After meeting with a mother who lives in Florida and her son who lives in Colorado, designer Bonnie Bagley Catlin created a proposal for a whole-home renovation of the family’s 3,200-square-foot vacation condo in Boulder, and the clients signed the contract within a day. They provided little direction, nor did they define a budget, but they knew they wanted high-end design.
Catlin, owner of Lone Tree, Colo.-based Signature Designs Kitchen Bath & Interiors, provided renderings and 3D walkthroughs for this dream project, which allowed the clients to clearly understand her vision for the mountain-inspired design. They approved almost everything, requesting just minor changes in the family and dining rooms.
Although this $1.3-million condo transformation got off to such a smooth start, it soon encountered major roadblocks from the homeowners’ association and the building itself.
Challenge #1 – Hey, HOA
Catlin had completed condo projects before, and she expected to provide floor plans and elevations to the homeowners’ association. In this case, the HOA required full plans, including specifications for all products.
“This was not my first condo job,” said the designer, “but it was the most difficult one.”
The association would not permit any structural changes, including penetrating the concrete floor. That meant a plan to divide the primary bedroom closet into a smaller closet and walk-in pantry had to be scrapped. It was one or the other, so Catlin and her clients decided to convert the entire space into a massive walk-in pantry, and their request to create entry from a kitchen wall was luckily approved.
Another change to the plan involved the clients’ desire to take the kitchen cabinetry to the ceiling. The association nixed moving the heating vents above, making ceiling-height cabinets impossible.
“Instead, we used plain wood paneling behind the cabinets to give the illusion of more cabinetry and kept the existing venting,” said the designer.
Challenge #2 – Building Logistics
Catlin worked with a trusted contractor at Epic Home Improvements, but because the building had more than three stories, this already seasoned professional had to get a commercial license to complete the project. He passed the exam, and the project finally got underway.
The building had plenty of structural limitations typical of those encountered during a condo renovation. Parking was challenging, there was no storage, and elevator reservations were required. Worse, there was no service elevator, so that meant vying for one of the two passenger elevators in which the contractors hauled everything, including disposal bins. During demo, trailers had to be filled and taken away on the same day. These factors required an extra level of coordination, prep and labor.
The elevator situation affected product choices, too. The oven cabinet was made in two sections, while the kitchen backsplash has a seam because it would not have fit in the elevator otherwise.
Challenge #3 – Stepping It Up in the Bathroom
While the kitchen cabinets and surfaces required careful planning to get the materials into the condo, the primary bathroom faced a plumbing dilemma. The client wanted a freestanding bathtub to replace a built-in with a tub deck, which meant switching a left drain for a center drain. Because moving the plumbing was not a permissible change, the team decided to raise the tub over the plumbing, which made the tub too high to step into.
Catlin’s clever solution was to add a curved 4-inch riser leading up to the 8-inch tub deck and into the walk-in shower. Additionally, the vanity cabinets had to be raised to accommodate the elevation of the tub, while the tub deck was strategically placed to allow the vanity pullout to open fully.
Despite the difficulties of this condo renovation, the project offered a growth experience for both designer and contractor. It was the first time Catlin had provided clients with 3D walkthroughs of her planned design, and it worked like a charm. Now she offers them as part of her full-service package.
“They don’t think they want them until they see them, but clients love them,” she said.
In this case, not only did the 3D walkthroughs entice the clients, but they also served as part of the vital preparation for this complicated project that aided the designer and contractor with vision and communication throughout the process.
Sources
Designer: Bonnie Bagley Catlin, Signature Designs Kitchen Bath & Interiors Contractor: Epic Home Improvements Photographer: Justin Martin Photography KITCHEN Backsplash & Perimeter Countertop: White Chantilly Quartzite Bar Stools: Arhaus Cabinet Hardware: Rocky Mountain Hardware Cabinet Paint: Benjamin Moore Cabinets: Plato Woodwork Faucets: Newport Brass Island Countertop: Negresco Leathered Quartzite Lighting: Beacon Lighting Microwave & Range: Wolf Refrigeration: Sub-Zero Sink: Blanco Ventilation: Raw Urth Wall Plates: Lutron PANTRY Backsplash & Countertop: White Chantilly Quartzite Cabinet Hardware: Top Knobs Cabinets: Plato Woodwork Flooring: ADKO PRIMARY BATH Cabinet Hardware: Top Knobs Cabinets: Plato Woodwork Countertop: Caesarstone Faucets & Shower Fixtures: Brizo Flooring Tile: Surface Group Lighting: Visual Comfort Shower Enclosure: Starphire Shower Floor Tile: Dulcet Tile Shower Wall Tile: Bianco Dolomite Honed Marble Step: TileBar Tub Wall: Terra Bella Vanity Wall: Oceanside Glass & Tile
