Article:
Tackling an outdated condo remodel brings amazing results
By Shelley Anderson
March 2008
Interior designer Shelley Anderson spent the better part of 2006 remodeling an outdated condo into the home of her dreams. Over the next few months she chronicles her experience in hopes of inspiring others to look beyond the surface to a home’s hidden potential.
After finding a tired 1964 condo, my work began. I spent a great deal of time there getting a feel for how we would live in our new home. I observed the light pattern of the setting sun — it was very direct and potentially damaging to the interior finishes I would be selecting. Even though the windows in the building had been recently replaced with UV filmed glass, the sunlight was intense and would need special window treatments. In order to keep the wall to wall expanse of windows clean and unobscured, I installed Silhouette window shades. They can be pulled up to disappear in their head rail and provide full to partial privacy when down. Problem solved!
The overall layout for the condo was going to be dictated by existing plumbing which services the building by way of wet walls. This is the area where all water and sewer lines are located. This meant that the kitchen and bath areas would be located against these walls. The new kitchen and bathrooms would be in the same areas, but totally reconfigured.
The kitchen originally was buried in an alcove, and the washer and dryer were located towards the front of the space, where the view of the Olympics was being wasted at your back. This was the most important redesign of the plan. Since both my husband and I like to cook and wanted a kitchen that was guest friendly, a working island would be needed. My preference was to have the sink on the island and the cook top and venting hood against the back wall, but remember that wet wall? There would be no way to bring water out to the island unless it came overhead.
The plan changed and the cook top was located on the island, which turned out to be great. I can watch the activity on Elliot Bay and the sunsets while trying out new recipes. I selected a glass and stainless hood which almost disappears and contributes to the open feeling, which was the original objective in this remodel.
I packed the kitchen with cabinets for optimal storage. Two Lazy Susan base cabinets and full extension drawers are features which allow the best use of the space available.
Under-cabinet lighting all around the kitchen illuminates the dark granite and provides excellent task lighting. Each fixture has it’s own high/low and off switch for convenience. Canned lights in the ceiling provide more than ample overall lighting. The piece de resistance is the pendant lighting above the island. I fell in love with these Swarovski crystal fixtures. They produce bright down-light and an incredible jewellike sparkle in the kitchen.
The next issue to deal with in the kitchen would be how to treat the ceiling, which would be dropped to accommodate electrical and venting. We would have left some areas of the ceiling exposed to achieve an industrial feel, but it would have appeared way too cluttered. We shaped the front edge of the dropped ceiling to replicate the curved edge of the granite-topped island. It softens the edge and adds visual interest.
We are very pleased with the end result of our kitchen remodel. By remaining flexible and open to solving challenges we ended up with a beautiful, working kitchen that is the center of attention at gatherings.
Shelley Anderson has been creating interiors in the greater Seattle area since 1990.You may contact her at (206) 719-6814 or email her at
shelley.anderson@shelleyandersoninteriors.com.