Dear Laurel,<\/em><\/p>\n My hat\u2019s off to you for moving to a duplex condo. That means stairs\u2013 duh. Of course, there\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but DH and I, at the age of 63 and 66, have decided to sell our family home and move to a much smaller condo.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to go into a whole thing, but my husband is insisting on an elevator building, with a concierge, health club, pool, and bingo on Thursday nights.<\/em><\/p>\n Joking about the bingo, but you get it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Alas, I\u2019m deferring to his better judgment. Therefore, we\u2019re leaving our beautiful 2,800 square foot center hall colonial on a classic tree-lined street in Dayton, Ohio, for a 1,050 square foot two-bedroom modern condo. Hopefully, we\u2019ll be able to get a lovely view.<\/em><\/p>\n We\u2019re not super formal, and we certainly don\u2019t want anything overblown. But what can we do to finesse our new modern condo into something classic? We want to turn our boxy space into a place we\u2019ll enjoy, hopefully for many years to come.<\/em><\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/em><\/p>\n Becky in Dayton\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Hi Becky,<\/p>\n What cracks me up is that I bet DH is going to use the stair machine at the health club. But I get it. He doesn\u2019t want to have<\/em> to use the stairs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n However, I will say that I adore my staircase and use it for exercise, especially when the weather is bad. Incidentally, for the four of you who are interested, haha, I\u2019ve extended my walking and jogging track.<\/p>\n In the beginning, all I did was go around in circles between the living room and the den.<\/a> Then, I realized how obnoxiously boring that was and included the kitchen and made the course a bit curvier.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But now, sometimes, every five laps or so, I\u2019ve included the stairs and loop around the lower level. Mind you, I only started this fairly recently and haven\u2019t done it much due to the wrist injury and then the monster cold. But with that, and other walking around, I\u2019ve walked\/run as much as two miles without ever leaving my home. haha<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You have the right idea. And before we begin, please know that you can turn any boxy, boring, soulless box of a home into something extraordinary.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n How do I know?<\/p>\n Well, remember the fabulously talented Philip Mitchell\u2019s former apartment in Toronto?<\/p>\n Must A House\u2019s Architecture Dictate Your Design Style?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nUnfortunately, the only option for us is a modern condo\u2013 with boxy rooms, eight-foot ceilings, and zero character. Yuck.<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Okay, let\u2019s get down to business.<\/h4>\n
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