How do you create a condo that鈥檚 light, bright and full of sparkle, even though its balcony and big windows face east, mostly benefiting from the morning sun?
In this case, it鈥檚 done with mirrors, reflective surfaces, big skylights, scores of well-placed pot lights and lots of design savvy.
This was the creative solution of Simona and Steven, who recently purchased a condo that鈥檚 at the top of Broadmead and looks out toward Mt.聽Baker, with distant views through the trees across the strait.
They transformed everything, from the carpets and paint to chandeliers and doorknobs 鈥� always keeping the idea of lightness in mind.
鈥淲e mixed bargains from HomeSense with expensive Italian pieces, and I also used square and round shapes, as well as shiny and subdued,鈥� said Simona, who asked to keep their last name private.
One of the first things they did was replace the aged fixed skylights with Velux versions that open to let fresh air in and close automatically if it rains. The new skylights are also fitted with blinds to block the sun on really warm days.
鈥淭hey cost about $1,500 each but have saved our lives, because this condo used to get very, very hot,鈥� said Simona. 鈥淚t was almost unbearable sometimes, with no air circulation in the summer.鈥�
The couple replaced all the carpets with a soft, hypoallergenic, pewter-toned one from End of the Roll and painted the walls a light grey that was customized to match the carpet. They chose a darker tone for both ends of the long living-dining room, 鈥渂ecause we needed to close the space in a little and this darker colour also frames the windows at both ends of the room. (A large interior window separates the dining room from the den.)
Rustic red paint was used to create a feature wall down the unbroken side of the great room, adding warmth and drama, and to remind Simona of Italy, where she was born. He mother, who visits from Rome twice a year, encouraged her to go for the bold hue, saying it can always be redone. Now the owners and friends alike love it.
A long, narrow storage and laundry room has become an exercise room for Steven, with a mirror at the far end that doubles the visual space, and compact storage units along one wall from IKEA. Steven installed these and all the other IKEA units, such as two wall-long mirrored cabinets in the den.
鈥淗e is amazing at putting these together,鈥� said Simona, noting he also installed them in their previous home鈥檚 kitchen.
Throughout the condo are more than 80 new recessed pot lights overhead. 鈥淲e like the clean look, and they are all LED, so not as hot.鈥�
The fixtures are mostly from Mclaren Lighting and because Simona likes consistency, she used the same round chandelier in several rooms, including the entry hall, dining room, den and kitchen.
The entrance is very important to them, so they looked high and low for the right pieces, finally settling on a mirrored cabinet with two drawers, and a stool on either side. They each have a place to drop their keys and small change now, without adding any clutter.
When they first laid eyes on the more than 1,800-square-foot unit, the new owners liked the open-plan interiors and fell in love with the view, but didn鈥檛 think it would work due to the lack of storage space.
Then Steven came up with a plan to reconfigure a hallway that led to a large foyer leading to the overly large master bedroom, which measured more than seven metres long.
鈥淏asically, there was too much bedroom and too little storage,鈥� said Steven. 鈥淭here were small little closets and a lot of dead spaces, so I had the idea to shift some doors and move a couple of walls.鈥�
Rob Parsons Construction was hired to do the work. The owners now have shorter hallways but a large walk-in closet, a floor-to-ceiling shoe closet and expanded hanging closet with double mirrored doors.
Simona, who has a penchant for designer bags and has been collecting them most of her life, sold several vintage ones on eBay to help defray the cost of the closet.
Redesigning the kitchen took the most thought, as the couple looked at endless samples of materials and colours, and finally settled on terra-cotta-coloured cabinets with a high-gloss acrylic finish.
鈥淚 had a lot of resistance to the orange kitchen, from friends and designers, but Steven and my mother and I were the design team鈥� and they all love the daring shade, Simona said, adding she would not recommend this finish for families with children, as it shows every fingerprint.
Instead of stainless handles, she chose chrome and turned them sideways rather than vertical. She also selected two sinks, one for large pots and pans and another much smaller one.
Both kitchen and entry are floored in the same unusual Italian ceramic tile, which has a metallic sheen that looks silver from one angle and copper from the other. The quartz countertop is slim, not a thick slab. 鈥淭his makes it look more modern,鈥� she said.
They made the kitchen area bigger and the seating space a little smaller by adding about a foot in length and width to the peninsula. Underneath are deep, wide drawers, including one extra-deep one that serves as the bar.
Steven said he was all for the splash of spicy colour in the kitchen. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like white. I think it鈥檚 boring and this has worked out very well.鈥�
He said being in a home that is wonderfully spacious but without a lot of closet space means they don鈥檛 hang on to a lot of stuff. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 hoard. Every six months or so, we go through everything and throw out or give away what we aren鈥檛 using.鈥�
The space suits them perfectly, he said.
鈥淚 love the view. When I come home from work, really bushed, I can sit down on the balcony and look out at nature. It鈥檚 a lifestyle thing, living here. I have my own gym in the unit, a barbecue on the deck and we have everything we need in one efficient space.
鈥淲e can lock it and leave whenever we want to travel and we can forget about any garden or home maintenance. If people like gardening that鈥檚 great, but Simona and I are both professionals who work hard and we like to come home and relax.鈥�
