September Top 3 Interior Design Tips : Condo Customization

Working with  Your Condominium Developer to Create Your Perfect Sanctuary

Having designed for a lot of Ottawa condominium buyers lately, we have noticed certain aspects of the interior design that developers seem to overlook. Here are our top 3 tips you should review and consider when buying a brand new condominium :

1] Lighting.  Please, please, please review what the developer is offering. We have noticed that all-too-often only the minimum lighting is installed. For example, bedrooms often come with no lighting....not even a junction box to add a fixture later. Make sure you have enough recessed lighting in hall ways, the bathrooms, kitchen and living room so that you can perform required tasks in these rooms such as make up application, food prep and reading.

Great examples of living room (don't forget about your artwork! ) and bathroom lighting.

How fabulous and easy it would be to do something like this :

2] Electrical, Cable, Data Outlets. Again, in our experience, this is an area where attention to detail is very low. But in the developers' defense, how do they know that you want you television above your fireplace with no cables showing ?

3] Kitchen Cabinet Configuration.  Although you might not be able to afford a custom kitchen, you will be able to choose drawers vs. doors etc. Also think about grounding your kitchen by putting lighter colored upper cabinets and darker lowers.  Make sure you take a mental inventory of your kitchen items and decide if you need the height afforded by a door cabinet [e.g. soup pots, olive oil bottles] or do you prefer the accessibility of pot drawers?

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October's Top 3 Tips : How to Retrofit your Pre-Loved Condominium