A retiree found ease and elegance in a well-established North Toronto neighbourhood. She moved into a condo after finding the upkeep on her house, her home for the last 48 years, too much to manage. Her design choices for her home as well as her lifestyle change are all about transitions and the positive energy they bring. “I feel like I deserve this at this stage of my life,” she states.
It was an angled wall in her condo’s main bedroom that prompted the retiree to seek out the help of a designer. She turned to Ldesigns’ Creative Principal, Lenore Raposo, for her advice stating: “Hey, I need help here.” Over several months they consulted. It was “a collaboration” as the retiree describes it. “Through Lenore’s eyes I saw things differently.” The retiree 
declares that “Lenore had vision. I was pleased with her suggestions. I would not have thought of them on my own.”
The light-filled living room is now the gracious, welcoming space for friends and family the condo owner desired. Colour was a key design element for the retiree, as she notes “I wanted colours that made me feel good and alive.” Fuchsia accented pillows add a warm, feminine touch. Their patterns echo the subtle brocade design in the client’s original upholstered furniture, as well as in the room’s artwork and lamp. Centering the room is a gracious glass table. Its thin silhouette allows light into the room as do mirrors. Custom made stools, covered in teal fabric, and the blue rug lend soft, deep punctuation to the couch and chairs. Lenore advises “Keep the investment pieces in a room neutral, but go wild with the fabric for pillows.”
The condo’s bedroom is situated at the end of a corridor on the right hand side of the living room. When designing for a condo Lenore advises “Make sure the rooms are integrated. This keeps the condo feeling larger preventing rooms feeling ‘choppy’ and visually cluttered.” Transitions are important in this condo’s design. The living room’s stools can be used as dining room seating. Four bergère chairs have been upholstered in fabrics that complement all of the condo’s rooms. This extends their beautiful utility so they can be used in all of the rooms.
Custom made pillows, a throw, and artwork bring gentle brush strokes of colour to the bedroom’s restful neutrals. Providing storage for the room are two good quality side tables in dark wood. With its open, rounded shelves the table closest to the door offers the room an easy flow. The longest wall is angled. “We worked with the angle. We lined furniture up against it,” Lenore notes. Drapery gives the room luxurious privacy. When the client saw her condo after the renovation “she couldn’t believe that it was her space.”
With its splashes of light, glass, and delicacy the condo shimmers like a jewel box. “People are over the moon when they see it,” the condo owner notes.
Text by J.Lynn Fraser, As Seen In Canadian Home Trends Summer 2014 Digital Edition
Sources:
- Small Blue Upholstered Stools, Area Rug, Minster Interiors, Artage Coffee Table, Pillow, Draperies, Bench, Fauteuile, Ldesigns, www.ldesigns.ca;
- Accessories, Lamps, Throw, Bedroom Accent Table HomeSense, www.homesense.ca;
- Striped Pillow Shams, Elte, www.elte.com;
- Side Tables, Geovin, www.geovin.com;
- Floor Lamp, Union Lighting, www.unionlightingandfurnishings.com;
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