Kat Turchik knew she was taking a risk buying her Bohemian Embassy condo pre-construction, but she was so invested in the idea of living in the trendy Drake/Gladstone Hotel nabe at Queen and Gladstone that she jumped at the opportunity.
The finished product turned out to be bright, well situated and surprisingly quiet, facing Sudbury, not Queen. It’s also, to use a real estate cliché, very “cozy” ever since her boyfriend, Gordie, moved in a year ago.
But Turchik, who works as a booking agent at Judy Inc., which represents artists, photographers and stylists, knows how to maximize a space.
“When I moved in it was just a white box,” she says. “On the one hand that was depressing, but on the other hand inspiring because I saw it as a blank canvas.”
She set to work painting that canvas in French country style, filling it with pastel hues and ceramics, converting the storage space into a walk-in closet and hanging black-and-white photos of Bowie, Jagger and other rock-and-roll greats on her bedroom walls.
She even made a concession to Gordie, allowing him a “man’s corner” with a flat-screen TV and video games.
Planned budget: Turchik didn’t go in with a set amount but was sure she wanted to buy. “I knew I couldn’t afford rent in this area. I don’t see how some people pay $1,500 or $1,800 for rent. The idea of putting that much money into someone else’s pocket is very difficult to accept. I look at this place as an investment. I knew I’d make the down payment back quickly because the area is growing, expanding and desirable.”
Unit price: $250,000 in 2011, when she moved in.
What she got: A south-facing 540-square-foot one-bedroom/one-bathroom apartment with a balcony.
What she says about her neighbourhood: “I love everything about it. It’s downtown without being too downtown, if that makes sense. It’s not too business. It has a really nice air of culture that I feel very at home with. It always felt like home to me, so as soon as I moved here I knew it was exactly where I needed to be.”
