As a Centre for the Montreal Canadiens, David Desharnais knows the importance of passing the puck to a teammate who’s in the best position to score a goal. He took the same winning approach
in decorating his new South Shore home.
He spoke with friends – fellow Canadiens player Maxim Lapierre, former teammate Steve Bégin, and racing sensation Jacques Villeneuve – about their decor and then recruited their designer, Marie-Christine Lavoie, to create an inviting home within his newly built two-storey, three-bedroom house. “David is a dream client,” says Lavoie, who also hosts the Design v.i.p. television show on Canal Vie. “He told me he wanted a contemporary look for comfortably entertaining family and friends, and then he put his trust in me to deliver it. I didn’t have to run anything past him for approval.”
Lavoie admits David looked a little nervous when she mentioned that she wanted to punctuate a living area with yellow chairs and cushions. “I always like to put a splash of colour in a
contemporary look,” she explains. “The golden yellow brings the predominantly grey tones to life.” David was delighted with the results.
Practicality went hand-in-hand with posh in Lavoie’s design. She avoided cluttering the smaller of two living spaces with tables or consoles. Instead, she worked around David’s existing grey
sofa by juxtaposing the yellow leather chairs in a way that encourages conversation. “When there’s a game that he and his buddies want to watch, they can turn the seats around on both
ends of the couch,” she adds. “And the leather banquette that usually serves as a coffee table or footrest also becomes additional seating.”
