Decorating & Design 2 Min Read

Vintage Treasures Add Charisma To This Antique Collector’s Condo

September 30th, 2019

How do you make a new condo feel like it has a past?

That was the challenge designer Michael Angus accepted when antique collector Catherine Hanson enlisted him to turn her standard white-box condo into an elegant, lived-in home. To start, Michael took everything out — the cheap floors, big-box kitchen cabinets and flimsy doors — and installed dark, hand-scraped hardwood floors throughout, handsome mouldings, panelled doors and ripple-fold drapery that blends seamlessly with the walls and ceiling. With an uninterrupted view of the lake and a terrace for gardening, Catherine doesn’t feel at all confined by the limited square footage. “When my friends and family came over pre-renovation, they all said it was too small,” says Catherine. “But once the chandeliers, large mirrors and crown mouldings were in, it felt bigger. You need to treat small spaces like they’re grand.”

Click through to tour this charming condo filled with vintage treasures.

Catherine shares her west end Toronto condo with her pug, Pumba. The painting by Toronto artist Mark Reid inspired the condo’s kelly green accents.

“As an antique collector, I often have extra pictures and mirrors leaning against walls,” she says, “but it gives me the opportunity to move things in and out and change up the look.” A compact chest of drawers in the foyer holds table linens and other essentials.

In the living room, a plush, slipcovered ottoman functions as a coffee table while cheetah-print accents and a striking gilt-framed mirror give the space verve. “I never want rooms to feel too serious,” says Michael.

A round dining table adds curve appeal while drapery in cotton duck softens the boxy condo.

The kitchen’s Shaker-style white cabinets echo the mouldings in the living room, and the refrigerator is panelled. The pint-size island is on wheels so it can be moved. “Don’t be afraid to put in large pieces,” says Catherine. “I love the big chandelier in my small kitchen.”

A cheetah-print lumbar pillow creates continuity between the condo’s main living areas and the bedroom. The bedside sconce frees up space on the petite nightstand.