Just Listed: Designer Condo in Wash West
Recipe for style: take a cup of classical, a cup of contemporary and a generous pinch of pop. Put them in a blender and push "purée." Out comes this fun and funky knockout.
1029-33 Spruce St. #200, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 | Photos: Plush Images via Philly Home Girls, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors
Want to know why homeowners hire interior designers to make their spaces special?
Good answers can often be found in the places the designers themselves call home.
Take this very traditional yet very postmodern one-bedroom condo for sale in the heart of Washington Square West, for instance.
Interior designer Kiley Baun lives here, at least until she remakes and moves into another condo she should have closed on by now. Baun is one-half of the duo who make up Shophouse, a boutique interior design firm located on Rittenhouse Square.
She and her business partner Betsy Helm have made quite a splash recently. House Beautiful featured them in its “Next Wave Designers” feature back in July, and they were also two of the “9 Interior Designers Who Are Changing The Way Philly Looks Right Now” featured in the November issue of Philly Mag.
We referred to Baun and Helm as “The Classicists.” But as the photo above should make clear, that label only half fits. Here’s how they describe themselves:
“What makes us unique is each of our extensive backgrounds in interior architecture and fashion, one more traditional and clean, the other more eclectic and edgy — so we collaborate on every item we select so that it properly portrays our clients’ aesthetic while pushing their boundaries slightly.”
You can see elements of both approaches in the living room of this très chic, bright and fun condo.
Living/dining room
As noted in that House Beautiful feature, the use of black as an accent color makes this room livelier. So do the juxtaposition of traditional design elements, like the chandelier, mirror over the fireplace, and dining room table, with contemporary furniture, a leopard-print rug and a jaguar-print throw pillow.
Living/dining room, view to kitchen
Not to mention that giraffe — and especially that Pop Art graphic with the chain-smoking duck reading Vogue. It’s been a while since a single design element brought as big a smile to my face as that one.
Kitchen
This entire condo shows how contrasting elements complement one another. The frankly modern kitchen also sets itself in contrast to the main living area yet adds to the unity of the whole.
Bathroom
And you’ll find similar pop curveballs tossed into the other spaces, like the disco ball in the bathroom.
Bedroom
In typical Philadelphia fashion, none of this is evident from the outside. This condo for sale sits in a very traditional, very Philadelphian 1900 townhouse on one of the more attractive blocks of Spruce Street in Wash West. It should go without saying that around it lie all sorts of great places to shop, dine and amuse yourself, but I’ll say it anyway.
All that, in turn, makes this a very Wash West residence. After all, Wash West is itself the most eclectic neighborhood in all of Center City. This fun and funky condo fits right in. Why not buy it and make yourself at home?
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 1
BATHS: 1
SQUARE FEET: 1,262
SALE PRICE: $425,000
OTHER STUFF: The $325 monthly condo fee covers common area and building maintenance and insurance.
1029-33 Spruce St. #200, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 [Kate McCann | Philly Home Girls | Elfant Wissahickon Realtors]
