TLC Design & Decor – More Beachfront Condos to Come!

Posted on Mar 9, 2012 in Featured, Get That Look | 11 comments

Wow.

The last few months have been beyond busy for me, and as a result, poor Passport To Design has seen little activity! Well, that’s going to change now that life is back to a regular pace.

Wondering what I spent the last 60 days obsessing over?  Two beach front condos that my lovely clients (and truly, they are so very lovely and wonderful to work with) purchased in the same building. The units are identical in layout, and so my clients have ended up with two identical spaces to call their own. With the exception of only ONE furniture item that is different, the two condos are carbon copies of one another.

SIDE NOTE: I initially believed that designing two condos to be the same would make for a less painful workload and a more efficient use of the tight timeline – after all, sourcing ONCE and buying double of everything seems more efficient, no? Wrong. At least, not in Panama. Little did I know that Panamanian furniture stores rarely carry two of anything, so I ended up sourcing twice as much anyways to ensure my clients got exactly what I promised. 

The condo building, BAHIA RESORT, is located on the beach in Gorgona, a small town in the district of Chame. The building itself boasts a beautiful lobby (though be warned of the wind tunnel effect that acts up in the dry season) and a fab pool area, but the views from the apartments are to die for! I never tire of watching the swell come in from the horizon from the 16th floor apartment, and to be able to do that while enjoying a drink on the balcony or while waking up in the morning will be wonderful.

The finishes in the apartments are nice as well – not the usual cheap-o stuff you’d expect to find in some of the less-than-luxurious condo developments in the area – BUT, I cannot pretend that the workmanship was impressive. The condo cut many corners during the construction process, resulting in more headache and stress for yours truly (and more money for the client). Luckily for my clients, I believe that poor workmanship is unacceptable, and unluckily for the contractors and architects who had to deal with me, I do not take “No” for an answer if the design blunder is their fault and needs repairing.

YES, I know, photos of empty spaces are pretty boring. That’s why you need to check back next week when I show you how I chose the white wall colour (*whispers throughout the crowd*). I know the walls look white in the photos above, and they are…kind of… but the creamy builder white shown here is a lot more yellow than you think.

Next week, I will show you that even though it can seem daunting, choosing thePERFECT white wall colour IS possible (albeit dizzying at times).

Cheers, folks, thanks for reading! I am happy to be back on the blogging bandwagon, thanks for patiently waiting for my return and for checking back regularly :)