When homeowner Jim Hughes first moved into his Currie Barracks condo, he saw “a plain, stark white box.” Despite its barren starting point, the open-concept main floor offered a promising blank canvas for the ideal living and entertaining space that Hughes wanted. To realize its potential and integrate his own personal flair, Hughes turned to Charlene Threatful, designer and owner of Lush Interiors.
Threatful describes Hughes as a “real renaissance man” and an avid traveller who appreciates the finer things in life. Hughes wanted to integrate his travel artifacts and art pieces into the design, swapping clutter for curated displays. That way, “they can remind one of different times, places and experiences,” Hughes says.
Besides serving as fond memories and personalized conversation pieces, these elements helped shape the design. The striking area carpets are a good example. “The floors were just bare wood, and the rugs were important to help define and delineate spaces,” Hughes says.
Both homeowner and designer agree that one of the main floor’s strongest suits is its open, three-part layout. “You’ve got the kitchen in the centre, and that’s typically where people migrate to when they’re entertaining,” Threatful says.
Hughes adds: “It also can encourage guests to move around and engage.”
To enhance the open-concept feel, Threatful prioritized flow in her design. Bookended window treatments and velvet textures throughout the space added elements of consistency, while running a cork wallpaper through the main floor “created some continuity between the dining room, the kitchen and the living room.” The wallpaper’s charcoal-coloured sheers created a welcome balance that honoured Hughes’s unique sense of style, too. “I wanted it to be masculine, yet tasteful and stylish,” Threatful says.
All in all, the use of cohesive décor, thoughtful design and personalized elements not only creates a seamless flow of this main floor’s spaces, it offers a beautiful and functional reflection of who Hughes is.
The lighting
Newly installed black-and-gold-accented light fixtures create visual ties throughout the room — a warm contrast from the original design’s bright-chrome overhead lights. Threatful credits these fixtures with providing “an overall ambiance in the space that you didn’t have before.”
The bulkhead
The silver-foil cork wallpaper along the room’s bulkhead — the protruding arch framing the back wall — elevates a builder-grade element into a custom feature.
The homeowner’s collection
Hughes’s art, area carpets and travel artifacts shine in this space. With framed paintings orbiting the dining room’s credenza and kitchen-side nooks for European plates, Threatful intentionally peppered the whole space throughout with Hughes’s personal belongings.
The fireplace
As Threatful notes, Hughes craved the feel of a more formal entertaining room. The fireplace that serves as the living room’s centrepiece in place of a TV is a welcoming addition, especially for holiday gatherings, encouraging unplugged togetherness.
