“I didn’t know you could experience love at first sight with (a condo). This is the first time I’ve ever loved where I live; the first time I’ve ever felt like I want to stay at home all the time,” says Thornton.

It isn’t hard to see why she loves the space so much. Walking through its own private, street-level entrance, guests climb a wide-set staircase and are welcomed into a spacious, open environment that boasts high ceilings, large windows, and tiger-wood engineered flooring. To the right of the stairwell is a massive gourmet kitchen ideal for any budding chef, featuring granite counter tops, lots of cabinet space, and stainless-steel appliances.

Past the living room are two large bedrooms and two full baths. It also includes in-suite laundry, individual electric heaters in each room, and its own hot water tank.

However, what truly makes Thornton’s home special is the care and attention she’s given to its interior design. Scattered in corners and on the walls are precious heirlooms she inherited from her grandmother, Leonore Thornton, who recently passed away.

“Her beautiful things fill up every nook and cranny,” she says.

“Seeing her things makes me happy. She was the most elegant person I’ve ever known and the most important person in my life. Now I have all these perfect reminders of her in my great new place and it doesn’t make me sad.”

Some of the more notable pieces include a living room chair, vintage wooden desk, and a sewing box made by Thornton’s grandfather. In her bedroom her grandmother’s gold lamp casts a soft glow, while her grandfather’s clock ticks in the background. On the walls are paintings she admired as a child, and sitting on the granite countertop of her bar are glass decanters her grandparents used while entertaining.

“Everything suits the condo really well. I would have had some big, empty spaces if I hadn’t inherited all these beautiful things from her to fill up the new place. Everything she sent me is so nice it makes all my other things seem even nicer. All of a sudden I have this super fancy place to live in and that wasn’t really my intention.”

The truth is when Thornton stumbled upon Chateau Pearla she had had no plans to move. For the past few years the 36-year-old event planner for Piq Niq Café and Beat Niq Jazz Club lived in a one-bedroom condo in Mission, and although she was beginning to experience a desire to relocate she was far from taking action.

However, it was Chateau Pearla developer Josef Terek, who had also built Thornton’s Mission condo that encouraged her to check out his latest project.

“I was working at home a lot and was feeling like it was too small and too loud. One day I was outside watering the garden and boohooing about it when he came out and told me to go look at his new place.”

It wasn’t until her best friend from Toronto came for a visit she decided on a whim to view the complex she had heard so much about.

“I was in the right mood at the right time, looked at it, and the next day I bought it,” says Thornton.

She sealed the deal July 10, 2007, one night before the unit was scheduled to be listed. The listing price was $449,000. Thornton moved into the condo Sept. 28.

“It was all meant to be,” she says. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” CL