From Shabby To Chic: West Hollywood Condo Gets A Facelift

April 28, 2008 - PRLog -- Deciding that owners deserved a more beautiful place to come home to, in the summer of 2007, Thomas-Somero Design was chosen by The Laurel Avenue Homeowners Association to complete a remodeling project at the recommendation of a board member who had been impressed with their brand of design of his own condominium interior. Nearly 9 months later, construction has wrapped and Laurel Avenue Condos is a better visual fit for the generally hip and trendy West Hollywood area.
   
Located in the heart of West Hollywood, one block North of Santa Monica Boulevard, Laurel Avenue Condos simply didn’t fit its surroundings. “The building looks rundown and dated.  Even the plants and vines are way overgrown,” says Thomas-Somero Design partner, Brian Somero prior to beginning the renovation.  

The building, built in 1962, got a complete redesign of the interior courtyard and pool area which was taken from an old fashioned “garden style apartment” look to a swanky “boutique hotel” feel (e.g. Avalon, W Hotel, etc).  Thomas-Somero Design has completely revamped the image of the formerly “industrial gray” building.  Changes were made to the color scheme, deck surface, plants, trees, planter boxes, as well as furniture and accessory items.  The original pool remains as the courtyard’s centerpiece.  

Highlights of the new and improved courtyard include creating a rock (rough travertine) feature wall at the entrance and a reworking of the entrance planter boxes. Thomas-Somero Design’s plan was to use contemporary colors, dark wood tones, streamline all furniture and fixtures, while working in subtle Asian elements like bamboo and polished concrete, also capturing a resort feel by using repetition throughout and fabrics of neutral whites and tans. “Basically, we took a dated condo building in WEHO and gave it a brand new look…everything is brand new,” says partner, Scott Thomas upon completion of the building beautification.

In today’s slumping economy, it could prove to be a good idea for other HOAs to take their dollars and invest in giving their properties more value.  In this case, about 1/3 of the HOA’s reserve funds were directed to a renovation which will serve this purpose as well as making the units more attractive to potential buyers.

About Thomas-Somero Design (TSD) – Thomas-Somero Design is a Hollywood-based interior design firm focusing on the client and their needs headed by partners Scott Thomas and Brian Somero. As a team, TSD has over 30 years of combined experience and has worked on various styles of homes from concept to design and have a growing, impressive list of celebrity clientele in Los Angeles.  Bringing clients’ dreams into reality with passion for creating the perfect space for customers at the right price is evident in each and every job. For more information on Thomas-Somero Design, please visit their website at http://www.thomas-somero.com.

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