Just because it was built in the 80’s, doesn’t mean you have to gut it and renovate. That would work too, but if you’re renting, you’re not willing to spend that sort of cash. What you can do instead is 'renovate light'.
This Toronto couple, one of which is the owner of local interior design studio, ‘Swisterski Design’ and her partner in the architecture industry, are well aware of the quality of life that is brought from a well conceived space. They had a few challenges to overcome with this rental. Working with mid-century modern as their starting point and $20,000 budget, they had renter-friendly beige walls to fix, outdated window coverings, a lack of ceiling lighting, an 80’s pass through that was a sore thumb and no furniture that worked with their new space.
The wall colour was the easiest and quickest place to start. The couple knew that something dramatic was required to snap the space out of its generic renter’s coma.
“The space itself was very generous, but had no definition. We selected the longest wall along main space and painted it Benjamin Moore’s ‘Witching Hour’. The dark contrast instantly made the space look sharper and more contemporary, creating a perfect backdrop for any piece of art that we decided to hang.”
Joanne, owner of Swisterski Design, is an interior designer, as well as a visual artist, which
makes the art throughout the space highly personal, as well as offers interesting back stories.
“I was feeding the cattle at my partner’s family farm in Ireland, and afterwards, they were all staring at me. So I took some photos. Later that year I had a custom wood panel made to span the long distance over the grey couch and painted that very scene. I then coated it with a resin epoxy to make it highly reflective.”
The 40-year-old fabric covered vertical blinds with their over sized valence was the next task they felt would have a big impact for relatively minimal effort. “We never actually used the blinds, and they just screamed ‘old and outdated’. They were dragging the whole space down. I worked with a drapery company in Richmond Hill (Distinct Windows Fashion) to replace them with a sheer ripple fold to give a softer and brighter appearance.”
The ceiling lighting was a menacing obstacle in that it offered the most complexity and consideration for the design duo. Many buildings in the 80’s did not incorporate lighting into the concrete ceilings, and when they did, they were placed based on layouts that are no longer relevant for current design.
Electricity is one area that people are often weary to make any changes in, for safety concerns and the cost of having to pay for an electrician if it becomes necessary. It caused some procrastination, but ultimately, the need for good lighting prevailed.
“We wanted a light to hang over the coffee table, but there was no junction box there, so we had to plug it into the wall, ordered a fabric covered neon choral cord at a custom length and draped it to the right location. Conversely, on the other side of the room, there was a junction box over the dining table, but it was off centre from our long 6 seater dining table. We also wanted more than one light over the table since it was long, so we made a custom canopy out of painted MDF and had an electrician splice the cable feeding the junction box to power 3 lights. The chords were fed through the canopy for a very clean look.”
The head scratcher that created the longest pause for the couple was the wall hatch between the dining area and the kitchen. It was nothing but a hole in the wall with a cheap white laminate counter top glued onto the bottom side. What can really be done that turns a hole in a wall into a functional feature without spending a fortune?
“The function was great, but the look,again, screamed ‘80’s!Old! Outdated!’. We saw it as a really great opportunity to create something custom that might serve a dual function, as well as give the entire wall a richer texture. We didn’t really have anywhere to store our wine that fit properly or looked good, so we built the thin single-file wine rack and painted it black. We then went to a local stone manufacturer, selected the slab we liked, and they cut and installed the marble (Upper Canada Stone) on top of our wine rack. It makes such an enormous difference to the overall space and people really notice it and ask questions.”
Last but not least, the place had to be furnished. The previous pieces the couple owned didn’t fit the space or were not the right look. Since furnishing a living and dining room can really add up, they had to have a realistic budget.
“These days it is easier and easier to find really stylish furniture at affordable prices. Between CB2 (coffee table, ceramic side table, tree pot and decorative vase), West Elm (floor lamp, white mesh
pendant light teal sofa, area rug) , Structube (dining table, chairs, grey sofa and accessories), Furnish Plus (Eames chair and Eileen Gray side table), Colorcord.com (fabric cord and fittings), Ikea (white dining hutch and picture frames) and Kiji (tree and beam side table), Amazon (dining lights), we were able to put together a very well coordinated, comfortable and stylish assortment of furniture.”
Unless you’re going to do some gutting, certain existing elements have to be worked into the design and what the renters didn’t initially like, now frames an integral part of their design.
“The long black floating console was already in the unit from the previous owners, so we needed to work with it. We decided that a collage wall of framed pictures was the most appropriate, as people are drawn to it the second they arrive at our place, and it quickly becomes a talking piece.”
There is a certain mentality around rentals that since it’s not permanent, you shouldn’t spend any money on them. The renters of this condo know that your mental health and quality of life are very closely tied to your environment, and those are worth the investment, even if it’s short-term.
