Andy and Melinda just bought and moved into their first home: a new 700-square-foot condominium in the city. While it might sound small, it's certainly a big increase from the 400-square-foot apartment they were previously renting. They thought the extra room would make a huge difference, but once they moved in, they found the unit a bit claustrophobic and didn't know how to maximize the space.
Aside from needing extra elbow room in their long, narrow living and dining rooms, they wanted these adjacent spaces to incorporate their work and hobbies. Melinda often works at home as a personal trainer and registered massage therapist, so she wanted the space to be relaxing and peaceful; Andy is an outdoorsman and wanted it to reflect his great love of nature.
So I geared up to make this condo look and feel larger than it was, add elements of the outdoors, and give these new homeowners the most bang for their design buck.
I started by painting the whole space in a gorgeous shade of stone. And to make this nature-inspired space truly impressive, I decided to add a little something extra to the walls: two big, outdoorsy murals — one of trees in a forest for the living room, and one in a river rock pattern for the dining room.
The room is all about nature: For a bit of a rustic element, hardwood flooring materials were used to create a dining room table. (PHOTOS BY BRANDON BARRÉ)
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I then got started on dividing the space into two zones: the dining area and the living area. There wasn't much room for a table and chairs in the dining room, so I had to get creative. This room is all about nature, so I decided to give them a bit of a rustic element by using hardwood flooring materials to create a dining room table. For seating, I installed two striped chairs in nature-inspired tones of rust, bark and moss, and installed a long brown bench against the wall.
Behind the table, I gave Andy and Melinda the storage and display space they needed, but did it with flair. I installed a cool, wall-hung fireplace that burns ethanol, put up the river rock mural overtop, and then flanked the fireplace with two long cabinets with mirror backing and glass shelves and doors.
Then it was on to the living room, where I put up the forest mural, and put in a beautiful, large L-shaped sectional that is upholstered in spicy red fabric. I added some wooden block coffee tables, laid a brown suede rug on the floor and even covered up an ugly air-conditioning vent with a soothing, waterfall display.
For window dressings, I chose a stone-coloured chenille fabric and naturally woven blinds. I used the same fabric on the door that leads off to the condo's small balcony, where I added a small table and chairs and wooden deck tile flooring.
To lighten up the whole space, I installed puck lights in the bulkhead to accentuate the murals, put up 16 feet of track lighting down the length of the space, and added some pendant lighting over the table in the dining room and the seating area in the living room.
After a few final accents and accessories, this space was complete. By combining space-saving techniques and a host of natural elements, the couple got the condo of their dreams. Now they have a tiny rural oasis smack dab in the middle of a loud, busy city. How divine!
Interior design consultant Candice Olson is the host of Divine Design on the W Network. For more information, go to www.wnetwork.com/divinedesign or www.divinedesign.tv
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