“I lost my husband 10 years ago, and once my boys went away to school and jobs, I was rattling around in the house all by myself,” says the owner of this West Block condo. “It was a big decision, walking away from a chapter of my life that I still wanted to cling to. I still cherish it, but I haven’t looked back since moving here.”
“Here” is only a few blocks away from her family home, but 15 storeys up, with spectacular sunset views and floor-to-ceiling windows to take them all in (plus two private patios). It’s like living in a luxury hotel, but, instead of city skyline, everything below is green, something this former Alexander Circle resident appreciates. “Whether it’s on the street level or way up here, I can’t imagine not having a view with trees.”
Imagining the two-bedroom-plusan- office interior was a bit different. She purchased some furniture, but “it just didn’t feel like me,” so she searched local designers and found a familiar face — Katie Menon of Stephenson House, whom she knew through tennis. “Everything was too white and too new, so I reached out to ask Katie to help make it more like my home.”
“My favourite part of what we do is getting to know her and infusing her personality and style to create her home,” Menon says. Stephenson House has a new storefront studio just off 124th Street.
“The first time I saw the mood board for the powder room, I fell in love with Katie. It was just me, laid out there on the page.” The most dramatic change is the thin drywall bordering the kitchen, which Menon replaced with slats of sleek black Dekton. The owner cleared out for the weekend it was installed, “and when I came home Sunday night and saw the impact it made, I actually shed a tear.”
It thankfully seems like that’s the only tear she’s shed since moving in, which is no small thing given the major life change the home represents. “It was scary, spending all this money, worrying I made the wrong decision, and not having a partner to bounce things off of. And not wanting to leave my family home and spending the rest of my life longing to have it back,” she says, staring out from her balcony. “But I’m happy.”
Ballet Edmonton’s Home Tour successfully took place on September 18 & 19, 2021. This annual fundraiser allows patrons to see inside custom homes while supporting the arts in Edmonton.
This article appears in the September 2021 issue of Edify
This content was produced in partnership with the advertiser by Odvod Publishing for commercial purposes.
