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Houzz Tour: French–New York Flair in St. Paul Condo
Loft-style windows, plush materials and lots of shine create a chic and sophisticated home for a condo owner in Minnesota
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 |
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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. Wall art: "Deco Girl Facing Right" and "Deco Girl Facing Left," Rebecca Cope, Art Classics |
Ideabook published on May 6, 2012.
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People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
I've been looking at a similar zebra rug on Overstock. There's also a similar one for sale at my local Tuesday Morning. The dining room rug looks like it might be the "Whimsy" blue wool rug from Overstock.
@megj999, Zebra print rug is Mosaic by Surya.
Hope that helps!