2014: A Space Odyssey

The earlier posts about creativity studies informed the renovation of my studio condo in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Backstory: Joking can lead to action. Joking about something is thinking about something. And as we all know, thoughts lead to actions.

In February 2014 I took a small trip to visit family and do a bit of skiing in Ketchum, Idaho. I also wanted to see how a trip, or travel, might affect my creative decision making. While there I joked about parking the Escape on someone’s property for future visits. That joking later lead to a conversation in the hot tub aprés ski about where one could put such a trailer. A conversation that my 8 year old nephew found boring because, “why talk about something when you’re not going to do anything about it”. His comment lead to a chain reaction of doing. And when I learned condos in the area were actually cheaper than the Escape, I couldn’t escape the idea of checking them out.

The idea snowballed. And by May, owning a condo in Sun Valley became a reality.

How it all happened follows a classic pattern of innovation. There is an informal exchange of ideas among people with the skill sets to make it happen. The cost to pursue the idea isn’t prohibitive. And the environment supports, even welcomes the innovation/change. There may be more elements, but this is not an exhaustive list.

The combination of working on this project from near and afar probably made the end result better than if I only worked from afar, or only worked on the place while in Sun Valley. Though it’s hard to say. Being there, up close, I could measure, and thus know the limitations and possibilities of the space. From far away I could think about the project more abstractly and have a clear overview about making it an attractive vacation rental.

And it was in Silver Lake, in Los Angeles, that I had my aha moment of switching the kitchen with the bathroom vanity space. This would take the kitchen out of the main room. This insight came only after hours and hours (and hours) of modeling an expanded kitchen using the existing kitchen alcove. I had time to focus on the kitchen because the replacement bathtub I wanted was back ordered. The delay halted work on the place.

The play of space, distance and time aided my own creativity with the project. (Thoughts of relativity…) Or maybe it hindered it in other ways. I made 7 road trips to and from Idaho in 2014. I quit a freelance gig at Internet Brands in doing so. I lived with much uncertainty. But I was confident that this is what I had to do. No one but me was going to make this happen. And it had to happen. There was no turning back. Success was the only option. And because it was the only option, I succeeded.

Design had to meet two criteria, durability and delight. And of course, it had to be within budget. The minimal color palette included dark brown (floor/ceiling), swiss coffee (walls), silver (stainless steel kitchen/chrome elements /tile bath) with dark grey & orange accents for a pop of color. Then the yellow innit chairs disrupted everything. Shapes were few and repeated—circular (lighting), to play homage to an original 70’s circular lamp, and unadorned rectangular (furniture) to fit the bold simplicity of the room. Inspiration also came from the vintage efficiency kitchen, which, I am happy to say, found a good home.

I’ve given the condo the positive nickname “Olaf” after the character in Frozen. I like to think it stands for Optimism, Laughter, And Friendship. Sometimes, when I think about how this space dictated my decisions and how it rendered me it’s servant, I think the nickname HAL (As in the blog title’s movie reference.) may be more appropriate.

This experience elevated how I invest myself in my work. The renewed ownership wasn’t planned. I didn’t know that’s what I was developing when neck deep in the renovation. But because of this experience, I’ve become much more intense about the process of making something I’m working on happen.

Below are before and after photos of the condo renovation. Rent this place for your next vacation.