Coastal Condo Flip

This property was brought to me by a wholesaler, and within minutes of walking it and running the numbers, we locked in a contract and moved forward to close; I couldn’t wait to renovate it with a Coastal feel. Here’s the highlights of what I did:

This small 1,100SF condo left a lot to be desired, but what I love about working with small spaces is I can go high-design and make every square foot count.

The living room, even with it’s vaulted ceiling, still felt closed off, dated and dingy. I chose the same interior wall color for all surfaces, with a gloss finish on trim and doors, satin on walls and flat on ceiling. I hadn’t done that before but I liked the cohesion, simplicity of the same color and the slight warmth that color selection offered. I also wanted to stick with the clean lines and carried that through the property, letting it be softened later by the door paneling, fixtures and furnishings.

The pass through window at the kitchen (adorned with it’s shudders in all it’s glory) was one of the most obvious updates that needed to happen to open up this space. I had seen a couple other model-match properties that had done something similar, but I didn’t quite prefer the execution of the idea. What I wanted to accomplish was a larger opening altogether that scaled to the area, but also added a breakfast bar/serving area.

Now, the opening frames the kitchen, invites conversation and offers a bit of a multi-functional space.

Inside the kitchen, the soffit cramped the cabinetry I wanted it to be eliminated. TIP: It’s one of my favorite adjustments in outdated, smaller kitchens to simplify the space but also have it appear much larger. I also decided against ANY hanging fixtures in the kitchen (no pendants or “drooping” cans anymore!) and had the cans redone to be recessed in the tray ceiling. This property is North/South facing so also has a bit of natural light coming in from the sliding glass doors in the kitchen to the North.

One thing I didn’t do in here was carry the counter top material on to the backsplash; instead, I chose these 3×12 tiles on a straight lay to again keep clean lines. The 3cm quartz counter top with squared edges is a masculine balance to the bright white Shaker cabinetry, while the wood-look ceramic tile on a herringbone lay adds a bit of sophisticated playfulness to the equation. A slide in stove was a must and the matte black 6″ pulls scaled well to all the cabinetry faces and drawer banks. (I was considering adding a couple Champagne Bronze knobs at the base cabinetry at the sink, but decided not to at the last minute.) I was also able to score an undermount stainless steel deep single-bowl sink.

I just adore this polished chrome kitchen faucet and how it plays to the repurposed matte black chandelier. I may, or may not have, been humming “Be Our Guest” as said fixtures were being installed, a la Beauty and The Beast. Maybe I had spent too much time in self-quarantine, but personifying my fixtures seemed like the natural thing to do.

As far as the bathrooms, I am utterly enthralled with the STRIPED WHITE MARBLE counter tops in the bathrooms; it’s something I never have done before but instantly fell in love with them in all their linear, enchanting uniqueness. Here’s a sample of the before of the master bathroom:

BONUS: I’m going to start adding 3-D walkthroughs of my projects (I’m looking at you, COVID), so please ACTUALLY be my guest, come to my property and take a look a the bathroom renovations yourself and preview to your hearts content:

Thank you for checking out this renovation; I am excited for the buyers to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed designing and renovating it. As always, I had a ton of fun and still, despite a international pandemic, supply chain delays, tile shortages, store closures and trades schedules being delayed, managed to pull this property together without too much fanfare otherwise.