French–New York Flair in St. Paul Condo
Interior designer Abby Tallman
was given a specific objective when she began designing this upscale
condominium in the heart of St. Paul's Lowertown district in Minnesota.
The client, a young professional, wanted her apartment to show her
combined love of quintessentially French and New York apartments. The
result is a home with a sophisticated New York state of mind and a dash
of Parisian boutique hotel flair. "There are all of these special
touches in each room that give it a unique character," says Tallman.
A century ago, the home's area on the Mississippi River was a major warehouse and distribution center for much of the upper Midwest. Its restoration created a mix of commercial and residential spaces that now make up the unique Lowertown neighborhood.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Size: 1,425 square feet
Designer challenge: Transform a narrow formal dining area into a multipurpose room with style
A century ago, the home's area on the Mississippi River was a major warehouse and distribution center for much of the upper Midwest. Its restoration created a mix of commercial and residential spaces that now make up the unique Lowertown neighborhood.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Size: 1,425 square feet
Designer challenge: Transform a narrow formal dining area into a multipurpose room with style
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The biggest design challenge for
the condominium was creating a multipurpose space in a slender room that
was still elegant and glamorous. This room, originally intended for
formal dining, now serves a combination of different functionalities.
"By using a unique mix of furniture pieces, we were able to make this a flexible area for casual conversation, formal dining for five to eight people, and a place to spread out a laptop and materials to get work done," Tallman says. The room, once underused square footage, is now a highlight of the home. Chandelier: Glass Link, West Elm; floor lamp: Louis, white, Torre & Tagus; wall paint: Storm, Benjamin Moore; trim: Deep in Thought, Benjamin Moore; ghost chairs, Wholesale Interiors; settee, Cisco Brothers; wallpaper: Walt Disney Damask, York Wallcoverings |
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The Parisian boutique hotel influence
is apparent in the silk draperies, the ghost chair, the damask
wallpaper and the gray tufted settee. But Tallman points out that the
industrial-chic glass bulb chandelier is something you could easily find
in an artist's Manhattan loft.
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Loft-style windows created a
design challenge. "The client needed privacy during the day from the
office building across the street, but she didn't want to limit her
access to the views or natural light," Tallman says. The solution was to
double up lightweight cotton drapery panels; the bright white fabric
helps usher in the most sunlight, and the cotton fabric offers more
privacy than a traditional sheer drapery panel would.
Stool: Shanghai Porcelain and chrome, Torre & Tagus; drapery panels: Thai silk, Optic White, Restoration Hardware; tufted-back chair: Home Decorators |
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Tallman's client loves the
handpicked acrylic candlesticks, silver vases and glass light fixtures
in the interior. Tallman kept the cherry finish of the hardwood floors
to warm up the space.
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The 10-foot-high ceilings and
large, loft-style windows give the space a grand, open feel with
beautiful views of the surrounding historic buildings. The added ceiling
space meant more freedom to choose longer light pendants and fixtures.
Chandelier: Caviar Fixed Small Cluster, Arteriors
Chandelier: Caviar Fixed Small Cluster, Arteriors
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The bedroom is where the mix of
different furniture pieces and influences converge into a singular, chic
style. The Asian-inspired bedside tables share the bedroom space with
Thai silk drapes, a purple tufted chaise longue and headboard and the
unmistakable dandelion-like Maskros pendant.
Mirrors: Propac Images; chaise: Bellacor; wallpaper: Antonina Vella, Seabrook Wallpaper; wall paint: Nightingale, Benjamin Moore |
A black reactive-finish glass lamp casts a moody and dramatic light in the bedroom.
Table lamps: Flynn Mercury, Arteriors; nightstands: Lamps Plus; jewelry box: Global Views
Table lamps: Flynn Mercury, Arteriors; nightstands: Lamps Plus; jewelry box: Global Views
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The mauve bathroom is the client's
sacred space and the most feminine room in the entire unit. The swirls
and soft curves of the curtain fabric and rug are echoed in the swirls
of the bathroom sketch artwork. "Everything about the bathroom is soft,
glamorous, but still speaks the style language of understated elegance
found throughout the rest of the unit," says Tallman.
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