Interior Design Tips for High Rise Condos
“The architectural details will make or break the overall effect of your condo,” says interior designer Sherry Hayslip. “If it is bland and has a “stock” detail effect, or is simply painted off white with neutral carpet, you will have difficulty in creating a rich or truly elegant effect.” Your new condo is an opportunity to achieve your dream interior. “I recommend assessing what you love most about the home you are in. Then systematically determine if you can incorporate some of the best of these into your new condo, if it is lacking in enough details to suit you.”
Hayslip provides an excellent example of sophisticated city living with her award-winning work for The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas. Hayslip Design Associates received a first place regional ASID Design Ovation Award last year in the Model/Showhouse category.
A good rule of thumb is to create a base palette of soft neutrals and use color and texture thoughtfully. “Consider having Venetian plaster added to a room or two, or add lovely hand printed wall paper to a powder room,” offers Hayslip. “If you prefer a contemporary spare look, then careful attention to detail is even more important, with gracefully proportioned and elegantly scaled furnishings of the finest quality set against a serene background in subtle or even dark colors but almost entirely lacking pattern.”
Remember, too, that today’s trends may not still be en vogue once construction is completed. If the build-out is an 18 month process, this season’s coral, lilac, and lily green may be over. It’s easy to go overboard purchasing the newest silhouettes for your new abode. Sticking to the classics is always right. With a muted elegant scheme, vivid artwork, bold floral arrangements, and lively printed textiles can serve to portray your current fashion passions.
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Good Things in Small Packages
Unless you’ve secured the penthouse, all of your furnishings won’t safely fit into the new digs. It’s time to play favorites with the pieces you truly love.
“If you are moving from a home filled with fine pieces and despair over finding places for all of them, it helps to take individual photographs and measurements of each piece of furniture, artwork, most accessories, light fixtures, rugs – anything that you love and loathe to abandon,” advises Hayslip. Find the perfect place for each piece, and for those that just don’t fit, well, they might need to be passed to someone else who would appreciate them. Hayslip gives the caveat, “It is best not to permanently dispose of beloved items until you are well settled into your new condo.”
You can, however, create the illusion of more space by choosing the right colors. The walls don’t have to be all white or sand dollar beige to achieve an airy feel. Too many colors in a small space is just as jarring as combining argyle, stripes, and polka dots in one outfit. Using one paint color, even if it’s dark, will open up the connecting rooms. A contrasting neutral trim on the moldings keeps the look fresh.
“Ironically, sometimes deep rich colors can be the most effective in a smaller space,” says Hayslip. “Despite the commonly held idea that lighter colors increase the sense of space, a darker color can sometimes intensify a feeling of depth, and combined with a bit of under-furnishing be quite effective in making things larger.”
The basic design strategy for small spaces is to use a medium to light tone counter-pointed with a richer color on the floor and a lighter ceiling. Sherry Hayslip reminds homeowners that the little risks, however, that personalize the space and make it interesting. “A small foyer with black Venetian plaster, black stained floors, and creme fraiche walls throughout the rest of the main spaces can be unexpected and stunning, she says. “Rules are meant to be broken.”
Advice on choosing a decorator for your condominium:
“The core of a successful project is a combination of mutual respect and trustâÂ?¦ This is the time to be completely candid about your time frame, your budget guidelines and your taste preferences. It is very helpful to have some magazine pictures of work you like and perhaps even more importantly, things you abhor. The more information that you can share with a prospective designer, the better idea you will both have if your styles will mesh. The designer’s unedited responses to your design examples will reveal a bit more of their personality and how they might interact with you about design ideas.”
