Article:
Making the best use of space in a condo
By Shelley Anderson
May 2008
Upon entering the condo, I had a sense of what it could offer. The windows faced west towards the Olympics and Elliot Bay. Light streamed in onto the faded peach carpet and grasscloth walls. Despite being horribly outdated, it definitely had the space and potential we were looking for. There were several considerations to be made in the design process; one of the biggest was the fact that we were downsizing. The design had to accommodate two adults, a teenager, a home office and a guest room.
I learned that the building’s steel and concrete construction would allow most of the interior walls to be removed and rebuilt into a more useful floor plan. This set the wheels in motion and I started planning how to assign the potentially open square footage into a new home.
Multi-purpose was the primary mission for the office/guest room. The initial plan was to create a small room that would serve both purposes and be accessible from a door in the hall. This would, however, create a dark, windowless room. But, I had an idea—open the wall to the front of the room, which would look through the living area and out to the incredible view. For an office it would be great to keep the light and view of the Olympics, but we needed to provide privacy for guests as well. The answer was sand-blasted glass panels hung from stainless barn door hardware. They slide quietly along the railing at the top and nestle against the walls on each side. A wall bed provides a sleeping area as well as a folddown desk area for design projects.
Storage was a concern. Every inch of space was valuable. I enlisted the aid of a professional closet company. They helped make the closets as useful as possible by creating custom shelving in very shallow areas for maximum hanging space. The higher ceilings in the condo allowed us to add a shelf area above the double hanging clothes.
Another consideration was wall color. Selecting a closely related set of colors, rather than one color throughout, helps achieve a consistency that will enhance the flow from room to room. This is especially helpful in smaller homes and condos by alleviating the jolt you might get from a contrasting color scheme.
Making, and getting, the most from your design is so important. Relying on professionals in specialized areas will always pay off in the end because they offer the experience and knowledge to help create a great final project.
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.