apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Impressive.
Nice, not too empty for minimalist feel, varied furniture. Cool elegance. Very "AD" in that way.

Oh, and nice taste in modern art as well ;-)

Grrrr, I can't make the photos bigger in the gallery. :(
Is that coatrack in the bathroom? BRILLIANT!

What a great home you've made for yourselves.

I have to say that I am most envious of your kitchen - all that space and light, and those cabinets... just fantastic.

I love the fact that even though it's a HUGE space and somewhat sparse, it's still warm and inviting. Really beautiful. I love the very used and most likely loved stove/oven.

8100 sf??? Really? I can't imagine what that would've cost to purchase, let alone heat. Eesh. Doesn't seem very "minimalist to me. And, there's only one picture of said "dream kitchen", but by the looks of it, I wonder if a chef would really love it...no counter space next to the range...on either side???

This is why I need to move out of San Francisco.

Love the unexpected contrast of the exterior with the clean and simple modernish inside.

OK, these people are professional designers, right? The paint, the colors, the furnishings, the blue cabinets in the kitchen. If this woman didn't use "pop" as a verb in her post, I would have thought she was superhuman. Thank God for the yellow print wing-chair. I was going to lay down and die unless I saw something mundane in this house.

So it's hell to heat. These people are living.

i live in waukegan! wow its awesome to see something like that exists here, who would have known! -if you know waukegan you know what i mean!

could you possibly list some more specific local resources? i occassionally hit up the thrift stores and once in a great while i'll find something great...

you obviously know something i dont though!

lovely home!

is it just me or the AT photo-galleries horrible. Would it be so bad to do a longer post an include the photos and maybe get a little commentary on them. Or just get a better system for the galleries.

Usually if there is a post i want to look through but it's in one of the galleries, i won't even look at it and hit the back button.

What does "managing" a crying infant have to do with this house? Confusing.

Enjoy the open basement space though, makes me want to rollerskate!

What does "managing" a crying infant have to do with this house? Confusing.

I'm guessing an infant's cry would really reverberate in this house.
Unless, of course, they mean "managing to ignore a crying infant."

I'm guessing a crying infant will be less of a problem than a running toddler. Chasing a 2yo around my newly-rented 2000sq.f. ranch is a challenge, I can't imagine what it would be in a 8000sq.f. I'm buying a smaller house.

It looks great, but personally I wouldn't be able to live there. Too large. I would feel small and lonely. But then again that's just me.

like a big piece of chocolate cake....decadent (size) and delicious (everything they've done with it).

I love it! The light and the space alone are gorgeous. Does anyone know where to get a modern-style clean-lined fourposter bed like the one in the second bedroom picture? That is exactly what we've been looking for . . . .

8100 sf???? ??? please affirm that that is the actual sq. footage, cause that's insane.

confirm i meant... but at this hour, affirm does sound better

I'm with contralto on the search for a comparable, contemporary 4 poster bed. The only one featured in AT that is "locatable" is the EQ3 Milo, but the disparaging comments on its quality scared us off. Anyone have any suggestions?

I think it looks fantastic, it's not my style personally, but it's very well done. I love the loft space and the stove in the living area is unexpected and very cool.
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

Now these are the kinds of house tours I love. Something to aspire to.

I laughed at LoriSF's comment - after the first two pictures my thoughts were "this makes me want to get out of NYC"

You must have a skip in your step all the time. What a wonderful place to call home.

That said, I'm a bit aghast at the restaurant range in a house of non cooks.

8100 ft !!!! Wow! I hope you have a walk-in closet.

Lovemcm:

For the four poster bed, try Room and Board.

Not my personal style but nice. I think I'd feel like I was being swallowed by all the openess though...I just like a bit more coziness and privacy.

wow. pretty cool. the only thing i don't like is how many different types of flooring there seems to be.

"I know Paola because she works at the Design Within Reach showroom closest to my home."

This place LOOKS like a DWR showroom. so i guess if that's what you're going for, you've succeeded. but i hope not, DWR is played out.

DWR is basically Ikea for people with more money.

Are you looking to adopt a 26 year old daughter? May I move in with you?

8100 sq ft is larger than most of the monster homes I know!

My favourite space, the one that hangs in my head even though I have no hope of anything even remotely similar, is Axel Vervoordt's Kanaal showroom in Belgium. It is an industrial building (grain storage and offices I believe), and there is a canal right outside the window... when you sit on the 10' sofa in the pictures below (the second image from the left, main building 1st floor) it is absolutely magical...

http://www.axel-vervoordt.com/avpublic/(S(tjb0gb55rb34lu45kdiwcj45))/kanaal/photo.html#%23

My inclination therefore would be to leave the space at "brute" as possible, as at Kanaal, and find oversized and antique industrial pieces -- celebrate the space.

As for the floors, I yearn to have polished concrete or perhaps reclaimed antique oak floors... (there was some featured in last month's Domino -- the item on the Dwell founder's loft), and definitely some kind of rubber or poured flooring in the kitchen which is kinder underfoot than tile over concrete (it's brutal to stand on that for long!)...

However, these are only my personal approaches... As you can see, I very much envy the opportunity for such a project as living inside a former switching station, but admittedly there are challenges...

Heating and energy costs for sure! We have friends who just installed a geothermal pump and are enjoying enormous savings; is that even a remote possibility for you? In Germany, many people have solar panels on their roofs generating energy -- they sell the excess to local energy boards for profit (we are sooo far behind on this stuff!) -- which is another possibility. And did you ever check into soapstone ovens and fireplaces? They burn cleaner and are more efficient than traditional woodstoves and fireplaces, and provide a lovely radiant heat:

http://www.tulikivi.com/www/kotien.nsf/WWWTakka/Radiant%20Heat!OpenDocument&id=TE2

As big as the space is though, I'm not sure how you would carve out 2 children's bedrooms (average number of kids) -- you definitely wouldn't want to put them in a loft until they were older!

Lovely space; good luck.

Your space is wonderful. I've always wanted to buy an old fire station and renovate it, now I"ll keep my eyes open for utility buildings. I'm sorry to hear you're having hvac issues, I hope you can eventually resolve them.

I wish you all the very best with your home.

Nice space...a bit too open and sparse for me though. I wouldn't know what to do with 8,100 sq. ft...that is monstrous!

I know Paola and John and what's amazing is that they moved into that huge place from a small 700 sq ft loft in the city. Thank goodness for Good Will! It's crazy that this huge place only has two bedrooms (just like my 1000 sq ft condo). Congrats Pao on your beautiful space. It was worth all the effort.

I want to move in. I live in 500 sf so 8,100 sf is amazing. I don't have enough stuff to fill 8,100 square feet so I would have to go on a shopping spree for a year or two.

Love the space, but your property taxes have got to hurt!

Waukegan - who knew? Likeable cool.

Oh, wow. Wow.

Thanks for your comments guys!
you'd be surprised the homes available in waukegan!

To be honest, coming from a 900 sf city condo...it took us (including our 2 Dauschunds) a few weeks to get used to the space.

mschatelaine: that industrial building in Belgium is amazing...and yes, our next project will be to rip up all the flooring in the first floor and do white polished concerete to highlight the architecture of the space.

Oh, btw, Erinpearce...hello neighbor!

Sally Ann, as my husband calls (Salvation Army) on Grand is huge and they get some northshore leftovers!

But I have found some great pieces at the Thrift store accross the street from Sally Ann on grand (north side of grand). and the Goodwill in Mundelein...another Northshore leftover spot.

Let me know if you know of others-) Paola

fabulous!

thanks so much for the info phoskins! i have never checked out the mundelien one... so i will definitely have to.

oh... there are a couple thrift stores in kenosha that i've found some cool things at (the goodwill on highway 50, and one on 22nd ave)

I absolutely adore everything about your home. Simply beautiful.

Drool Your Industrialspace.

"DYI" ... really stands for ....what? "Do Yourself In"? THat'd be so fitting...LOL. Hubby once glued his own eyes shut while trying some DIY WITHOUT proper safety gear!

Sorry. My bad.
Your place is Fab! You can super-insulate and then you're laughing!

Very nice! Since I am from NYC, where a 500 SF one bedroom goes for $500K (yes, even in this economy!), I am amazed by the open space.

I love the swoopy sculpture on the coffee table. Where is that from?

Cold, cold, cold. Have to admit that minimalism is not my thing, and I hope that the owners add color, art on the vast walls, and something personal. I know that homes are cleaned up and arranged for photos, but where there's life, there's beauty. Much too carefully contrived for my taste.
With so much space, do something flamboyant and unexpected.

This building was originally rehabbed by me and my husband, Norman, who was a city planner and artist. The day we first saw it was a rainy, dreary day and the building had been totally vacant for over five years. To add to the gloom, there was a leaky drinking fountain sitting in a corner. The building had only housed racks of transistor bulbs---basically a huge radio between Chicago and Milwaukee. Since no one had ever been inside, it was an place of mystery and the first house walk drew people from all over the Chicago area. The house was featured in the Tribune and twice in a national magazine. Our furnishings were much more austere. Many of them came from Knoll and the rest were family antiques. The north side of the house was Norm's painting studio and office with his large paintings of abstract landscapes and nudes on all the walls. We loved to entertain and our Christmas parties were famous. Over 180 people came to the last one. Truly a wonderful place to live.