“Kitchen & Condo Renovation”
One of the first Yaletown condominiums built in Vancouver by Concord Pacific, Governor’s Tower has floor plans unrivaled in square footage of those that are now being built today. A two bedroom and den with about 1250 square feet of living space is unheard of in these new property developments. With premium real estate prices in the trendy Yaletown area, renovating and updating this property made a lot of sense.
The original floor plan consisted of a closed in kitchen area, with today’s trend having more open concepts. Renovating in a concrete building however can sometimes pose challenges when the plumbing, heating or other systems are often shared or positioned to be cost effective. The main purpose of this renovation was to “open up” the kitchen , having a pass through instead of a wall that blocked off and isolated the kitchen from the rest of the condo. Luckily discovered in the dividing wall, contained pipes that could easily be re-routed into one wall we had to keep, still allowing for an “open feel”.
With minimal kitchen cabinet storage already, a solution was needed to replace the cabinets that had been remove by taking out this wall. Installing glass upper cabinets in the pass through made the most sense, and with glass panels on both sides of the cabinet it allowed southern light to flow into the kitchen. I
Removing stained carpet and replacing it with laminate flooring is normally a simple and easy way to update a space. Near the large window which overlooked the priceless David Lam Park view, we discovered baseboard heating. A solution was needed to remove this eyesore, one which you seemed to bump your feet on whenever you tried to enjoy the spectacular views of False Creek.
However, when all of the units in the building have a shared heating source consisting of a base-board water heating system, and that happens to be looped together, sometimes it’s not that easy as re-routing pipes. Every suite on the floor looped together in a shared system, and since shutting off the system to do any kind of work not only affected the entire floor but four floors, it required a lot of details and agreement from the strata, but ultimately was achievable. Although we could’t overtly hide the pipes in the wall (or remove the only heating source), the pipes could be moved to the ceiling and hidden under a custom framed valance. We also had to find a creative solution when hiding the shut off valves. Well worth it, not only out of sight but made installing the laminate flooring much easier.
A small pitiful Master Closet also needed a better solution, so custom designed millwork plans with a built-in wardrobe unit and vanity were drawn up and given to the cabinet maker. Done in a semi-gloss black finish with a glass vanity top, this Master Bedroom had a storage solution that finally gave the room some interest and personality to go with its trendy location.
With an Open-Concept Kitchen, new flooring and Master Bedroom updates this condo was transformed from being tired and dated into the Modern Era. With having now a more modern feel, and the larger square footage, it could not only complete with the newer developments but surpassed them.
