Why Most Modern Condos Feel Emotionless — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00A lot of modern condos have the same
2. 0:01problem. At first glance, they look
3. 0:03incredible. There's the floor-to-ceiling
4. 0:05glass, the concrete ceilings, the
5. 0:07downtown skyline views, and that clean
6. 0:10modern architecture. But, once someone
7. 0:12moves in, that's when they begin to
8. 0:14realize how cold it feels. Does it feel
9. 0:16new and exciting for the first few days?
10. 0:18Sure. It's after that short honeymoon
11. 0:21phase that the lack of emotion becomes
12. 0:23more apparent. A lot of bachelor pads
13. 0:25end up falling into this exact trap.
14. 0:28They look modern, but they don't feel
15. 0:30good to come home to. You might see
16. 0:32spaces like this in a movie and think,
17. 0:33"Oh, that looks cool." But, that's
18. 0:35because you're seeing it on a screen for
19. 0:3720 seconds. It's a 20-second honeymoon.
20. 0:40If you were the one actually returning
21. 0:42to it every day, you would quickly
22. 0:43become aware of the emptiness. This
23. 0:46condo was dangerously close to becoming
24. 0:48one of these. We wanted to put it on the
25. 0:50right track, but we had guidelines. This
26. 0:52wasn't going to be a renovation. We
27. 0:54weren't going to fill the room with
28. 0:56overly expensive furniture, and the
29. 0:57light paint color needed to stay. My
30. 1:00name is Chad R. And today, I'm showing
31. 1:02you how we transformed this space
32. 1:04through a combination of atmosphere and
33. 1:07warmth creation. If you are a returning
34. 1:08subscriber, hit the thumbs up. If you're
35. 1:10new here, hopefully by the end of this
36. 1:12video, you'll be a subscriber. Remember
37. 1:14that if you would like our help in
38. 1:16designing your room, you can have that
39. 1:18help by clicking the link in the
40. 1:20description below. Modern condos and
41. 1:23apartments often create a strange
42. 1:25contradiction. They impress people
43. 1:27visually, but don't emotionally relax
44. 1:29them. That stems from an imbalance.
45. 1:31These condos already contain a lot of
46. 1:34hard architectural surfaces. There's the
47. 1:36glass, steel, there's the concrete. You
48. 1:39have sharp corners, dark flooring, and
49. 1:41cool tones. The architecture itself
50. 1:44already leans masculine. But, when
51. 1:46someone moves in, they often continue
52. 1:48adding even more hardness into the
53. 1:50space. More black or gray, a greater
54. 1:53emphasis on minimalism, the cold tech
55. 1:55forward lighting. On top of that, you
56. 1:58see less texture, less warmth, and less
57. 2:00personality. Eventually, the room starts
58. 2:02feeling emotionally sterile. That's not
59. 2:04masculine, it's just cold. That's the
60. 2:07danger this condo faced in the beginning
61. 2:09because the architecture already had
62. 2:11strength. What it was missing was
63. 2:14humanity. Now, most people assume the
64. 2:16answer to this problem is simple and
65. 2:18clear. Make everything darker. Well, to
66. 2:21a mouse taking a block of cheese from a
67. 2:23trap also looks simple and clear. Don't
68. 2:27fall for the trap. This condo was
69. 2:29already carrying visual weight. The
70. 2:31concrete ceiling has a heaviness. The
71. 2:33dark flooring provides a natural
72. 2:35gravity. We had already planned to use
73. 2:37black window treatments. If we had
74. 2:39painted all the walls dark, on top of
75. 2:42that, the room could have started
76. 2:43collapsing inward emotionally. What I
77. 2:46mean is that even if it was technically
78. 2:48designed correctly, it might start to
79. 2:50feel oppressive in its lack of contrast.
80. 2:53The boundaries of the room would feel
81. 2:55tight and less light would be able to
82. 2:57bounce through the space from those
83. 2:59skyline views. This is something that
84. 3:02can be misunderstood about masculine
85. 3:03interiors. Darkness alone does not
86. 3:06create atmosphere. Warmth does.
87. 3:08Contrast, lighting, texture, and
88. 3:11identity does. The customer's request to
89. 3:14keep the walls light aligned perfectly
90. 3:16in making the condo feel far more
91. 3:18sophisticated. When the design was
92. 3:20complete, the light walls became the
93. 3:22negative space. Now, the art has room to
94. 3:24breathe and the warm lighting can glow
95. 3:26stronger at night. The room doesn't feel
96. 3:29compressed at all and that beautiful
97. 3:31city skyline remains a highlight. Now,
98. 3:34where could this have gone wrong? If we
99. 3:36made every surface dark and every piece
100. 3:38heavy, the room would feel exhausting to
101. 3:41exist in. But here, the contrast creates
102. 3:44balance. The architecture already gave
103. 3:46the condo masculine structure while the
104. 3:49lighter walls allow the room's lungs to
105. 3:51expand. That balance is what makes the
106. 3:54condo feel calm instead of harsh. And
107. 3:56that calm is what many men want to feel
108. 3:59in their homes, especially if they have
109. 4:01a demanding life. Now, the warmth in
110. 4:04this room doesn't come from the paint.
111. 4:06It comes from materials. The caramel
112. 4:08leather, the walnut wood tones, textured
113. 4:11rug, ambient lighting, the whiskey
114. 4:13cabinet, the vinyl setup. All of those
115. 4:15elements soften the industrial shell of
116. 4:18the condo without removing its edge. And
117. 4:21that balance matters. A room deemed
118. 4:23masculine does not mean emotionally
119. 4:26lifeless. It's orderly, it's planned,
120. 4:28it's cared for, a place where you want
121. 4:31to spend your time. It's very easy to
122. 4:34get wrapped up in aesthetics when
123. 4:35setting up your place, but always
124. 4:38remember atmosphere. You'll find the
125. 4:40best bachelor pads are not flashy.
126. 4:42They're personal. There's a huge
127. 4:44difference. A flashy room desperately
128. 4:46tries to impress. It's eager for
129. 4:48attention because it needs it. A
130. 4:50well-designed masculine condo creates
131. 4:52something much more powerful. Presence.
132. 4:56You walk in and immediately understand
133. 4:58the personality of the person living
134. 4:59there through the lighting and textures,
135. 5:01their skill of restraint, soft music
136. 5:04they might be playing in the background.
137. 5:06It's an orchestrated experience, an
138. 5:09introduction to the owner. This condo
139. 5:11doesn't feel like someone trying to show
140. 5:13off. It feels like someone who
141. 5:15understands how they want to live. If
142. 5:17you have an internal understanding of
143. 5:20your identity, your room can achieve an
144. 5:22external display of it. This condo is
145. 5:25located in Nashville. That's a vibrant,
146. 5:28lively, personality-packed city. We
147. 5:30wanted to have reference of Nashville in
148. 5:32the condo, but you have to approach that
149. 5:34in a smart way. When people hear
150. 5:36Nashville-inspired apartment, they often
151. 5:38imagine themed decoration. Guitars
152. 5:41everywhere with neon signs, overly
153. 5:43literal references. That cheapens the
154. 5:45space. It'll feel like the inside of a
155. 5:47bar on Broadway. Instead, we're
156. 5:50referencing Nashville through its
157. 5:51culture, music, nightlife, interaction,
158. 5:54creative energy, the vinyl. The room
159. 5:57feels connected to the city naturally
160. 5:59instead of turning it into a theme park.
161. 6:01That's the mature approach. When
162. 6:03creating an elevated space, there's a
163. 6:06balance of knowing what and how much to
164. 6:08add and what and how much to refrain
165. 6:11from adding. The skill of choosing
166. 6:13purposefully. Here the furniture stays
167. 6:15visually low. Why? We want the
168. 6:17sightlines to stay open and the
169. 6:19highlight of the skyline to remain
170. 6:21visible. The floating media console is
171. 6:24helping the condo feel just slightly
172. 6:26larger because you can see more of the
173. 6:28floor. Same principle in the glass top
174. 6:30coffee table and the thinner legs. Small
175. 6:33details like that have a massive effect
176. 6:36on perceived space, especially in
177. 6:39apartments. So many people want more
178. 6:41furniture, more noise, add more, try
179. 6:44more, make it a Where's Waldo scene. The
180. 6:47real discipline is the ability to edit.
181. 6:50If you haven't noticed it yet, there's a
182. 6:52cat tree. This is a design made for real
183. 6:55living. Our client had a cat, the cat
184. 6:57will be living there, too. For those of
185. 6:59us with dogs, cats, or pets of any sort,
186. 7:01we have to figure out how to incorporate
187. 7:03things like dog beds and scratching
188. 7:06posts and aquariums. Pet furniture is
189. 7:08often treated like an apology. Sorry, I
190. 7:11didn't know what else to do with it.
191. 7:13People want to hide it because if they
192. 7:14don't, it's going to be visually
193. 7:16disruptive. But here, it was integrated
194. 7:19into the room's palette intentionally.
195. 7:21It's fitting, it's not bothersome, and
196. 7:23it's real life. A designed room can
197. 7:25embrace reality. It doesn't have to
198. 7:27ignore it with a staged and artificial
199. 7:29setup. Ironically, those personal
200. 7:32touches can make a room feel more
201. 7:33appealing and inviting than one pictured
202. 7:36on the front page of a magazine. Larger
203. 7:38homes tend to take center stage when it
204. 7:40comes to design, and that
205. 7:41unintentionally sends a message to those
206. 7:44who live in condos and apartments that
207. 7:46they can't achieve an equally impressive
208. 7:48space because their home is not big
209. 7:50enough. Well, the good news is that's
210. 7:53not true. Designing your condo,
211. 7:55apartment, or flat can be an extremely
212. 7:57fulfilling task. There's nothing
213. 7:59stopping you from turning it into a
214. 8:01personal retreat, a place to unwind at
215. 8:04night, listen to a few records, pour
216. 8:05yourself a drink, or bring people over.
217. 8:08Everything you do at home becomes more
218. 8:10memorable when the space reflects your
219. 8:13interests and personality.
220. 8:15If you like the video, hit the thumbs
221. 8:17up. If you feel like sticking around a
222. 8:18while, feel free to subscribe.
223. 8:20See you in the next one.
224. 8:25>> [music]