A papier måché bust of Freud – with lighted eyes – keeps watch in the guest bathroom at Hilda Templeton’s condominium. It’s a fitting tribute to the owner’s profession – psychiatry – but also an example of bits of whimsy sprinkled throughout the dwelling.
The bathroom also features a wrought-iron stand Templeton had built for the basin, an example of her attention to details.
“I just know what I like,” says Templeton, who previously practiced in New Jersey for 25 years before becoming medical director for Pfizer, and is now in private practice in Roanoke. “I love color, and I like a quiet, soft place that is sophisticated and easy, where people can come and relax.”
Templeton previously lived at Smith Mountain Lake after relocating to the area to be near family.
Tired of the commute from the lake to her Roanoke office, Templeton purchased the condo in Hunting Hills in February 2009 after viewing several other options. She was attracted by its spectacular views and on-site health center.
Chateau Mont was built in 1989, and Templeton’s unit had experienced few changes since. It had pink carpeting throughout, pink bathroom fixtures and a small kitchen.
She hired Building Specialists Inc. to remodel the space. The project included updating the kitchen and baths, enclosing a porch to create a reading nook, and installing a special dropped ceiling in the dining area to accommodate a cherished Holly Hunt candle chandelier.
“I bought nothing new for here,” she says.
The eclectic mix of furnishings mingles with a broad selection of art and art items. Local artists Greg Osterhaus and Mary Bullington are represented along with a sketch of New York’s famed Delmonico’s restaurant by a New York artist, and wooden statues carved in Bali.
The kitchen and master bath underwent major changes. Walls enclosing the previous kitchen came down and were replaced by a curving island that also includes kitchen storage, a microwave drawer and an office complete with printer drawer. Wall cabinets were removed and reinstalled in the storage room and replaced by open shelving.
Almost every room has been designed to accommodate a special possession. For example, the floor-to-ceiling headboard in the guest bedroom – a reproduction of the Diego Rivera “Dance in Tehauntepec”– served as closet doors in her previous home.
A painting of angels, which was originally in a church in Italy, hangs over the bed in the master bedroom.
The master bathroom was created from the previous bath space and a closet. Again, Templeton knew just what she wanted, or more specifically, what she didn’t want.
“No glass blocks. I wanted a shower seat.”
The new shower uses large tiles trimmed with a glass barrier to partially enclose the bathing area. The tiled shower bench at the other end curves into the bath, integrating the shower into the room proper. Mirrored medicine cabinets have been incorporated into the vanity.
Templeton points out that her work with people under stress makes it important to “come home to a house that’s calm.”
“I feel I have me here,” she says.