To kick off our blog, we're looking back at our very first project, an 800 square foot condo that was purchased as a foreclosure. The #startercondo was one of four units in a brick building that was originally constructed as a single family in 1917. At some point in the 90s, the owners divided the house into four condos—one for each of the family members. As a result, the condo had a very choppy, railroad style-layout with one room leading into the next, requiring one to walk through the bedrooms in order to get to the kitchen.

One of our favorite spaces we created was the small entry area. We used a round brass mirror to make the space feel larger and added a small wood shelf as a landing zone for mail and keys. For paint, we used Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee for the walls and Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray cut at 75% for contrasting trim and doors. We love how using a contrasting color for the trim paint gives a space a sophisticated, European feel.

We kept the color scheme cohesive with gray kitchen cabinets and a simple white subway tile backsplash. We also incorporated open shelving to add storage but keep the kitchen feeling light and airy. A brass faucet and cabinet pulls added warmth to the space.

We reconfigured the bathroom entrance so that it wasn't directly off the kitchen, creating a small laundry room in the process. The bathroom featured retro black and white flower hexagon tile for the floors and white subway tile for the shower walls.

Although this flip took the longest of all our projects to date and many mistakes were made along the way, it was actually our most successful on paper. The design was very simple, but we love the classic, timeless feel. This project was the one that started it all and gave us the renovation bug!

Sources

Entry Wall Paint: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45
Trim Paint: Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168 (cut at 75%)
Mirror: 28" Round Decorative Wall Mirror in Brass - Project 62
Shelf: Wood Wall Shelf with Reversed L Bracket in Walnut/Brass - Threshold (similar style found here)

Kitchen
Wall Paint: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65
Wall Tile: White Ceramic 3" x 6" Subway Tile Matte Finish
Cabinets: Tremont Base Cabinets in Pearl Gray
Knobs: Amerock Cabinet Knob in Golden Champagne
Pulls: Amerock Cabinet Pull in Golden Champagne
Faucet: Delta Faucet Trinsic Single Hole Pull Down Kitchen Faucet in Champagne Bronze
Range Hood: Winflo 30 Inch Convertible Stainless Steel Wall Mount Range Hood
Open Shelving: Rejuvenation Floating Wood Shelf with 2" Height

Bathroom
Wall Paint: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65
Floor Tile: SomerTile Metro Hex Matte White with Flower Porcelain Mosaic Tile
Wall Tile: White Ceramic 3" x 6" Subway Tile Matte Finish
Vanity: Water Creation Madison 24" Solid Hardwood Single Bathroom Vanity in Espresso
Faucet: Pfister Contempra Widespread Faucet in Polished Chrome
Sconce: Permo Polished Chrome and Black Sconce
Towel Ring: KES Polished Silver Towel Ring (similar style found here)
Toilet Paper Holder: KES Polished Silver Toilet Paper Holder

Get the Look

1 Mirror / 2 Shelf (similar style found here) / 3 Wall Paint / 4 Trim Paint (cut at 75%) / 5 Kitchen Faucet / 6 Wall Tile / 7 Bathroom & Kitchen Wall Paint /
8 Knobs / 9 Pulls / 10 Vanity / 11 Cabinets / 12 Bathroom Faucet / 13 Bathroom Floor Tile / 14 Bathroom Sconce / 15 Towel Ring (similar style found here) / 16 Toilet Paper Holder