Love the beams!

Curious, so the babies room is only accessible from your room? What are you planning on doing when they get older? I'd imagine there would be, uh, privacy issues.

Oh, Thank you. When I saw the before I was afraid that fireplace would be in the after. Nice update.

It's gorgeous--congrats! Where in the world did you get that much marble on a small budget?? ;)

Yeah, why the hell was there a fireplace there (in the before pic) in the first place??!

Looks very nice :) Love the beams.

My only concern is the baby's room... the kid would have to go through your room to get to its room when it's older... and you'll have to go through the kid's room to get to the bathroom.

I'm sure you've thought all this already, and I hope you have a long-term plan!

Otherwise congrats on making this small yet beautiful space functional for employees and residents :)

i am so glad you got rid of the fireplace...job well done!

You live in Chicago and you got rid of the fireplace. SMH

uh, yeah - still gorgeous and awesome.

I kind of agree with luvdecor. The fire place may have been strangely proportioned, but in the middle of today's snowstorm where I live, I'd give my right arm for one.

Dang based on that new floorplan I'd love to see more pics! I'm a loft-dweller as well. The rustic beams look killer in the after, much more stand-out than when they competed with the wood cabinets. In love with them.

Why did you take away a bedroom only to turn a walk-in closet into a tiny baby bedroom?
Makes no sense.

I second (third? fourth?) on the bedroom floor plan. I wonder why you didn't opt to put the bathroom between baby room and master bedroom, jack and jill style, with separate doors.

@Coletta- I agree with you. I can't figure out why you would get rid of one bedroom to turn a walk-in closet into a baby's room. Seems like you would be hurting the resale value of your place.

When they want to sell the loft, they can rebuild the wall/closet of the 2nd bedroom along the hallway and put a closet system in the baby's room. No actual space was lost here people! They are just repurposing it for their needs.

Also, that fireplace was poorly designed so I'd argue that it was NOT an asset.

It's not really clear to me from the plans that they did anything structurally to change the WIC to a baby's room. If that's the case, the resell value is fine. Also, people don't always make changes based on resale values.

I think the place looks fantastic, btw.

I'd put the baby's room in lieu of bath #2 since it looks the same size as the walking closet and I would use the office/dining area as a 3rd bedroom..

i think it looks great.

tearing down a partition wall to make the space function as a workplace is relatively inexpensive to do, and easy to replace when they sell.

removing a bathroom would definitely be costly and would hurt the resale value. also the bathroom has no window, so could not be counted as a bedroom when time comes to resell.

I *need* to see a full tour

HAHA you guys really made me laugh. IDK when this couple will move to a bigger place but I understand comepletely their decisions to make the baby room where it was. First off I can relate to wanting 2 bathrooms if they have 2 employees in the house all through the week. THey can keep the hall one clean and not stress about how their master bath looks. (this is important when you have a toddler) Secondly, I have a 16 month old and if any of the naysayers out there had kids they would realize that it doesn't matter that "the kid has to go through his parents room to get to his" It will be quite a few years before he is putting himself to bed besides if you have a baby or toddler you never sleep unless they do so you really don't need "privacy" during waking hours...maybe I shoud say you won't get any. And as for the lack of access to the master bath...a small compromise IMHO. If their kid sleeps anything like mine I could slip right through there if need be without disturbing her a bit.

I love this redesign! The Before kitchen did not translate as a "loft kitchen". The Before kitchen's obtrusive fireplace looks like it was just put there without thought or design. The new kitchen's cabinets are sleek and compliment the contemporary glass tile back splash. With the fireplace gone, it opens up the space and reveals the gorgeous wood beams and exposed brick.

http://www.missionstonetile.com/blog/

I too would love to see more! Also, it would be great to get some details about the floor makeover. Did you DIY? It is paint or stain? What color and brand? Any details would be much appreciated. I recently bought a loft with similar floors and beams and it is just too much wood.

Perhaps they are planning on returning to the WIC they had before - when the baby is old enough to be in it's own room?

OOPS - my bad. Thought I saw a 2nd bedroom there. Time for glasses!

I second (third? fourth?) on the bedroom floor plan. I wonder why you didn't opt to put the bathroom between baby room and master bedroom, jack and jill style, with separate doors.

Because that would mean moving and refitting the ensuite bathroom, at a five figure cost. That in turn might have meant forgoing other things that they actually wanted.

As for those wondering how they go to the bathroom without disturbing the baby... I'm guessing that, if it's an issue, they could always undergo the massive ordeal of walking a few more feet to the other bathroom.

It's Katherine here. Didn't know my place made it until someone on Facebook told me.

Some answers -
Yes, our son who is not yet 6 month is in our future walk in closet. This was a HUGE debate in our house. We are giving ourselves 18-24 months to get the business income consistent enough to be able to rent an outside office. Then, the office/original second bedroom will become the child's room. And if we have a second kid, back in the closet for him. Also, when we looked at daycares for our son, the infant rooms that they spend the first 18 months of their life in, many did not have windows. So we said to hell with that, who cares if he sleeps in the dark, he spends all day in sunshine. Plus, he sleeps all night and that is AWESOME!

-Kitchen is all IKEA. We assembled and hacked as needed
-Countertop is Corian Bianco Carrera. 1 1/4" for counter and sides, 1/2" for backsplash.
-Appliances are Bosch except for IKEA microwave and integrated dishwasher.
-Bookshelves and desk [not in the photos, but they are mounted to the wall below the bookshelves] were made by my husband.
-Floor - I will have to check what was used in the end. I LOVED our floor guys. The quick dry Sentico top coat, very much so NOT eco friendly.
-The fireplace was UGLY and a ventless gas fireplace with those ugly logs. And on top of it had an alcove for a cathode ray TV. Do you want to watch your flatscreen in a box? Think not. I couldn't stand in the kitchen and look out the windows. We demo'd that ourselves. 4 hours / two people [one pregnant]
-As for resale. We are living here for a while. We thought about customizing our place even MORE than it is but held back because we are some strange cats and not everyone might be into white epoxy floors [the original floor choice]
-Our unit faces south and west, so with the passive solar gain, the heat absorption on the black floors, we have temps in the space a balmy 76-80 when sunny. So on snowmaggedon, our heat didn't kick on until after sunset. So sure, fireplaces our awesome, but gas bills under $100 [for three straight years] are better.

Thank you for your comments!
Katherine

One last TMI for everyone concerned with 'privacy' issues. Having sex only in the bedroom is for amateurs.

Katherine

i'm hoping those are barn doors and not pocket doors.

@workhouse -
barn doors were considered very briefly, but because of the adjacent closet to bathroom 02 and the future use of the baby's room as a walk in closet, they would have consumed precious wall space and decreased our ability to alter the rooms as needed. While pocket doors are not my favorite, especially when the contractor does not build them to our specifications, they do serve a valuable purpose of increasing useable square footage in both the bathrooms. Normally this might not be an issue, but when you are hunched over a bath everynight, you don't want to compete for space with a door swing.

@Janel -
You can come by for a house tour anytime. Showing more live/work spaces that accommodate families would be a good addition to ATC. There are many mothers and fathers out there that are doing the same juggling act while not compromising on design. Kids and design can coexist.

I second that TMI, Katherine. here's to thinking outside the box! (or floor plan)

More before and after photos can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=278216&id=309731806668

Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/LATENTDESIGN

Wow, job well done on the rehab! I live in the same neighborhood and know this building; walk the dog past it daily. Love the corner units, huge windows, tons of natural light and character. There isn't a single thing that I don't like about your remodel. Thanks for sharing.

gorgeous improvements! thank you for sharing!
could you please explain what you did to the brick to have it go from the red to lighter brick?
many thanks!

THANK GOD someone finally gave a heads up (ahem) that there ARE places other than the bed to have sex!!! I cannot tell you how many people have asked us that question regarding our family bed. LOVE the way you put it!

Thanks for explaining your reasons Katherine. It all makes sense now, and seems like a very clever way of getting round the constraints put on you by space and budget considerations. Fingers crossed then that you'll be ready for the external office on schedule.
Oh and the apartment makeover is fantastic!