toronto beaches interior design refresh
balmy beach club toronto

If you live in the Toronto beaches area, or anywhere in the southeast quadrant of the city, you have probably heard of the Balmy Beach Club. If you have had the pleasure of visiting the club, you will recall it’s beautiful patio overlooking the boardwalk and Lake Ontario. It is a great setting for a hot summer night, but many are not as familiar with the private member’s lounge.

Toronto Beaches: Balmy Beach Club Design Refresh

When we were invited to bid on a refresh project to the member’s lounge, we were thrilled, and truly honoured. However, we were in no way prepared for the community, the depth of caring and local history that was contained within its walls.

The lounge was sadly in need of an update so we were thrilled when we were told that we had been the selected design team to lead the renovation and rejuvenation of the private member’s lounge.

Enjoy a quick look through the transformation process and be prepared for a dramatic before and after!

The Problems:

  1. Very dated fireplace wall
  2. Cramped storage/display that didn’t showcase the club member’s trophies and memorabilia effectively
  3. Distressed and worn furniture, and tired upholstery
  4. Dated colour scheme
  5. Space planning that offered one seat facing the main focal wall (one of the main uses of the room is for gathering by the fireplace and watching sporting events on the tv)

The Solution:

  1. New millwork treatment for the fireplace wall
  2. New display areas for trophies and memorabilia
  3. Replace the uniform blocky furniture with well-made contemporary pieces
  4. Space planning to address the various functions that take place in the room prioritizing seating for viewing games on the tv, space for grabbing a quick bite after a workout, room to grab a beer among friends or hold a meeting, and lastly comfortable seating closest to the lake and boardwalk to share conversation and drinks with club members
  5. A fresh colour scheme reflective of the beach/sports club vibe to complement the changing demographic in the neighborhood
  6. A concept to reinforce the environment beachers know and love

So Let’s Take a Look!

A peak at the room before:

balmy beach club before

The space was dated and bleak. Why is none of the furniture arranged to see the TV when the main use of the room is watching games and sporting events? This was our first of many questions.

balmy beach club before

The furniture and upholstery was … tired!

balmy beach club before

Well-loved would describe it best.

After a lengthy process of designing the layout and elevations for the new space and then selecting a contractor to install the new windows, construction began. It was messy work, but the members were tolerant while their home away from home was being given a new look.

New space planning accommodated many competing needs: meetings, eating/grabbing a slice of pizza, relaxing after time on the tennis courts, catching up with friends over a drink, viewing sports playoff events, curling up by the fireplace, enjoying the view of the lake …

New millwork was designed to update the fireplace wall and provide a place of prominence for the pride of the club – the many awards and trophies the members have earned and brought home to display. The dated brick had to go!

balmy beach club design sketch

…and then construction began.

balmy beach club construction
balmy beach club construction

We selected memorabilia from the archives to represent each of the sports groups in the club. Gallery walls are always tricky to lay out. A few techniques really helped to prepare the gallery display!

Setting Up a Gallery Wall

  1. Lay everything out on craft paper the size of your wall or opening
  2. Vary sizes and shapes to create interest
  3. Over-mat or group key smaller images to give them visual importance
  4. Cut out the shapes from the craft paper to simplify installation on the wall
balmy beach club gallery wall

The installer loved us when he saw this!

balmy beach club gallery wall

The history contained within these walls spans over 100 years.

balmy beach club gallery wall complete

We had custom paddles made by local Ontario artists to reflect the BBC logo colours and the scheme for the lounge to reinforce our concept.

balmy beach club after

…and the rest of the photos tell the story of the new BBC.

balmy beach club logo
balmy beach club after
balmy beach club lighting

Plenty of lounging room in front of the fireplace. This is the most popular spot for sports nights on the big screen tv.

balmy beach club furniture
balmy beach club after
balmy beach club after

Grab a slice before the game.

balmy beach club after
balmy beach club after
balmy beach club after
toronto beach
toronto beaches
toronto beaches interior design

The “legend by the lake” lives on!