MOVIN' TO A CONDO...A WHOLE NEW WORLD, BUT FOR WHOM?

So we bought a condo in Toronto. It needs to be furnished ... and ... decorated of course.

My vision for the condo is definitely not about chrome, white leather and minimal....I...ok....we want comfort foremost, eclectic, splashes of various styles and eras, Lianne's paintings (Fine Arts degree) and... some of my shopping will begin in the Chez Coates Store in basement of the cottage where we have stored overflow since our downsize 3 years ago. I'm starting to source now and hope to have the bulk of the decorating done by late August. But it HAS to be done on a budget....and I mean really on a budget. The condo is now abode #3.....after our house and cottage.

Let's backtrack. Sixteen years ago when our 3 girls were 9, 7 and just turned 5 years old, Mike got a new position in the company he had been working for which meant he would be commuting to Toronto every week. He insisted that this new opportunity would have a 3-5 year life span. We contemplated moving to Toronto (my hometown...entire family stills lives in and outside of Toronto), but for various reasons we poo pooed the idea.

NOTICE how I mentioned 3-5 yrs...which has now morphed into 16yrs. Yes, you may pat me on the back, I was essentially a single mommy for our our girls' formative years.... taxi driver, cook, laundress, counsellor, mediator, no family from either side....blah, blah blah, and it is the reason why it took me so long to initiate my passion as an Interior Decorator.....I digress, this is fodder for a very different post.

Anyway,  for 16 years, Mike has been staying at The Marriott for a few days most weeks,  a stones throw to his office.

Fast forward to 2010, daughter # 2, Lianne got an internship at ROM last September and very quickly moved to Toronto and now daughter #3, Danielle, who is a certified Esthetician/Cosmetologist  is now also moving to Toronto to attend SOMA, School of Makeup Arts to become a certified Makeup Artist...prosthetics and all....very exciting.

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LIGHT BULB FLASHES...excuse me, why are you 3 not all going to live together?... AND at the same time, let's look at this as an investment (retirement is rapidly approaching) property.  .... HELLOOOO!!

Hence the condo in Toronto and the reason why we are doing the furnishing/decor on the skinny.

Now to the condo. Our floor is waaaaay up (channeling "The Friendly Giant") looking SW...great views of CN Tower, Lake Ontario....and of course other condos and high rises.
It has 2 large bedrooms.... (hold on just a minute..... there are 3 adults sharing this space...hmmmm!),  two full bathrooms, a newly reno'd, decent sized, workable kitchen...(Lianne loves to cook), looking out onto open concept living/dining.....AND....almost forgot....a sunroom off the living room, which, after we install a Murphy Bed will be where the 3rd adult, the guy who pays the bills, will rest his weary head.

BTW...we had been looking for several months...but I was unable to make it back to see THIS condo, so Mike with real estate agent Ian told themselves this condo was the ticket. I had my first view last week, and I must say, they did a bang up job. Wish I could show the pics I took, but the current owners are still residing there and the closing is next week.

Of utmost importance... all three can walk to work, school, shopping, restaurants, subway etc.

Just occurred to me.....after ALL those years of being a by-myself-stay-at-home-mommy (absolutely NO regrets...my tic will be alleviated shortly and grey hair is now coloured)... ' I ' will be an empty-nester in Ottawa, and Mike will be with the girls in TO.  'Just desserts'?..... it remains to be seen for whom.

Stay tuned for more posts on shopping the basement, shopping in TO, bargain hunting, paint selection, accessories and all the fixins that go into making "home" for three.

GUEST POST...Passport to Design

I am so honoured to be a guest blogger over at Passport to Design 


As everyone knows who follows "Passport to Design" blog, Tania takes awesome photos and then writes about her personal travels incorporating design and decor into every post. When Tania asked me to do a guest post, I had just come home from two weeks in the Mediterranean... and had a ton of pictures.
I knew while I was away, that the pics I was taking of marble might make an interesting post someday
.... hence Marvelous Marble  .....

Please take a moment to peruse Tania's gorgeous website  TLC DESIGN & DECOR