Inspired decor makes for Condo's exotic interior
After spending years living in a house on the south side, Myers was ready to downsize. She found everything she wanted in the condo. It's cozy-feeling but actually has three bedrooms. There's a yard, but it's small and manageable, with enough room for her dog Mitzi to run around and space for a garden.
"It just fit my needs, and it still has a little yard that I can work in," Myers says.
And one of the best aspects is that Myers actually owns the building and the land, rather than just the space inside, as is common with most condo ownership agreements.
Credit Myers with all the interior design, too. After retiring from the insurance industry at 62, Myers decided one way she could use her time was learning design. She took courses and became certified by Interior Redesign Industry Specialists, or IRIS.
The courses focused on repurposing materials already in the home. Myers has reused some of her existing decor and scored some good deals on other pieces, and combined them in her condo.
There's a safari motif carried throughout the home, with stripes, spots and animals in each room.
The front door opens up into the living room. The room's high ceilings are accentuated by three pieces of deep red fabric that run the entire 20-foot length of the walls. They pool just a bit at the bottom. Myers put tiger-striped valances at the top of each to tie in the safari look.
The splash of red is another motif carried throughout the place. In every room there's at least one piece of red decor to add some color and cohesiveness.
The centerpiece of the living room is a gas fireplace with a space for a television cut into the wall above it. Myers has a large flat-screen television there. Her couch, which features touches of bamboo rattan and braided leather, sits across from the fireplace.
In the corner is funky glass-top bar with two elephant heads protruding from the base on either side. A gag on top warrants a second look: it's a wine glass tipped on its side with a puddle of fake red wine spilling out. It's an inside joke, Myers says, as she has been known to tip over a glass of wine or two.
Another cool piece of furniture here blends a classic American piece with modern touches. There's a "break down" wardrobe, a wooden wardrobe design to break down into pieces to be transported in a covered wagon. Myers says she got a great deal on it from an antique store in Indiana.
Inside there's an electric fountain resting on a bobcat hide, and a six-foot tall wooden giraffe stands just off to the side.
The kitchen is in the rear of the condo. With oak cabinets, tiled backsplash and stainless steel appliances, it would appear at first glance to be like many other modern kitchens. But a wicker and glass-top table brings a little bit of the safari theme into the room, as do the bamboo blinds on the sliding glass door.
A pair of decorative plates leaning against the backsplash provide the requisite dash of red.
Filling a small wine rack are several Elvis-themed bottles of wine. Myers is a longtime fan of The King, and she collects the wine.
Adjacent to the kitchen is the master bedroom, or as Myers, who is divorced, likes to call it, "the mistress bedroom."
Tiger and zebra stripes abound on the bedspread, and three pillows depict tigers, elephants and leopards on each. Two prints hanging on the walls above the bed show elegantly dressed women with a panther and a leopard on leashes.
Myers scored a deal on the ornate cast iron bed frame. She got it new for just $300 because of a broken leg that her son promptly fixed.
A mirrored oak dresser holds several pictures of Myers' three grown children, sons Nick and Joe and daughter Linda.
The adjoining bathroom features an original touch on the walls. Myers put up a piece of wallpaper with a palm tree and red background, then brought some of the red paint on the walls down over it to blend in.
She turned an old CD tower into a toilet paper holder by putting a door on it and using some safari animal refrigerator magnets as faux knobs.
The staircase in the center of the condo leads upstairs and a good portion of the upper level is open above the main living room.
There's the open hall space at the top of the stairs where three plants, a croton, a palm and a peace lily, soak up the natural light.
Right next to them is a sewing rocker that once belonged to Myers' great-great-grandmother. It was handcarved, and Myers has had it restored in recent years.
A long, narrow room overlooking the living room is where Myers has set up an office, complete with a computer desk, filing cabinets and some small book shelves.
Originally mere storage space in the floor plans, the builder decided to create a 10-foot wide cut-out in the wall overlooking the living room. That simple step changed the space from a closet into a true room.
A photo on the desk shows five generations of women in Myers' family, from her mother down to her baby great-granddaughter. There's also a painting of a lakeshore that she created more than 25 years ago on the wall here.
A guest bedroom upstairs features a color scheme similar to the rest of the condo, with offsetting shades of olive and beige. Mirrored closet doors help the room feel much larger.
The upstairs bath contains plenty of palm tree and monkey motifs, along with a large, red, faux amaryllis flower - what Myers calls her "element of surprise" in that room.
Myers is especially proud of her garage, where she put an epoxy finish on the floor herself. It's also very tidy, with plenty of storage cabinets and shelving put to good use.