It's demo week in Florida, which means that nothing of juicy interest is going on. I'll show you renovation nerds out there some photos of the chaos, but thought I'd give the rest of you a glimpse of the pretty to come. So here is what I have in mind for the condo (today anyway), in what is sure to be the busiest mood board of all time.
Wow, Dabney. How did you ever come up with driftwood and warm whites for a beachy home? Work long and hard enough kids, and original ideas will come to you, too, like bolts of lightning from the sky.
I want it to be a good mix of modern and traditional. And it should be bright and airy, don't you think? The condo itself is going to be a fairly blank slate, which should make it fairly easy to switch up furniture and fixtures down the road.
I definitely have a harder edge to my aesthetic, but I'm *trying* to temper my vintage industrial modern ways in favor of something softer. I want the in-laws to feel comfortable, without sacrificing my desire to do something fun. This is a difficult balance. Because, if I left it up to them, the condo might look a little something like this:
So you see, there is some distance between us to cover.
Here's some demo photos as well. The place already looks better! In addition to the usual stuff, like removing carpet and tile, we (meaning the handytractors) enlarged the pass-through into the kitchen. Although this sacrificed a row of cabinet storage, it's worth it to make the kitchen less claustrophobic. They also removed that weird lighting soffit on the ceiling, which opened things up more as well. And you might have noticed a little thing missing, like a popcorn ceiling perhaps?
The crew is trucking along nicely, and will soon be putting things back together. In other words: so far, so good.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE WORLD'S UGLIEST CONDO:
• Introducing the World's Ugliest Condo
• The World's Ugliest Condo: Scope of Work & Budget
• The World's Ugliest Condo: Finding That Special Contractor
(Images: Dabney Frake, uglyhousephotos.com)
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Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
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How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
How to Make Buckwheat Soba Noodles from Scratch
Ouch. It's a little uncomfortable to see your in-law's taste level trashed in a public forum.
so..... Your redoing a condo for someone while completely disregarding their own taste? Sure your own aesthetic might be the popular one, but if someone was paying me to make redecorate a home for them I might be more considerate. There are ways to make traditional styles looks awesome and fresh.
May want to rethink that mint-colored chair, or similar types of seating. Older people tend to have difficulty getting up out of chairs that are low and loungie. My parents and husband's parents range from 60-80 in age, and none of them can get up and out of a similar style of chair we own. If this is their condo, they should be able to use all of the furniture.
Hi guys - thanks for the concern for my family. And let me reassure you that they could care less. And would probably be the first to laugh at this post. The reason they asked me to do it is because they know I love it and they trust what I come up with will look nice.
Good thought about the chair though - thanks!
I'm enjoying this series to no end and adore everything you've selected so far.
The demo looks fabulous (and about a million times better than the before pics) and your writing cracks me up. The mood board is a dream, of course. :-)
I think you are wise to stick with neutrals for the bones of the finished space... with respect to sofa color... keep in mind the new neutral these days, and likely for the decade to come is gray... grayge perhaps but more gray, less beige. Neutral-colored seating and case-goods with your splashes color in the drapes, rugs, art and accessories. Check out the living room in this place for sheer inspiration:
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/336382/list/Houzz-Tour--Dream-Home-in-Toronto
I love seeing this remodel come to life. As for hurting your inlaws, I totally got your humor. It's not like you're completely disregarding what they like.
I can't wait until I see the finished products..i wish i can see your in law's reactions too!
Screw the inlaws - remodel on! Just kidding about the inlaws comment, but I am beyond excited to see what is yet to come!
Love that mint chair! and loving this series!
I like it, and I think you did a good job staying away from your personal industrial modern slant. It does feel a little on-trend to me, like "here, have a kilim-y rug, a hammered gold coffee table trunk, and some mint green," but I think the rug in particular will have staying power.
On a practical note, it would be helpful to include some before shots along with the afters. You know how short us internet people's attention spans are.
Also, where is that white rug with the black flower outlines from?
psst....the phrase is "could NOT care less". If you could care less, well, then why wouldn't you?
Sorry, this is one of my pet peeves.
George Mulhauser chairs are da bom. (I like them better than their Eames counterpart -not that the 670 isn't awesome.) I have one in my room and it's great. They're really ergonomic, but I understand concerns raised by LOLO. If your in-laws would have trouble getting up, it's probably not the best idea to use a Mulhauser in the house.
If I remember correctly from introducing this project, the in-laws had rented the condo out, hated pretty much everything in it, and let college kids break everything.
I'm a little excited to see what you decide for this one!
what is that horrific first picture? is that the beach condo? or your in laws house? whatever that is, I am so really sorry.... Keep the updates coming !!! and the best of lucks, no doubt it´s going to be awesome !!!
Have you seen the place Dana Caponigro designed for her parents? It's gorgeous. Not a beach condo, but there is still a lot of inspiration there:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/garden/08dara.html
My only quibble with what you have so far is the sofa -- it looks uncomfortable.
It is important to prioritize functionality. Are there enough comfortable sleeping options? In my experience, holiday homes attract guests, so wouldn't a sofa bed be more practical? And built-in storage is a must for bulky sports equipment, flippers, wetsuits, suitcases, etc). Prettiness is just the icing on the cake, the final detail. You're right not to go for vintage industrial modern here, it would just look wrong.
love the look... is that wallpaper in your mood board? it looks great, can you give us more details???
yes, could we get a source list for this mood board???? There are so many interesting pieces!
The in-laws joke was funny. Something I would joke about in front of my in-laws too! Ditto about the chair comfort and height level regarding ease of getting up and down. Can't wait to see more!
Hi--I saw someone comment on a previous "World's Ugliest Condo" about Sarasota. It's only 45 minutes from St Pete, and there are some pretty amazing shops down here. I live in Sarasota (and am 28 years old) and can attest that the Sarasota Architectural Salvage store (sarasotasalvage.com) is awesome. They have everything from fixtures to chair legs to fully built pieces of furniture to mantels, you name it. I don't own my own place, but I've been lusting after their fleur-de-lis cast iron hooks. Sigh.
Also, the Woman's Exchange in Sarasota (www.womansexchange.com) is a fantastic thrift shop that has some seriously high quality pieces of furniture.
Just my two cents from a Florida resident who has rented her fair share of condos that look pretty much like your in-laws'.....Good luck!
Make sure you only use environmentally friendly paints! You don't want them to experience sick building syndrome once it's complete.
Gutting the kitchen was so unnecessary.
I enjoyed this latest update - keep up the good work.
The little peek of a view that can be seen in one of the pics looks amazing!