Photo: Jackie Knabben for Home Design Magazine/Home Show Media
Taniya Nayaktook her midcentury Fort Lauderdale vacation condo from drab and dated to dream getaway!
“My dad’s an architect, so I’ve always known I wanted to be in this industry,” says theTaniya Nayak Design, Inc.founder, adding that she grew up “always redesigning her room and the house.”
Before.Taniya Nayak
Jackie Knabben for Home Design Magazine/Home Show Media
When she found this property thanks to friends who invited her and her husband to stay at their place in the area, it felt like fate. “It was the best feeling ever. And it was literally exactly what I had always put out there,” she says.
The only catch: space had been left entirely untouched for over 50 years, so among its less than ideal features were beige, wall-to-wall carpet, dated light fixtures, faux wood panelling and a bathroom covered in butter yellow tile.
But the home reno vet was more than up for the challenge.
“It’s a beach condo, so I wanted the light and fresh vibe of the beach, but I’m a Boston girl, so I still wanted the grit, the urban vibe to it, a little nod to that,” she explains of her vision for the space.
To play up the urban aspect, Nayak created an enormous custom antique mirror that reflects the Intracoastal Waterway. The secret? “That mirror is actually 2x2' squares that we pushed together to create a really big mirror, because if we bought that mirror or custom made it, it would’ve cost a ridiculous amount of money,” she reveals, sharing that she got the squares fromRiverbend Home.
“I didn’t want it to be cliché-beachy,” she adds. “At the same time I wanted to maximize a very small space — it’s under 1,000 square feet, it’s one bedroom. I wanted to make sure that there was plenty of storage and that it was timeless so that I’m not looking at it five years from now going, ‘Oh my God, I hate this place. I need to change it all,’ she says.
Nayak adds that above all else, she wanted to keep the focus on the water. To that end, “as much as I wanted every piece in the condo to be spectacular, and they are, they could not detract from the view. That was a big deal for me.”
“I remember she used to oversize her furniture like crazy. And I was always thinking, whenever she’d be planning the room, ‘There’s no way that’s going to fit!’ But it always made the house look so cozy and comfortable.”
She adds, “As long as you map it out and you know that you have walking space throughout, it’s fine. And more people can sit So, that was the next order, really mapping out the floor plan.”
Taniya Nayak
Another fun aspect of the project included some creative tiling, says Nayak.
“I am a play it safe girl with colors. I like long-lasting, timeless design,” she explains, adding that she went “so out of [her] comfort zone,” with the shower tile. “I thought if I’m ever going to do it, why not do it in a bathroom in my Florida condo?” She chose a bold black-and-white hexagon shape with a graphic pattern fromNemo.
While the pandemic and various permit hold-ups put a temporary wrench in her renovation, she says it was more than worth it to push through all of the challenges that popped up along the way.
“Finally, it is our dream little happy home away from home,” she says.
So how is Nayak enjoying the space now that her labor of love is finally finished?
source: people.com
