OCTOBER 2017

Styleat aSnip We put the spotlight on VICTORIA CURRIE’s new rental property, and see how her leasing deal has allowed her to keep the style factor high while downsizing. BY AMY BROOK-PARTRIDGE

W ith her two sons ready to go to boarding school in the UK, Victoria Currie’s plans to move from her four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment have become reality. She viewed just two places, and negotiated hard on the first, this Ridley Park ground- floor condo. “The apartment was on for around $3,000; I said I’d give them $2,500 and we settled on $2,600. The renovation cost $15,875, which means the rent is under $3,000 a month over the four-year term.” Victoria’s advice is to push hard; she even rewrote the tenancy agreement to state that if they were forced to leave early (due to the landlord’s decision), they’d be reimbursed $300 for each month of the contract not completed. The renovation took three weeks in total, with new plumbing, electrics, decoration, floor tiles (including spray painting) and removal of trees. Here’s a glimpse at what she did:

All the electrics, including the fans, were replaced. The sofa is from IKEA; the lamp shades, also from IKEA, have been recovered with material from Fabric. com, which you can see throughout the home. The large mirrors are $29 each from IKEA, and the rugs are by Highgate Rug Company, from Tatty Marsh.

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