Owning a terrace flat was a matter of pride during our childhood. Living in the city meant we lived in pigeon-hole apartments stacked on top of each other. Thus, whoever had a terrace-flat was much envied, because they had easy access to the open sky! Therefore, when I was recently invited to visit a condo with a terrace, I readily agreed, and drove three hours to view the place.

I was blown by the sheer beauty of the place. The piece of access to sky was limited, but it had tremendous potential. The buyer wanted me to help him decorate the space. I realized I needed to profile him first. He was a single guy in his twenties, with no family in that city. He had an active social life. A well-educated white-collar job, with no liabilities or loans, he was buying the condo in cash. I asked him his plans for the rest of the place, which was one bedroom, the living room and the kitchen flowing into each other thanks to open plans, and one bathroom. He told me he was planning to opt for bold colors. A quick view of the pictures of his bedroom at home gave me an idea of his sophisticated tastes.

My job was simple. The terrace needed to be able to give him a sense of tranquility when he was by himself, and it had to exude elan when he was with company. The young gentleman readily strung up the solar lights I’d bought from the budget he’d given me, and even politely admitted that they looked good. Next, I moved two navy blue chairs from the living room into the terrace. They’d been cluttering up the room, but sat perfectly in the narrow space without blocking access. A sleek table made a statement by the chairs, inviting the visitor to stay a while. The accents were kept to the bare minimum to maintain the bachelor-pad effect and charm of the place.