Rooms With a View

Remodeling a condo interior with the feel of the beauty of the outdoors

WORDS BY KAREN MEURER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW SHAW

The following article was published in the January 2021 edition (vol 8) of Modern Luxuria Magazine. To read the original article, please click here.

When it’s time to downsize our homes, sometimes we go a little too small thinking we don’t need as much room as we actually do. And that’s what one couple found when they went from a home to a high rise condo. They had room for themselves but when the grandkids came over, things were a little tight. So up to the 15th floor in the same building they went — giving them a two bedroom executive condo suite with a private entry elevator and a panoramic balcony overlooking the Edmonton skyline and river valley. The view outside was amazing — the ambiance inside, not so much.

In came Karla Billey of Karla Billey Design Inc., who had worked with the couple on several previous home decor projects and renovations. The new condo needed some renovating to bring it up to the couple’s style preferences. They really love Hawaii, along with red and apple green colors for a warm and fresh feeling. And so with that in mind, Billey went to work.

Even though the condo had one full wall of windows, the floor plan was cut up so the full view couldn’t be enjoyed as much. Billey decided to tear down a wall to open up the space between the kitchen, dining room and great room. Next up was to redo the hardwood to match the existing flooring, change the two tone black and orange kitchen cabinets into solid black and replace the island to match.

An accent wall of grasscloth wallpaper warms one room, and twin Murphy beds in the next room look fantastic while being functional. Pops of red and apple green colours are used throughout the great room along with a beautiful wood wall and art pieces. The couple says their favourite part of the space is sitting in the twin swivel chairs in the nook facing the river valley — their dream view.