C.R. designer turns free-standing condo into urban chic dwelling

CEDAR RAPIDS — The minute Karen Schlehuber walked through the front door, she knew she was home.

With her three kids grown and out on their own, she also found herself on her own after her husband, Larry, died in 2014. She no longer needed the 4,500-square-foot house they built in 2003 on the city's southeast side. So she started hunting for a condo and zeroed in on a cul-de-sac tucked into the woods off Mount Vernon Road SE.

The first place she looked at didn't feel right, but across the street she found her bliss.

Secret setting

Forest Glen Court SE, off 39th Street, is 'the best-kept secret in town,' she said. 'People are craving this kind of setup.'

It's no cookie-cutter housing development. Built between 1998 and 2004, each condo stands alone and has its own personality. Pointed, rounded or squared-off front windows are surrounded by varying soft, neutral siding colors and attached two-stall garages. Some units sport brick detailing and decks or patios.

Schlehuber has a patio for warm-weather grilling and relaxing, and a three-seasons back porch offering year-round views of the daily deer and turkey parades through the woods.

She and her neighbors have the best of both worlds: free-standing homes with no common walls and no mowing or shoveling. The condo association maintains the exterior siding and roofing, and monthly payments will cover those big-ticket expenses if a resident needs a new roof.

'It's exactly what I was looking for,' Schlehuber said.

With a little tweaking.

A professional kitchen and bath designer, she wanted to put her own stamp on the interior, so she had it renovated from top to bottom before moving in November 2015.

Upgrades

She paid $175,000 for the 1,274-square-foot two bed/two bath unit. Designed for main floor living, it also has a kitchen, dining room and living room that opens to the back porch and a laundry room off the kitchen, hidden behind folding doors.

By investing an additional $60,000 to $70,000, she got the open, urban loft look she wanted upstairs, and finished off the bare-bones basement to add another nearly 1,000 square feet of casual, comfy living space.

Today, the lower level features a large family room, guest bedroom with a conforming window, full bath with oversized shower, and a storage room large enough to accommodate her treadmill as well as Christmas decorations and shelving for items in bins.

Schlehuber, 62, now has plenty of room to host her children, two grandchildren and out-of-town family members for overnight visits and holiday gatherings.

Renovations

She didn't change the home's footprint but did change where she puts her feet. Uniform flooring helped give Schlehuber the even flow she wanted from room to room, to enhance a clean and simple urban vibe.

Carpet, vinyl, ceramic and hardwood previously defined each main floor space. She replaced all those with a vinyl tile that comes in planks, and looks like weathered, washed wood, but is waterproof and easy to maintain. It plays nicely off the gray-toned walls and complements the chic new European frameless kitchen cabinets that extend to the ceiling and have a similar washed-wood look.

White quartz countertops curve from under the cabinets onto the peninsula that contains a double undermount sink on one side and seating on the other, with sleek chrome-mounted stools tucked beneath.

She replaced the dining area's chandelier with recessed lighting, so she could place a sideboard against one wall and move the table accordingly, without throwing off the symmetry dictated by a drop-down lighting fixture.

The dark sideboard and table are deceptive. Devoid of hardware, the sideboard drawers and doors open with a light touch, revealing storage space for serving pieces and dinnerware. The table is accented with four light-colored chairs, but slides open to accommodate up to 10 people.

All the furnishings are sleek and modern in neutral tones, with throw pillows, small, framed prints and vibrant glass pieces adding pops of color while maintaining the home's uncluttered feel.

As you would expect from a kitchen and bath designer, those rooms are works of art, too.

White subway tile and stainless steel appliances play nicely off the cabinets, and gadgets like a push-button garbage disposal and filtered water tap by the sink keep the surface functional.

Clean lines give a custom feel to all three bathrooms, with built-ins to maximize space. In the master bath, Schlehuber replaced the double vanity with a single sink, which left space for a linen cabinet that opens on the front and on the side, to keep small items hidden but handy.

By shifting the shower plumbing, she was able to add linen shelves by the shower in the basement and create easier access for the master shower upstairs.

Both oversize showers sport a spalike feel, with seating, large tile blocks and in the master, a band of narrow glass inserts placed vertically for a bit of visual drama.

Palette

The home's paint palette shows just how versatile gray can be. The front bedroom, which Schlehuber uses as her office, and the adjacent guest bath are painted in a dark shade with a purple undertone that leans toward eggplant. That was a redo, after the initial color ended up looking like 'little-girl lavender' in the sunlight, she said.

The gray shades in the rest of the first floor, including the master bedroom, are more traditionally light and neutral, while in the basement, 'greige' is the perfect pairing for the eclectic furnishings from her former home. They reflect her changing tastes from country traditional to craftsman and today's urban shabby-chic.

Lighter wood pieces like a rocking chair that was a wedding present and a foldout desk are equally at home downstairs with a sofa bed and coordinating upholstered chairs in brown tones, as well as a sleek, black chair. Cubbies along one wall in the family room keep toys stored, and the nearby turtle rocking horse with a teal seat is practical yet whimsical.

Surprises

While most of the doors are painted white and function as you'd expect, two main floor doors maximize space and conversation. Fans of shows like 'Fixer Upper' have seen barn doors mounted on sliding tracks indoors, with contrasting exposed hardware. Schlehuber has two doors, however, that look like they've never been on a barn and have stylish cornices hiding the tracks and hardware.

One leads from the master bedroom to the master bath and the other hides her favorite surprise: a coat closet turned into a wine nook in the foyer. Where to hang your coats? On two rows of stylish hooks just inside the front door.

Downsizing

The hardest part of the move was downsizing from a sprawling Prairie-style ranch house to a condo less than half the size.

'It was emotional, but I was ready,' Schlehuber said.

'It had been about 15 months since my husband passed, and I'd look around and I'd see all the things that really needed to start to be updated. We had done some updating, but it was a lot of lawn to take care of and a really long driveway. ...

And I just said, 'I've gotta do something.' The beauty was, I didn't have to move.'

She had the luxury of time to find what she really wanted, without feeling 'panicked.' Everything fell into place with selling her former home and having time to remodel her new home before moving in.

Then came the hard part of deciding what to keep.

'I picked my favorite things,' she said, then offered items to her children. But they didn't really want anything.

'That's one bit of advice I would tell anybody,' she said. 'Don't hang onto things, thinking your kids are gonna want them. Ask them when you have the opportunity to ask them,' but it's OK if they say no.

Schlehuber ran out of time to sort through everything, so she put some items in bins, intending to get rid of anything she hadn't used in the coming year. Some still are waiting to be sorted, but they're stashed out of view, not taking up much space.

'You learn that it's all just stuff and it really doesn't matter,' she said. 'You carry the memories in your heart.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com