Stetson Place’s Modern-Industrial Welcome Home
When Pamela Fawcett, Design Lead for Kelson Group, took on the challenge of renovating the lobby at Stetson Place in Kamloops, she knew it would take some creative design and a lot of hard work to transform the space into a modern 'welcome home' for residents.
"With all of our buildings, we want to ensure we are creating spaces for our residents that are pleasing to the eye as well as functional, and I think we've achieved that here at Stetson Place," said Pamela. The Stetson Place lobby is a two-story open space which previously had what Fawcett describes as an "indoor-outdoor look" with painted cedar siding, wrought iron railings, mirrors, and dated carpet. "We didn't think we needed to change anything structurally and add or remove walls, so the challenge was to come up with a design that is freshly contemporary yet enduring enough to last for many years."
Fawcett loved the touches of brick at the building's exterior and this served as a starting point for the whole design scheme. "What sprang to mind was an Industrial Modern Loft, with exposed beams and brick, high ceilings and plenty of forged iron accents. I knew we could achieve this look through a mix of bold new lighting, fun artwork, stained wood and dark metallic finishes."
Today, residents enter the building to view a wall of exposed brick and beautifully stained wood beams overhead and at the elevator. The mezzanine area is defined by an eye-catching dark fir and iron railing running from wall to wall. The whole space is now generously lit with dark bronze candelabra chandeliers and the eye is drawn to large scale graffiti-style artworks including 4 panels painted by Kelson Group staff at the annual summer BBQ. The Industrial Modern look continues from the lobby to the residents' doors with new carpets and a fresh update to the hallway walls, doors, hardware and lighting.
"We're very pleased with the outcome," said Fawcett. "Renovations are important to Kelson Group because they not only attract new tenants but just as importantly show our existing residents that our goal is to help them live better through beautiful design!"