“Do what you want with the space.”
The order, delivered by a native Clevelander who returns from his adopted Southern California home to watch his beloved Browns and Guardians, was a dream come true for Dawn Cook of Shaker Heights-based BLDC Design Studio. The two-bedroom, two-bath Warehouse District condo, dated and basic as its interiors were, boasted 16-foot-high ceilings, exposed brick walls and a spiral staircase to a rooftop deck — features Cook could use to create a sleek, sophisticated place for the superfan to stay with his wife and two school-age sons, as well as entertain clients of his specialty shipping company. The usual mix of team colors and memorabilia, however, wouldn’t be part of the decor.
“We said, ‘OK, this is going to be swanky. It’s going to have Cleveland vibes. But it’s not going to be Cleveland Browns sports helmets, decorated in orange and brown,’” she says.
Cook opted to gut the space and replace the hardwood floors with a wide-plank white oak to lighten the 1,500-square-foot unit. Contractors raised the main-living space floor 6 inches so they could run additional electrical wiring underneath it. “There was no power to certain parts of this condo,” she explains. Among the amenities are the wiring powers: a system that programs lighting to a user’s preferred warmth, intensity and color.
The ceiling, in contrast, was slightly lowered to accommodate lighting and sound-system speakers, then painted black along with the exposed ductwork, a nod to the space’s industrial past.
Cook and her team put a lot of thought into making the long, narrow entry hall “feel important,” “so it didn’t seem like you were walking down a bowling alley,” as she puts it. Decorative artist Haley Cavotta finished one wall in a swirling black mural. The other was outfitted with a recessed “drop zone,” complete with leather-upholstered bench and coat hooks on paneled walls, and white doors that conceal storage.
At the end of the hall, hanging on a brick wall over the dining area, is a custom work by North Carolina artist Palmer Smith that, at first glance, looks like a simple swirl of black on white canvas. Closer inspection reveals background renderings of former Indians mascot Chief Wahoo, former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar and the old Cleveland Stadium, as well as the owner’s sons’ names. Cavotta touched up each time-worn brick in the walls to create an authentic yet uniform look.
Cook finished the L-shaped kitchen area with Dekton-topped gray melamine cabinetry housing an ice machine, dishwasher and double freezer drawers hidden behind panels. A commercial beverage center and black refrigerator bookend the arrangement. The island is equipped with an induction cooktop in the leathered quartzite counter and under-counter oven. Cook points to the 55-inch Samsung Frame TV hanging over a stretch of under-counter cabinetry.
“[The owner] was very adamant that he needed TVs everywhere,” she says.
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An 80-inch Samsung Frame TV hangs on a stained-ebony wall in the living area. Flanking touch-latch cabinets offer unobtrusive storage, while a 100-inch three-sided electric fireplace set in black reeded marble underneath supplies additional warmth on chilly game days. The charcoal-gray sectional, stationed atop a geometric taupe-and-cream rug, was designed to accommodate multiple people watching a game on TV. A view of Progressive Field from the Hope Memorial Bridge is provided in the form of a semi-abstract rendering by Cleveland Heights artist Ashley Sullivan that hangs over a taupe-mohair swivel club chair.
“It has the sports reference, but it’s not screaming [it],” Cook says.
The round wood dining table, surrounded by black-leather-cushioned, metal-frame chairs, and a mushroom-
shaped accent lamp in the nearby sitting area mimic the curves of the spiral staircase to the Trex rooftop deck.
Cook put a Dekton-topped waterfall-edge bar under yet another Samsung Frame TV and 12-person hot tub — a feature that required the installation of a laminated-veneer lumber beam that runs the length of the ceiling below to support it — in an ebony-stained cedar pergola. A gas grill is stationed at the bottom of the steps down to the main level. Slatted ebony-stained cedar panels provide privacy; a cement fire table in front of the grayish-blue sectional and Italian-made propane heaters extend the deck’s usability.
A contractor created the illusion of natural light flooding the owner’s suite by installing a bedroom window illuminated by a programmable source that simulates seasonal daylight as the hours pass from sunrise to sunset. Cook made the most of the small space by installing a built-in platform bed, complete with a tweedy-gray upholstered headboard and sconce-lit nightstands, on a reeded wood wall.
The bath features fire-clay vessel sinks on a quartzite-topped, black melamine vanity, a black toilet and a walk-in zero-entry shower tiled in a textured version of the grayish-taupe porcelain covering the other walls.
As in the public spaces, sports references are subtle.
A pair of metal stools topped in brown tufted leather that remind Cook of footballs sit under commissioned photographs of Cleveland landmarks and street scenes taken by Howard Bruce Washington II. The decor continues to meet with the owner’s approval.
“There’s not a time that this guy is in town and on this rooftop that he doesn’t send me a text and thank me for how awesome this is,” Cook says.
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