Making the most of a small condo unit

Tag : Chenille Fabric

While it might sound small, it's certainly a big increase from the400-square-foot apartment they were renting.
They thought the extra room would make a huge difference, but oncethey moved in, they found the unit a bit claustrophobic and didn'tknow how to maximize the space.
Aside from needing extra elbowroom in their long, narrow living anddining rooms, they wanted these adjacent spaces to incorporatetheir work and hobbies.
Melinda often works at home as a personal trainer and registeredmassage therapist, so she wanted the space to be relaxing andpeaceful; Andy is an outdoorsman and wanted it to reflect his greatlove 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 mostbang for their design buck.
I started by painting the whole space in a gorgeous shade of stone.
To bring in the outdoors, I added two big murals: one of a forestfor the living room, and one in a river-rock pattern for the diningroom.
I then got started on dividing the space into two zones: the diningarea and the living area.
There wasn't much room for a dining table and chairs, so I had toget creative.
Because this room is all about nature, I added a rustic element byusing hardwood-flooring materials to create a dining-room table.
For seating, I installed two striped chairs -- in nature-inspiredtones of rust, bark and moss -- and a long brown bench against thewall.
Behind the table, I gave Andy and Melinda the storage and displayspace they needed, but I did it with flair.
I installed a cool, wall-hung fireplace that burns ethanol, put theriver-rock mural above it and then flanked the fireplace with twolong cabinets with mirror backing and glass shelves and doors.
In the living room, I put up the forest mural and put in abeautiful, large L-shaped sectional upholstered in spicy redfabric.
I added some wooden-block coffee tables, laid a brown suede rug onthe floor and even covered up an ugly air-conditioning vent with asoothing waterfall display.
For the windows, I chose a stone-colored chenille fabric andnaturally woven blinds.
I used the same fabric on the door leading to the condo's smallbalcony, where I added a small table and chairs and wooden decktile flooring.
To lighten up the whole space, I installed puck lights in thebulkhead to accentuate the murals, put up 16 feet of track lightingdown the length of the space and added pendant lighting over thetable in the dining area and the seating area.
With a few final accents and accessories, this space was complete.
By combining space-saving techniques and a host of naturalelements, I gave the couple 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 decorator Candice Olson is host of HGTV's "Divine Design."For more ideas, information and show times visit www.HGTV.com or www.divinedesign.tv .