Historic Downtown Condo Kitchen gets a Modern Upgrade with Personality

In the heart of downtown Indianapolis lies an historic Italian Renaissance style building. Once home to The Indianapolis Athletic Club that boasted members from the political elite, prominent business leaders, and even professional athletes, it was converted to luxury condominiums in 2005. Living in one of these unique condos has definite appeal, but when it comes to modern design can hold a few challenges.  

In this condo’s kitchen, a central support post and oddly placed sink presented just such a design challenge. So, homeowner Hazel Walker turned to ACo Designer Mia Farrell for help creating better flow through her kitchen as well as a cleaner, more modern look with a little personality. 

“I wanted something modern and not the usual run of the mill style when we started working on the design. With an open concept where the rooms blend, it also needed to pull all of the rooms together,” says Walker.   

According to designer Mia Farrell, every square foot counts in downtown living, so the design needed to take full advantage of the space available. “In the kitchen we relocated the appliances to allow for more of an open flow from one working station to another. We also removed a small wing wall that allowed us to spill the kitchen a little further into the dining area to make more efficient use of the space,” says Farrell. “We even incorporated an open cabinet above the refrigerator that serves as her bar without taking up any footprint in the condo!” 

Keeping the base of the design simple, Farrell and Walker went with textured white cabinets and pale mist gray quartz countertops. The star of the show, however, is the eye-catching backsplash. Say Farrell, “The bold backsplash is the perfect complement to our client’s personality – she knew it the moment I showed it to her!” 

The final touch was updating the flooring throughout the open concept kitchen, living, and dining room spaces to achieve a cleaner, more consistent look that pulls the entire space together. 

“I love my new kitchen! This kitchen met and exceeded my expectations from the style of the cabinets, the unique use of the open cabinet bar over the top of the refrigerator to the amazing glass backsplash,” says Walker. “It all come together to create a showcase that is functional as well as beautiful.” 

Products: 

Bellmont Cabinetry in Textured White laminate finish
Top Knobs Hardware 
Chene Engineered Hardwood from Urban Floors 
Walker Zanger backsplash 
Multi-white under-cabinet lighting from Hafele 
MSI Soapstone Mist Quartz Countertops 

Photos by Dave Pluimer 

Downtown Indianapolis at The Athletic Club