The 1070 square foot home has an incredible sense of flow. Its open concept has the rooms running into one another, but in a way that feels fluid and easy. The rooms feel large and airy, not compressed into compact spaces. From the front entry, you can see into the dining and kitchen areas, while the bedrooms and bathrooms, located on opposite ends of the condo, are tucked away discreetly. And Penny’s decorating touch ties the whole place together with style and finesse.

Her condo was actually the first one she looked at, but at the time, there was nothing to really look at as no show suite was ready. So Penny kept looking. And looking and looking. “I looked everywhere — at pre-owned condos that were newer and lots of brand-new ones in Marda Loop, downtown, and in Bridgeland,” she recalls. “They’re nice areas, but I just wasn’t as comfortable there.” After searching far and wide, Penny came back to the first development she looked at in her southwest community of Britannia. “I already lived nearby, which influenced my decision. I liked the area. I knew where everything was and was familiar with it. You tend to gravitate to what you are familiar with. And I like that this is an older neighbourhood that’s established. There’s not a lot of construction around, and the trees are fully grown — it’s those little details. And right across the street we have some really nice homes.” The neighbourhood also has great access from many major roads including Elbow Drive, Macleod Trail, and Glenmore Trail.

Since Penny works in the human resource field downtown, she also wanted to be fairly close to her workplace. “Ideally, I wanted to be ten to 15 minutes to downtown. If I’m going to live in a condo, I might as well be practical. I don’t see the point of buying a condo on the peripheral of the city; you might as well buy a house.”

Not only did Penny search long and hard for the perfect condo, she also researched condo builders to make sure she was buying from a credible builder. “I did a bit of research before I started,” she says. “A friend of mine — her builder went bankrupt so I was a bit worried.” In the end, she felt assured that her builder would finish the job, particularly because the development is a smaller project. Her stone-covered building consists of four floors with 27 units, underground parking, and it’s equipped with air conditioning.

Penny’s floor plan suits her needs perfectly. “I really wanted two bedrooms [not side by side] and two bathrooms; it gives me more flexibility if I have family or friends coming to stay. Even if I wanted a roommate — which I don’t think I do right now! — I have the option. For resale, it’ll be better too since I’m not planning on living here forever.”

The ultimate factor for her buying decision however, was in the extras. “What I liked about this place is that a lot of the things that were upgrades at other places were standard here,” she explains. Her stainless steel appliances, granite kitchen countertops, ceramic tile flooring, gas fireplace, front-loading washer and dryer, beautiful crown moulding, shaker-style dark brown cabinetry, and specialty tile backsplash are just a few of the features that were part of the package deal. They only upgrade Penny had to make to complete the home with her ideal finishings was to upgrade from carpet to a chic laminate flooring in the living room, plus she added an extra cabinet in her kitchen.

Penny’s home also shows off architectural features such as a lighted showcase area above the fireplace, and the crown moulding provides the whole space with a final polish. Her ensuite even has two doors, giving it that New York-style, Sex and the City appeal. The whole condo is both classic and cosmopolitan, but with an intimate feel.

“It came down to a few places, and I realized I did want all the higher end little details that this place offered,” she explains. “It was a struggle. If I went with a bigger building, with say 100 suites, you get the amenities of a gym and a shared party room, but I do like the smaller complexes better. You get to know your neighbours better. You know who’s living beside you, and it’s not so anonymous and big-city like.

“I also like how it’s open,” she says. “I like the granite, stainless steel, the tiles — all of that really did convince me to buy it. I like the huge balcony because you can fit a good-sized table.”
Penny also enjoys her storage — a major issue for many condo owners, yet not one she has to wrestle with. She has a large storage room, plus tons of closet space. Her balcony is vast allowing her to house any garage or outdoor items such as a BBQ, bike or camping gear. “Bigger storage was important to me,” she affirms. “I’m a packrat. I just didn’t want to have to throw lots of things away.”

For Penny, her condo is the right fit for her taste and her way of living. “For where I am in my life right now, a condo suits my lifestyle. I’m close to work. I didn’t want to deal with the maintenance of a house — cutting the grass, shovelling the snow. I like to be central to things, and I’m single! I wasn’t ready for the responsibilities of a house yet. And I’m not really handy. For some reason when I think of a house, I think that you’ll have to fix more things and do more stuff.”

For Penny, a good reason to buy a condo was the assurance that her home would be maintained for her, and she’d have one less thing to worry about.

Overall, she’s pleased with her decision to build a new condo, and the one that she wound up building. She does caution that things may not always go as planned, but then, most things don’t. “You have to be patient with new condos; there are a lot of things that still need to be finished. My possession date was late; it wasn’t a very positive experience because things weren’t ready, and it seemed like they were rushing. It makes you kind of anxious, especially when they’re ripping out all your cabinets because they’re the wrong size. It makes you question the quality especially when you know there’s high demand for the trades right now. But I am happy. I definitely think I made the right decision, and I’m happy with it. I’m glad the building turned out because I had put a lot of faith in pictures. I really do like the place. There are a lot of little details that I would probably do differently and be more thorough about. Little things I didn’t even think about — like the colour of the face plates [for switches and outlets]. I really had to fight to get them changed because I didn’t know about them. It’s such a small thing, but every time I saw them I would have thought, ‘I wish they were white.’ All in all though, it’s been good.”