Small Spaces
Interior: Electric eclectic condo
Images: Stacey Brandford
Small Spaces
Interior: Electric eclectic condo
In an effort to align their aesthetics when decorating their first home, this Toronto couple decided to start from scratch and hire a professional. Luckily, designer Montana Burnett was up to the task and passed with flying colours.
It’s a classic love story: Boy meets girl and wedding bells ring. Girl moves into boy’s 1,100-square-foot condo and, soon after, they decide to redecorate – with good reason. Though Amar and Bhargavi Varma had great chemistry, it didn’t apply to their ideas about design. “His place had a bright red feature wall and a huge leather recliner, which, while comfortable, just wasn’t going to be part of our lives,” Bhargavi says with a laugh. But Amar wasn’t exactly head over heels for the decor in her previous apartment either. “Finally, we just said, ‘Let’s get some help and find someone who can give us a look we both love,’” he says.
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So they called on designer Montana Burnett, who is known for bringing new life to dated eateries on Food Network Canada’s Restaurant Takeover. Her mission? To give the couple a hip space with plenty of colour and pattern. They also wanted to start from scratch, which meant bringing in all new furniture, window coverings and rugs. “We told Montana it would be a zero-to-100 project,” says Bhargavi.
Montana set about creating a beachy yet vibrant blend of crisp white furniture with natural textures, such as capiz and bamboo, juxtaposed with ethnic prints and bold hues. For longevity’s sake, the designer and homeowners agreed to add colour with accessories, which can be changed down the road, rather than with the large pieces of furniture. Most of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo was painted white, with a few splashes of electric blue that Bhargavi has loved since she saw Carrie’s apartment makeover in the first Sex and the City movie. Luckily, Amar also embraced the look.
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