Black furniture provides a stark contrast to the white interior of this Montreal residence, which has been overhauled by local architecture studio Atelier Barda.

Atelier Barda's Portland Residence project involved adding an extension to the rear of a historic stone house located in Montreal suburb Mount-Royal, and reconfiguring the floor plan to improve the flow between spaces.

"This innovative redesign has freed the building's spirit from its original constraints, giving it fresh expression in a setting that is both classic and resolutely contemporary," the studio said.

Architectural details like rounded walls and simple mouldings were preserved and then painted white to offer a contemporary update.

The team then installed a box clad with black anthracite oak to span all three levels.

The volume includes storage, a bathroom, kitchen appliances and a staircase, and forms a passageway between the main living space and the bedrooms.

Its black hue stands out against the white backdrop and chevron-patterned oak parquet floor, defining the material palette throughout the interiors.

Black steel mullions also frame the glass curtain wall of the extension, which the studio said it chose to protect the house from harsh climatic conditions.

The windows wrap the kitchen, living and dining room, offering views of the garden and natural light.

In the living room, translucent white drapes cover the space's large windows matching the colour of the walls. A circular, plush sofa from de Sede and a grand piano provide touches of black, while the fireplace is grey stone.

Foraine par Atelier Barda, the firm's design studio, designed a number of furnishings in the house.

Many are built with solid black anthracite oak like the rectangular dining table and bench, which have wide legs detailed with thin grooves, and a circular coffee table.

Smaller round tables for the bedrooms are wrapped in the oak panelling and fronted with drawers.

The bedrooms and a private office are located on the upper levels of a house. A skylight is situated above the stairwell to bring natural light into the space.

In the bathrooms, white vanities are finished with a lime and tadelakt plaster and topped with marble, which is used to cover the floors as well.

Atelier Barda was founded by Antonio Di Bacco and Cécile Combelle, it has completed a number of renovations in Montreal including a loft apartment with black and white interiors and custom furniture and the conversion of a shop into a two-storey residence with pastel accents.

Photography is by Alex Lesage.