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This Bare-Bones Condo Uses Colour To Take It To The Next Level
Photography by Alex Lukey
House Tours
This Bare-Bones Condo Uses Colour To Take It To The Next Level
A bare-bones condo gets a boost with vibrant prints and a certain look-at-me hue.
Michaela Burns hears this a lot: “This doesn’t feel like a condo.” It’s in connection to the fashionable 1,700-square-foot home she designed for her clients – a peripatetic pair in their 50s. The executives had bounced between Shanghai and New York City before settling in Toronto and are fond of the cosmopolitan life. “They plan to sail the Caribbean for half a year, so they wanted a turnkey condo,” says Michaela. “Their style is cultural eclectic. They like colour, pattern and art.” To that end, Michaela layered in chinoiserie and animal prints, weaving in red as a punchy thread. Today, the once-bland condo apartment is a personality-packed home base for the globe-trotting couple.
Snazzy Seating
DESIGN, Michaela Burns, Michaela Burns Interiors. TABLE, CHAIRS, Calligaris Toronto. Lauren ART PHOTO- GRAPH, Formento + Formento. BANQUETTE FABRIC, Kirby Design. LIGHT FIXTURE, Luminaire Authentik. PARTITION, Uni-Tech Metal Works. ACCENT WALL PAINT, Raspberry Blush 2008-30, Benjamin Moore. SHELVING, CB2. Police Woman ART PHOTO, Eric Lafforgue Photography.
With its throwback graphic print, the velvet banquette brings the funk. Large-scale contemporary photography and a chandelier with quirky burnt orange shades completes the vignette. “Because it’s only the two of them, they didn’t want a dining table centred in the room,” explains Michaela. Instead, an elegant extension table expands when friends are over.
“These clients lived in a cool loft in Shanghai,” says Michaela. An industrial-style black steel partition recreates that vibe in the homeowner’s office. “She looks through the living room over Queen Street. When the sliding doors are open, she can hear the chime of the TTC streetcar – it’s such a Toronto sound,” says Michaela. The red-painted wall behind the bookshelves is a striking focal point.
Seeing Red
FIREPLACE PAINT, Silhouette AF-655, Benjamin Moore. WALLPAPER, Phillip Jeffries. COFFEE TABLE, Crate and Barrel. RUG, Elte. BLANKET, Kotn. PILLOWS, Tonic Living. Françoise Francq SCULPTURE, Galerie Porte Heureuse. SPEAKER, Bang & Olufsen.
Red has long been the go-to hue of designers when they want to instantly elevate a room. Here, the round Bang & Olufsen speaker is the (red) ele- phant in the room, acting like a bull’s eye in the space and elevating the grey fireplace wall. On either side of the fireplace, designer Michaela Burns installed textured concrete washi wallpaper inside each panel for a subtle tonal interest.
Winging It
WALLPAPER, Fabricut. BENCH, Sunpan. MIRROR, CB2.
A flock of birds in flight has inviting whimsy in the foyer. “The client had seen a similar wallpaper and wanted that in her home,” says Michaela. The owners’ Asian console perfectly plays against the blue background, which also has hits of red in the birds’ heads. The red and blue colour motif – found in the leaning painting, too – pops up throughout the condo.
In The Details
STOOLS, Article. LIGHTING, Luminaire Authentik.
Simple upgrades, such as matte-black cabinet pulls, beef up the builder-basic kitchen. “The glass and brass globes were a sophisticated replacement to the under- sized pendants that were there,” says Michaela. “The walnut and leather stools were chosen because they are narrow enough to fit under the small overhang but are still very comfortable.”
Dialed-In Design
CURTAINS, Fabricut. BEDDING, West Elm. BENCH, Maxwell Fabrics. PILLOWS, Tonic Living. PENDANT, Union Lighting & Furnishings.
A flurry of colour and prints animates the primary bed- room. “The headboard is a chinoiserie fabric showcasing a beautiful Asian mountain scene,” says Michaela. “I love the mustard tones against the denim blue grasscloth.” A complementary scene contin- ues on the custom bench, which sports an abstract tiger print. And there’s yet more pattern in the teal-toned watercolour curtains.
The Perfect Fit
NIGHTSTAND, Geovin. NIGHTSTAND PAINT, Blue Echo AF-505, Benjamin Moore. TABLE LAMP, Flow Décor. GRASSCLOTH WALLPAPER, Phillip Jeffries.
“The nightstand is custom-made to fit perfectly in the room,” says Michaela. To give it presence against the darker backdrop, she painted it a lovely shade of blue that works so well with the rich turmeric tone in the upholstered headboard.
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