge team obviously has design chops—their work with Matheson Food Company, Vacation, and Ssense is proof—spatial design was a new frontier. “We’re not people who come from this world,” admits Sarah. “There’s a lot we had to learn.” But what she and Justin didn’t need help with was their vision: they were clear on the color palette, a mix of creamy yellows, rusts, and dusty blues inspired by their travels in Copenhagen, and easily dialed in a mood board complete with furnishings. “We build brand worlds for people on a day to day basis; this was our chance to build the Wedge Universe.”

The 2,0000-square-foot office is split over two floors, with the ground level themed around gathering. Here you’ll find the library, full of books and source materials; the space is utilized for meetings, workshops, pop-ups, and of course, to find inspiration. Through double doors are the kitchen and lounge, which then lead out to the garden. All these distinct zones offer flexibility to the team, says Sarah. “The office provides different spaces for people to work wherever they feel good.”

The theme for the second floor, meanwhile, is focus. Upstairs is Sarah and Justin’s office, a meeting room, and the atelier, where prototypes and mock-ups are created. The entire back wall is a window, lined with a long desk where team members can work with views of a large leafy tree.

“The office provides different spaces for people to work wherever they feel good.”
—Sarah Di Domenico, owner and Wedge cofounder

While most of the flooring here is white oak, the office and meeting room have wall-to-wall light-blue carpeting that Sarah had her heart set on from day one. “It’s inspired by the phenomenal purple carpeting at the archives of the Canadian Centre for Architecture,” she says.

A year into working in this home away from home, Sarah and Justin are finding the space even more inspiring than they had dreamed. “It just deepens that feeling of connection as a team,” says Sarah. “You’re not just coming into an office and sitting at your desk, there’s a modularity, ways to meet and connect in many different spaces. I think it all makes for a stronger sense of belonging.” Not bad for a napkin sketch come to life.

Related Reading:

When the Office Starts to Look Like Home

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

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: InForm Architecture / @architectureinform

Builder/General Contractor: Gestion Gauthier

Interior Design: Vives St-Laurent / @vivesstlaurent

Custom Woodwork and Furniture: Jussaume

Metalwork: Atelier Gris / @ateliergrismtl

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How an Outdated Montreal Row House Became a Homey Office Space