Let there be closet. Oh, and light(s).

Glorious, glorious storage. 

This is the Stolmen series from Ikea.  I didn't like any of the predesigned configurations so I put together something that I thought would work well.  It ALMOST did.  See the tower on the right?  Yeah, that's supposed to be above the shirts but the wall brackets were installed too low to fit it.  And then I had to put the connectors for the shelves on an angle as the brackets mount the poles to close to the wall to allow for the shelves and drawers to fit the way they're supposed to.  Despite this, I'm fairly pleased with the Stolmen series.  It's sturdy, easy to customize and, while frustrating as hell to put together, once the posts are installed where they need to be, it's not exceedingly difficult to figure out the rest.  And, yes, I had help installing the posts and drawers.  The rest I did on my own.

I also hired The Fixer (Jay!) to install the chandeliers and drill into the brick to install the drapery hardware.  First world problem... my Restoration Hardware rod is two inches too short for the window on the wall behind the bed.  I ordered a longer one.  The rod just barely worked for the window behind the sofa.

The chandeliers actually work fairly well in the space.  Definitely adds some feminine elements to what is a masculine space with the exposed post and beam and brick.

A few photos of the loft...

The loft has felt like home since the day I moved in.  The entire loft has fantastic light thanks to four massive windows. At first I wondered if I might be tempted to paint the brick out but after living with it, there is no chance of that.  I love the patina it's developed over the years.  The floors are the original fir and are in great shape.  Again, you can tell they're original.  There's dings and gouges from having been used as a warehouse but they are warm and interesting.

If you are vaguely OCD and disinterested in measuring, might I suggest a gallery wall to keep you occupied for hours ever so slightly straightening picture frames. This was my first attempt.

Everything is just slightly crooked. 

The bedroom is a bit dire as there is no closet.  It's coming Monday.  This week shall be spent swearing and deriding my own lack of handiness.

Bolstered by the moderate success of the first gallery wall, I attempted a second, larger one. It turned out somewhat better, likely because there's more space between the pieces.  I desperately need shelving for my books.  I'm thinking about ordering something from Yube Cube.

Smudge, post lily consumption and requisite 36 hours at the veterinary clinic to ensure his kidneys weren't going to fail.  He's fine.  His opinion of not one but two car rides, medication to force vomiting, IV and being served food that isn't his favourite?  Bull shit!

Everything is so perfectly symmetrical. It's lovely. Against the piller between the two windows that define the living and dining areas, I stuffed my desk. The art is waiting on Jay to come and drill holes into my brick. I don't trust my own mad skillz to do it myself. Also, I don't think I have a masonry bit.

This place is perfect as it is. My serial renovator days are over.   Do you know how nice it is to walk in and have your home tell you to sit and relax and enjoy verses presenting with a lengthy and expensive laundry list of work to be done?  Aside from getting some light fixtures up and throwing a couple of long and low bookshelves under the windows in the living and dining room, there's absolutely nothing to do. And I love it that way.

Over half packed

(qb3 via Loft Life)

(via Captivated By Image)

(Wit and Delight via Pinterest)

(nook and sea)

Loft porn cures flu symptoms?

Financing came through Friday - huzzah!  Waiting on the estoppel but that sounds like it's coming today at some point so, once I can review, it will be time to lift conditions. Once I can do that, I'm going to book a time to get in and take measurements and take some photos.  I'd like to do my space planning before the move so the movers can just place the furniture where it should go verses me being a crazy person dragging everything into different seating configurations for hours on end.

In other news, I have the start of a flu.  Looking at loft porn is making me feel better. 

From Apartments I Like (no original source noted)

Scott Weinkle Architect

(Abduzeedo)

 (Design Plus You)

Trying to figure out something inexpensive for book shelves and additional storage.  Every time I buy a place, the first thing I do is build book shelves...  For now, they'll be in piles on the desk and floor.  I might be breaking out ye olde reclaimed closet doors from Restore solution for the time being.  Actually work pretty good for shelving and painted out white they look quite nice.  I'm thinking oversize cubes and running them under both massive windows in the living and dining rooms.  Hmm...

(habitus living)

(narratives)

Also, I will have no closet.  There's no closed storage, or really any storage at all, in the entire place.  Instead of losing floor space to put in a closet (also I'm cheap and don't want to have to pay for walls, etc), I'm thinking about just doing something wall-mounted.  Which means my clothes will always be on display.  So, I'll either always have everything hung nicely.  Or my bedroom will look like a giant laundry explosion.  

(homedsgn via curbly)

(a lovely escape)

No news yet...

Being patient is... not easy.  Perhaps Google searching warehouse lofts is not a sensible activity - at least until sometime on Thursday.  The movers are booked.

All photos from Heather Garret Designs via Apartment Therapy.

Passing it on...

We took this wonderful cross Canada road trip when I was eight.  We spent two amazing weeks just outside of Halifax and stayed with a family my parents are very good friends with.  They owned this gorgeous 150 year old home - and I fell in love with it.  Those two weeks were spent shucking clams in the kitchen, picking raspberries and eating them while still warm from the sun, curling up in four poster beds at night and exploring every nook and cranny (of which there were quite a few) of the property.  Ever since that trip, I've wanted to buy a ramshackle old house and fix it up.

This house was my dream and I'm really proud of what we did for it.  Seven years of non-stop renovations that included living without functional plumbing and exposed, cracked sewer pipes, sleeping in the dining room, gaping holes in the foundation in the middle of winter, the front porch being taken out by an errant bobcat and showering next to the kitty litter in the basement.  I won't ever take on a project of this magnitude again.  But I'm glad I did it.

I know that the new owners are so excited to move in and are smitten with their soon-to-be home.  This is my last post about my love story with my old house and the beginning of theirs.

My House

The House Post Bobcat.

After - But still with wet paint on the steps

The Entry

 The Entry - Before.  The house has great bones.  And a lot of maroon wallpaper.

 After

 After

After

The Living and Dining Rooms

 Living Room - Before

Living and Dining Room - Before

Living Room - After

Dining Room - After

Another Shot of the Dining Room - After

The Kitchen

The Kitchen - Post SubFloor and Tile Replacement

Another Before Shot of the Kitchen - Aww dog bowls.  

After - Amazing what a coat of paint on everything, a little bit of subway tile and new counters will do.

 I think it turned out well.  Smudge appears to be enjoying himself.

I liked the crystal knobs we found.

The Landing

 When we first bought the house, the floor was covered in ugly grey and maroon flecked berber.  Removing the carpet was not the solution we had first hoped.  So, we gutted it.

So ugly.  also, is that my bra?  Weird.

 The landing now.

Towards the stairs.  I loved Dianne's art that she kindly lent to stage the house.  She's an amazing artist.  

The Curved Stairwell, looking down.  The stairwell was originally designed and made in England and then shipped over to Canada and installed.  It's gorgeous and unique to the home.  

 My cats are evil with furniture.

The Stairs Leading to the Half Story

The Master and Dressing Room

 We took two ugly, small rooms upstairs, opened them to each other through a reproduction archway and created a very relaxed, quiet space with oodles and oodles of closets.  This was bedroom #1 that is still a bedroom.

And equally hideous bedroom number two that is now the dressing room.

 A long shot of both rooms.

 Stubb's Construction does excellent trim and detail work.

 The middle closet houses the washer and dryer.

The second bank of closets and a shot of the original door that was painted out black (BM's Toucan Black - it's a great blue-black)

The Bathroom

 I've posted these before so I'll not post too many photos.  This room was converted to the spa bath with clawfoot tub, double washstands and a rainmaker glass shower.

 The original bath was cannibalized for the spa bath and is now a small bathroom with toilet and pedestal sink.  It's a good option to separate these out from the shower and tub if you only have one bath in the house

 I love these washstands.

 The clawfoot tub with my favourite chandelier.

 I LOVE this shower.  I'm taking a good, long break from renovations but, in four or five years, it's the first thing I'm going to do in the warehouse *fingers crossed, knocking on wood*

The custom built open and closed storage and love seat (in terrible lighting!).

The Half Story

The half story wasn't half bad.  Ha!  All we did was paint and then repair the pony wall that had been half destroyed bringing the sectional sofa in after we converted this from a master bedroom into a media room.

Towards the walk-in closet.

Just a fresh coat of paint.

 Towards the walk-in closet.

I have a few other photos from the shoot that was done for the MLS listing saved at work that I'll add next week.  I really thought that I was going to be so sad to leave this house and with all of the condos I looked at, I tried to figure out how I could replicate the old house in the new, smaller space.  I think it's because I liked none of them nearly as much as my home and I could only see them as being pale, shabby replicas.  With the mortgage insurer indicating they weren't going to approve the small, overpriced condo I was attempting to remove conditions on because of the building's heritage designation and overall condition, I was back to the drawing board.  So, so glad I checked the warehouse district because I'm now working to remove conditions on a property I'm giddy over.  

On my wishlist of homes to own is an industrial warehouse conversion.  And it's beautiful - exposed brick, post and beam, gleaming hardwood, 11 foot ceilings, massive windows and fantastic finishings (the Wolf range and stainless steel sink and counters yes, the soapstone pedestal sink... not so much).  It's also decidedly practical as it's well priced, with new systems (the electrical panel and Crane furnace had me giggling, the windows are top notch as you can't hear ANY street noise) and both the warehouse building and the condo itself are in fantastic shape.  Please let the third time be the charm.

Here are the photos from the photoshoot for the house listing: