As chairman of the social committee, Kathy Cunningham recently found herself in charge of renovating the party room in her condominium building. The lighting and furniture had been unchanged for about 15 years but the carpeting was fairly new. Cunningham and her crew were given a budget of $10,000.
“We knew we needed new furniture,” she says. “First we determined the room was used mainly for board meetings and parties. We didn’t need a lot of couches. We needed tables and chairs.”
The project took about four months, from initial assignment to the purchase order stage. The committee interviewed interior designers, looked at furniture and color samples and put together a presentation for the board. They are now awaiting deliveries, which take another six to eight weeks.
Cunningham says one of the biggest surprises was that “it takes a lot of time, especially when you’re working with a board and management and decorators. Nothing happens overnight-even after the board has approved everything.”
Sooner or later, every condominium building’s common areas need rejuvenating. The carpeting wears out, the upholstery becomes dated and the board member who picked the magenta wainscoting dies.
Time for a new look.
Time for Maalox, if you’re serving on the board.
“I can’t think of anything an association does that causes more consternation or scrutiny than a decorating project,” says William DeMille, executive vice president of the management firm J.S. James & Co., Chicago. “It can be as simple as changing the color of the lobby and half the residents will love it and half will hate it. Everyone will complain for the next six months.”
He adds, “Unit owners often have a more difficult time accepting large expenditures on decor than if the same amount of dollars are being spent on a new roof or tuckpointing. Decorating is based on somebody’s opinion of what looks good.”
Your association’s project, be it a grand new design for the two-story foyer or a fresh coat of paint and new tile floors for the laundry rooms, can be implemented with a minimum of hassle. The following tips are offered by interior designers who have appointed public areas and by condominium property managers who have survived the construction process.
– Plan for periodic redecorating and build it into your budget so the money is there when you need it. Shabby lobbies and hallways are not good for resale.
“Common areas are the show points of a building when a Realtor brings buyers through,” says Palma Paolillo, director of residential facilities management for Venterra Sales & Management, Chicago. To buyers, the condition of the common areas “shows the concern the association has for the building.”
Yehuda C. Cohen, president of Century 21 Amquest, Chicago, agrees. “Great common areas help units sell quicker. Poor ones slow down a sale. Another thing is that (residents) in buildings that have not been kept up are often embarrassed to have their friends visit them. They feel the common elements are an extension of their homes-and they are.”
Redecorating projects can be paid for in several ways. Ideally, the money is in the bank. If your association has done a reserve study to determine the life expectancies of its major systems and amenities, you know approximate replacement dates. Then you can plug in anticipated costs and start saving.
“You can have a reserve study done for just the aesthetic points of the building-the wallpaper, carpeting, painting,” Paolillo says. “Then put money aside for when the work has to be done.”
Some associations consider decorating an ongoing expense. They may refurbish two hallways or paint one-fifth of the buildings every year. Still others do a complete renovation every decade or two and pass along a special assessment to pay the bills. Bank loans are sometimes available, too.
“You can’t afford not to do it,” DeMille says. “The longer you wait, the more it costs to do anything.”
On the subject of money, don’t forget to budget for the maintenance of your new decor. Examples include changing light bulbs in very high places, which most cleaning companies will charge extra for, and live plant rental.
“Or if you are using glass panels or mirrors to give sparkle, you may have to schedule an extra cleaning crew every two months,” says interior designer Lori Lennon of Lori Lennon & Associates in Deerfield.
– Know your association and the needs of its residents. One city condo owner entered the lobby of his newly decorated building a few years ago. On his way to the elevator, he heard a woman crying, “Help me. Help me.” The resident followed the voice to an adjacent sitting room and found a frail, elderly woman stuck in a sofa. The new furniture’s design-low to the ground and heavily upholstered-made it difficult for the building’s elderly residents to get back up. The resident helped his sofa-entrapped neighbor to her feet.
Your association may have resident populations whose interests you want to encourage or discourage. Some associations have removed plush seating from lobbies because they don’t people to congregate there. From a design standpoint, a lakeshore building with a dock and a roster of boating enthusiasts might reasonably decorate its lobby with a maritime theme. That same motif away from water would be out of place.
“Every building has its own personality,” DeMille says.
– Determine divisions of labor and authority. Who is going to pick out samples, coordinate a color scheme and do the comparison shopping? The board can do the legwork but probably has enough to do. Plus, not all board members have an equal interest in debating the merits of navy blue versus burgundy mini-prints. Your property manager can play the role of general contractor but probably doesn’t want to make the final fabric and color selections.
Some associations form committees of residents to do the shopping and make recommendations to the board. The committee may or may not then be authorized to execute the work.
Committees can be a big help to boards-as well as a training ground for future board members. They can also spin out of control. At one suburban complex a few years ago, a committee was appointed to select colors and fixtures for the clubhouse makeover. The painter arrived over a weekend and began painting the vaulted ceiling. A committee member stopped by to inspect the work and told him she wanted a different color. He did as she asked even though the paint he had was custom-mixed and could not be returned. The association was stuck for $1,400.
“Who is going to be the authority to give direction to contractors and who will choose colors and who will approve bids must be decided up front,” DeMille says. “Make sure all board members are aware of this and agree as a body how it is going to work.”
Another solution is hiring an interior designer. “I like working with a consultant because it relieves a lot of pressure,” Paolillo says. “They can come up with ideas you wouldn’t dream of and then the association can add its own personality . . . If it is wall and floor only, I’d bring in a designer only if the board can’t come to a decision.”
Paolillo recommends interviewing at least three designers. The Illinois chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, Chicago, offers a referral service for the general public. Telephone: 312-467-5080. Property managers, too, may have registers of design sources.
Designers may charge by the hour, a flat fee or a percentage of the job. Hourly rates vary from $75 to $300 per hour, depending upon the designer’s background.
– Communicate openly and often. Everyone involved in the project must keep everyone else informed. If a committee is in operation, “the board needs to be very careful and very direct as to its instructions to the committee,” DeMille says.
Plans should be shared with residents, too. This can be done via personal letter, community newsletter and homeowners meetings. If an interior designer has been hired, the board may want to hold an open meeting or small reception to introduce him or her to the residents and show them samples.
The board must keep itself informed, too, DeMille says. “The proper way is everything goes back to the board-copies of all contracts and all bids. Everything is put in the minutes. If (a resident) is really unhappy with what has been done and it’s not documented well and the project doesn’t follow the documents, you can have big problems.”
If you’re short of money or just don’t want to spend it, here are some budget-stretching tips:
– Think low-maintenance and durability. “People put down wet umbrellas and bang down packages, so I stress practical fabrics and surfaces,” says interior designer Gregory J. Urbauer, Chicago. “There are nylons that clean up beautifully. There are also a lot of textures and tweeds that won’t show grease as readily as a solid color fabric.”
He also prefers to use vinyl wallpaper rather than paint in high-traffic areas such as in front of the elevator and in hallways.”Vinyl is more durable. If you scrub paint too hard, the paint comes off. Then you have to repaint.”
Deerfield designer Lennon suggests buying commercial grade furniture instead of shopping at retail furniture stores. Also, she says, a hard-surfaced floor will last longer than carpeting, “but people complain it is uncomfortable to walk across and sound is a problem.”
– Use strong colors to accent only. Because color trends are fickle, designers suggest using popular shades in small, replaceable doses. “One of the easiest ways is to bring in a large piece of artwork that can change without being expensive,” Lennon says.
She stays away from silk flower arrangements, she says, because “after a period of time they become dusty and look tired.”
– Consider the security factor. Unfortunately, accessories and small furniture items tend to get stolen, particularly in buildings that do not have 24-hour security.
“People get abusive,” says Urbauer. “I’ve had to glue lamps onto tops of tables and bolt artwork to the wall. On one job there were a couple of benches that were wired to the wall. Unfortunately we have to think like that.”
– Try before you buy. Color seems to be one of the most controversial elements in a design project. Venterra Management’s Paolillo tells boards, “Buy a quart (of paint) and test it.”
For one recent project a board OKd a light beige color that later appeared quite different when applied to a lobby with much natural light. “Go to each floor to see what the light does.”
-Keep a supply of attic stock. The next time your board orders carpeting, order a bit extra. Paolillo likes to replace the highly traveled carpeting in elevators every year or so to keep it looking fresh. “It’s the same with wallpaper,” she says. “You always want to have some left over in case you need repairs.”
