Entry way Light Fixture

This is our newest light fixture that we just put up in the entry way. Very contemporary and makes a great focal point when you walk in the condo.

New Chandeliers

We just purchased two new lights for the condo. There already was electrical running to the living room but it was capped off. We found a great light that creates a nice center point in the room and give soft ambient lighting to the room. The original dining room light had down lights that hit people right in the eye as they are dining so we opted for up lights that give a nice glow to the room.

A Table for the Dining Room

We've been slowly working on the dining room. I wanted an old table that was beat up and rustic. We found a perfect one at Art & Architecture in Minneapolis. It looks hand made and the extensions can fit under the middle part of the table. I picked up 6 chairs from Target on clearance for about $15 each. I love those deals! We still need to pick up a large art piece for the wall, two end chairs and a new light fixture.

Bathroom: Advice Needed!

Ah, the bathroom. Apparently this was an '80's re-do that a previous owner was very proud of. What did they replace? The tiny black and white octangular tile on the floor and bead board on the walls. Sigh.

The tile has to stay for now. Any suggestions on how to make this a bit more attractive keeping the tile? I am willing to replace the sink vanity, lights and paint. Color suggestions?

Kitchen Help: I need Advice!

I want this room to look as cool and contemporary as the rest of the condo without a lot of money spent. I am willing to replace the countertops if material is free or close to it. I do have a source for a black solid surface material that will be enough for the counters and have been searching The Reuse Center for granite or solid surface. Do you think $10 a square foot for unfinished edges on scraps of granite or $15 for finished edge pieces of scrap is a good price? Any other ideas for the countertop? Any suggestions of paint colors? How about using the black from the dining room? Any suggestions accepted!

New Stools for the Kitchen Bar

John and I were searching through a local St Paul antique store and spotted these bar stools. Now we just have to make the rest of the kitchen just as cool!

The Dining Room

I think this room turned out great! While I was doing a road trip with my sister, Heidi, to Kansas City to see the sites and relatives John was busy painting. I love how the black sets off the built in buffet. The first picture is a little dark but shows the tone on tone yellow sponge painting that had been on the walls. One of these days I figure out how to put pictures on this site better!

The Foyer

I still need to accessorize and find a light fixture but I love the pieces we have found. I pictured a Bombay style piece here and found this funky piece at TJ Maxx.

The Guest Bedroom

We picked up a bed at Cort Rental and Clearance in Bloomington, a headboard at Hotel Liquidators in St Paul and a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath & Beyond for the bed-in-a-bag. I think it turned out sweet.

Living room: Before and After

The New Rugs!

We wanted new rugs in the hallway and the living room and had been looking for any deals we could find. The hallway is very long and we figured custom would be the only way to go to have the length we needed. I came across these 2 X 2 commercial carpet sample tiles from ZeroLandfill and brought 28 home to play with. I think they turned out great! We used the Flor Dots from Flor to keep them from sliding around. I love free!

A Visit to Kohler, WI

I heard about Kohler, WI for the first time when I was in interior design school. For designers it is a destination that is on everyone's "to do" list at some time in their career. I was determined that this summer was going to be the time to finally go and look at all the cool toilets, sinks and tubs and find out how they are made.

John and I also have another reason to visit Kohler. We have a very good friend, Terri, who has lived in Kohler and was going to meet us there for a visit and to show us "her village". The village of Kohler was created as a planned community in the early 1900's by the Kohler family to house their factory workers. The Olmsted brothers, who had designed Central Park in York City , were hired to do the initial design. The village is very quaint. The architectural styles of the homes are worth the drive. We loved seeing Kohler through the eyes of someone who has lived there.

The Kohler Company offers three hour walking tours of the factories where the porcelain sinks and toilets are made and the foundry where the cast iron tubs and sinks are manufactured. Very interesting. There is also a Design Center where vignettes of bathrooms and kitchens inspire the imagination. And it's all free.

Trivia: Many people in Wisconsin refer to drinking fountains as "bubblers", because the first Kohler drinking fountain was known as "The Bubbler".

There is a lot of trim!

There is quite a bit of trim in the condo. All the baseboards are almost a foot high and all the doors have pediments over them. We're going to repaint the woodwork white. Many of the doors have been stained with hand prints over the years that any amount of scrubbing is just not getting out. I hate painting trim! We started in the larger bedroom to paint the baseboards, ceiling trim and doors but soon grew very bored. To make it more exciting we are going to paint all the walls and then move back to the trim. We wanted to see results.

The Big Bedroom

The condo has three bedrooms, though the third bedroom is a little small and just off the kitchen. We suspect it was the maid quarters back in the day. In the main part of the house there is a larger bedroom and a smaller bedroom and they are connected with an interior door. I'm not sure why the original architects wanted connecting rooms.

When we moved into the house the larger bedroom was painted a beautiful red and it really made a statement. I loved the color but it was showing it's age and I wanted a calmer feeling in that room.

This bedroom is a perfect size for a king size bed and we found a good deal on a bed frame and a mattress and had it delivered this past week. In preparation for the delivery we took a day to paint the room. Once the bed went in place we didn't want to have to move it and risk scratching the hardwood floors.

I love how the room has turned out so far. We would still like to add some color to the bed with a blanket and pillow shams and art work to the walls but we are keeping the furniture to a minimum.

The love seat in the corner of the room is one my mom bought at Ethan Allen in 1973. I had it reupholstered about 15 years ago and the fabric looks great with the wall color.

Seeing how well the big bedroom is turning out has inspired us to keep on painting. I can't wait to see how the other rooms transform.

The Color Pallette

Gray is a very "in" neutral right now and I love it. I wanted a warm gray in this condo with more of a brown feel to the gray. I also love how orange plays with gray and want to bring that color into the condo through accent pieces.

I like having all the walls a single color throughout a space. I think it helps to visually guide you from room to room. Those of you who know my primary residence might question why I didn't do it in that house. Light plays a big influence on color and how the color looks in a certain light will win out over personal preference. In my primary house the darker shadowing of the entryway needed light color and the brightness of the living room with the floor to ceiling south facing windows needed more color. The Anjou Pear in the family room was "just because it was fun"!

The palette is from Benjamin Moore's Infinity colors. I really like that all 144 colors will work with each other. No guessing if they "go" or not...they just do. The Pashmina with be in the living room, parlor and down the hallway. The Weimeraner will be painted in the two bedrooms. I was looking for a deeper color for a more restful feel and to add drama to the bedrooms. The Mascarpone is for the wood trim and the Buttered Yam is for the accent colors that will be found in art work, pillows and accessories throughout the space.

The bathroom, dining room and kitchen are still "works in progress" in my head. I have yet to come up with defined ideas yet for those spaces.

A Little History

Our condo is one of six located in a building that was built in 1903. The building was originally called The Olympia Apartments and had a stained glass window in the front entry that named the building. Unfortunately this window is long gone.

There is still evidence in some of the apartments of what life was like 100 years ago. Some apartments still have the buttons that were pushed to call the servant. Our unit has a hole in the dining room floor where the button was located to call the servant with a press of your foot. There are two back doors; one for the family and the second in the kitchen where the deliveries were made. The present day refrigerators are set in an alcove where the ice boxes use to be located and where access could be made for the blocks of ice.

The building was turned into condos in the 1970's and was one of the first condominiums in St Paul.

Before Pictures

The place is in pretty good shape but if you've ever had renters or room mates you know they always leave something behind when they move out. We're going through all the stuff and trying to figure out what gets sold, given away or just trashed. We're trying to make "trashed" the very last resort.

Let's Get Started!

The final roommate moved out on July 1st and the condo is ours.

We've owned a condo in St Paul for a little over four years and have had either our son Jack or our daughter Erin living there either by themselves or with an assortment of room mates. Both kids are in apartments of their own now and the condo is ours.

John was transferred to Washington DC a few years ago and choose to live in Old Town Alexandria. Our family would go out for weekends to visit him and fell in love with the city life of walking to coffee in the morning or walking to dinner in the evening. It made us think that we would eventually love to have it here in Minnesota. We bought the condo in St Paul and let the kids use it. We're Minnesotan's and love the idea of having a weekend place to go to to relax but instead of driving 2-3 hours to a cabin we drive 20 minutes to the city.

We are going to do a re-do on the condo and put our mark on it. Nothing drastic or expensive, though I'd love too! This posting will follow our challenge of making a beautiful home with as little money as possible. We'd love your comments!