Posted on Thu, Apr. 17, 2008
10 great design ideas to steal
By Designer Keller Donovan
Photography by Troy Campbell
1. When working with a condo, space is usually at a premium, so remember what your mother always said — a place for everything and everything in its place. When planning your condo, have closets fitted out with whatever you want to store: a narrow niche for the ironing board or especially deep shelves for your collectables. One of my clients wanted really deep drawers with dividers to hold all her boots standing upright. We did it.
2. You need to constantly go through your stuff — clothes, dishes, food — in the cupboard to see what you haven’t used in a while. If you don’t use it, lose it! There is no greater luxury than an empty drawer.
3.Just because your place is small doesn’t mean all of your furniture has to be made for elves. A big sofa made to fit the length of a wall can look sexy and rich and make the space appear larger.
4. Make sure you coordinate from room to room. In a well-thought-out space, you can move a chair from one room to another and it won’t look out of place.
5. Your flooring should move smoothly from room to room. Harsh changes like purple shag to white tile will make the coolest pad look chopped up and kooky.
6. Make living a great experience by planning your condo to be inviting and comfortable to all.
7. Always try to use things in a new way. Did you know your Granny’s old dining-room breakfront makes a great cabinet for the new flat-screen TVs? Simply fabric or frost the glass doors so you are not always looking at the screen.
8. Condo living means not having a room for everything so rethink the dining area to look like a den or maybe a card room and still function for those rare but wonderful sit-down dinners.
9. Make sure there are empty spaces in your condo, even if you have to get rid of something. It makes the condo look so much bigger and leaves a place for seasonal decorations.
10. Life is easier with a sense of humor. Inject some into your living space and everything goes a bit better.
email this
print this
today's 