The home is a condo unit in Hudsonville, Michigan, and belongs to our client, a single working professional. The space was a new-build when he purchased it about five years ago, and while he's made a few updates here and there, he really wanted someone to come in and JUST DO IT for him.
We were, of course, happy to oblige! Let's dive in...
P.S. If you're just here for reveal pix and/or sources, scroll down to the "Furniture Selections" and "Project Reveal" sections 😬
The Existing Space + Design Goals
Our plan was to tackel a handful of spaces, including the living room, the primary bedroom, and the back entry. We also wanted to replace the lighting throughout most of the condo, swap out the carpet, and also add artwork in a couple smaller spaces.
Above/below you can see the existing living room. The space is mostly open concept with vaulted ceilings, and has a very nice, neutral shell. The main goal in here was to create create a special place for gathering with an integrated audio/visual setup, whether this be designed with stand-alone pieces or some type of integrated built-in unit.
He also wanted to have seating for 6, with at least 4 of the seats being comfortable for watching movies.
The dining room and kitchen were all set furniture wise, but we wanted to add a new dining room light fixture and updated window treatments on the slider (I'm talking to you, vertical blinds!).
In the primary bedroom, we'd be utilizing the existing bed frame and the large piece of artwork across from it, but for the most part, this room was a blank slate as well. We discussed window treatments, new bedside tables and lighting, and a bench of some kind for below the artwork.
Lastly, we wanted to make the back entry both more functional and more aesthetically pleasing. We planned for a new bench, a mirror or artwork here, and some open coat hooks to make using the space easier.
Style Discovery for Our Modern Condo Makeover
My clients style inspiration was very consistent across the board. He showed me many clean and contemporary spaces, many with a neutral base and moments of color.
His overarching style tended to be a bit more dark and moody as well. This would be a bit of a challenge since his condo as a whole was very light, and we weren't planning to repaint - however, we decided we incorporate this with our furniture pieces rather than architecturally.
The two below images were spaces he felt particularly drawn to. He especially liked the colored sofas in the first image, and the use of the media console in the second.
You might be looking at these images and wondering how this style will translate to his more transitional style condo. It's pretty common that the inspiration images my clients bring me are starkly different from the spaces they find themselves living in. He obviously is not in a contemporary loft with exposed beams and opportunities for exposed brick and integrated architecture.
In instances like this, my job is to capture the essence of their style, but in a way that honors the style of their space, and also works within their budget.
In this particular project, I planned to focus in on lighting and furniture style to create the feel he was going for.
The Furniture Layout
Because of the limited space in the living room and the desire for maximum seating potential, I decided to go with an L-shaped sectional as the main seating. I found a sofa I loved in juuuust the right size, leaving me just enough space for a comfortable walkway between the dining and living rooms.
You can see we used a combination of console, coffee, and side tables with two different lamp lighting options, and I also planned for a swivel chair opposite the sectional.
For the media unit, I wanted something very long and low so the TV could sit lower on the wall. I also planned for a large leaning mirror to the left of the media unit, and an oversized piece of artwork to the right. This would help fill up that very large wall.
In the front entry, we planned for a mirror on the wall tot he right of the front door, and a coordinating piece of artwork to the one in the living area that would hang horizontally over the stairwell.
In the bedroom, the placement of the bed would remain the same, but we added in large bedside tables, lamps, a wall mirror, and a bench opposite the bed.
Lastly, for the back entry, we have a bench just to the left of the door, a large mirror above the bench, and three large mounted coat hooks to the right of the mirror.
Furniture Selections | The Living Room
The showstopper piece for our modern condo makeover will be this oversized L-shaped sectional. I went with a dark blue/grey charcoal velvet to bring in some of that moodiness, and the clean lines and lower profile bring in that the lofty/contemporary style.
Many of the spaces my clients showed me had interested wall and ceiling details with cool geometric patterns, so I wanted to bring that in on some of the individual pieces. The coffee table is a perfect example of that, with its plinth style base and etched sides. Once the sofa was in, we didn't have a lot of space for larger side tables, so I went with two smaller scale drum/stool style side tables in a black tone.
To play on the masculine theme a bit, I opted for a dark leather swivel chair with a brass base (we did LOTS of metal mixing in this project). For lamp lighting, I chose a walnut tripod base lamp with brass accents to go beside the sofa, and behind the sofa, I chose a carved wood table lamp that would sit on top a black and iron console table. We ended up swapping for an alternate console due to the depth of the electrical components, but I don't have a link for that one—sorry!
For accents, I chose a combination of a leather, neutral, and geometric patterned throw pillows, paired with a grey and cream throw blanket in a masculine plaid.
On the media wall side, I chose a very long (almost 80" long!) media console with natural wood tones to bring in some warmth, and balanced that out with a large leaning arched mirror on one side, and an oversized piece of neutral artwork on the other. I wanted something VERY large, but that wouldn't detract from the overall design, which is why I went with these two very simple, but very cool, giant pieces of artwork.
Above you can see the to-scale elevation of how the media console, mirror, artwork, TV, and speakers will lay out on the TV wall. Using an elevation like this is a great way to help clients visualize how pieces will work together from a scale perspective without needing to create an elaborate 3D model.
Furniture Selections | The Primary Bedroom
In the bedroom, my job was to make the space, which was currently fairly bland, feel more finished. I selected new roman shades for the larger windows (blinds.com), and paired these with floor to ceiling grey velvet curtains that would go on all three windows (BallardDesigns.com). We also swapped out the "boob light" for a cool modern flush mount fixture with dark iron elements.
Furniture wise, my clients original space had just one bedside table, and it was fairly small. I decided to add two larger scale nightstands in a natural wood tone to have a little contrast to the existing dark wood bed frame (nope - you do NOT have to be matchy-matchy!), and I also added two larger ceramic bedside lamps in a lighter tone. These would be a much better scale for the room as a whole.
Below his existing artwork, I chose a contemporary upholstered bench with wood, metal and leather accents. This would help ground that piece of artwork and also provide a spot for sitting to put on shoes, etc.
Finally, I chose a few simple finishing touches, including a dark blue and white piece of artwork for the bathroom, a funky wood and iron wall mirror to hang beside the bathroom door, and a long, channeled sheepskin lumbar pillow to finish out the bed.
Additional Features
Lighting wise, I wanted to go with polished nickel to contrast a lot of the darker metal and fabric tones I brought into the space. The dining room and living room chandeliers would be living in the same visual space, so I wanted them to compliment each other but not compete.
For the living room, I chose a large funky Sputnik style light, and for the dining room, I chose a modern lantern style pendant chandelier. The dining room light will hang lower than living room light, which allows them to live on different planes and not compete for your eyes attention. For the front entry light, I went with a very simple glass pendant with an exposed Edison bulb, and the black metal wall mirror will hang just to the right of the front door.
In the back entry, I chose a leather bench with an aged brass base. I liked that the leather will be easy to clean, and the base leaves space for him to stash any shoes he uses frequently.
Over the bench, I chose a wooden mirror that had some interesting carved wood details, which were similar to some of the wall details he showed me in his inspiration images, and beside the mirror we'd hang three large iron hooks for coats (from Rejuevnation.com).
Lastly, I chose a beautiful wood print piece of artwork with coordinating blue and green tones to hang in the laundry room, which is just off the back entry.
The Modern Condo Makeover Reveal
Unfortunately, I haven't had an opportunity to professionally photograph the finished project just yet, so these #crappyiphonpics will have to do!
Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design
LFID is a full-service interior design firm serving West and Southeast Michigan. We work with clients from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor to Lansing, Holland to Traverse City, and anywhere in between, and we pride ourselves on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, people are what this life is all about!
Have your own renovation or remodel project you'd like to tackel? Or maybe you have a room or two to furnish? We've got your back.
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