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Small Cool 2009: Bull City Loft
Little Division #47

Who Lives Here: 2
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Size: 850 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? In the living area you will see in one corner the bare concrete walls that remain from an old elevator. This reminds us of our building’s earlier life and contrasts in a very interesting way with the high red brick walls, black concrete floor and open wood beams across the ceiling.

Give Bull City Loft a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? The biggest challenge was dividing the large high ceilinged loft into distinct living, dining and bedroom areas, while maintaining the sense of a large open living space in essentially one room. IKEA, Apartment Therapy and HGTV have all been very helpful resources to us as we are finishing our home.

Give Bull City Loft a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!


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Tags

Small Cool 2009, loft, North Carolina, Little, Durham

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Comments (28)

Nice space

posted by SeanG on April 17th 2009 at 11:43am
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it seems like a lot more could have been done with that brick wall. trying to treat a feature like that as though it were a regular living room wall just looks wrong.

that said, i love the bedroom area - good job defining separate living spaces!

posted by daniny on April 17th 2009 at 12:16pm
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You have a great space to work with! I like the textured brick wall in the living room. I think bigger art-work on the brick wall behind the dining table would look great. Or maybe an arrangement of lots of art...maybe some plants in the windows to liven up the industrial look...
I'm not sure that the couch really fits the aesthetic of the rest of the place. If you win, maybe you can get a sleek modern sofa.

posted by ensuenos on April 17th 2009 at 12:22pm
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good bones... the rest..meh

posted by Jmack1 on April 17th 2009 at 12:39pm
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Color me confused - Is the entry behind the wardrobe in the bedroom?

While I like the space - alot more could have been done with it to make it special.

posted by bepsf on April 17th 2009 at 1:01pm
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The furnishings are heinous as are the tiles in the bathroom. On the other hand the exposed brick is amazing. This person should trade spaces with someone who wants to take better advantage of it.

posted by kevoncubine on April 17th 2009 at 1:05pm
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Nice space but the living room needs a do-over - especially the couch and rug. Love the walls!

posted by GreenGeckoUSA on April 17th 2009 at 1:38pm
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Thumbs up - I like that you've kept that rough'n'ready look rather than over-designing it. You've clearly thought carefully about your furniture and you've really preserved an industrial quality about the place (in a good way!). Having said that, if you felt like replacing that couch, that woudl be good too ;)

posted by idontdobeige on April 17th 2009 at 2:08pm
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See, I couldn't live in your space cause I would just keep buying more and more stuff. You have so much space! Good for you.

posted by FilthyMcNasty on April 17th 2009 at 2:41pm
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Fabuloso!

posted by temaokun on April 17th 2009 at 3:03pm
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A gorgeous space, but the decor leaves something to be desired. The couch, for one thing, looks really out of place in that living room. And you're not really taking advantage of the high ceilings...the furniture and art looks a little lost in all that space.

posted by slowdown on April 17th 2009 at 3:03pm
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Interesting space. Decor, not so much.

posted by LinePlaneVolume on April 17th 2009 at 3:30pm
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The thing I love about this place is the brick, thats about it, it reminds me of Lulu Carpenters in Santa Cruz, a very cozy coffee shop there

posted by piffdos on April 17th 2009 at 5:09pm
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Reminds me of "Friends"... do you live with Rachel and Monica and Phoebe?

posted by Jesse Lu on April 17th 2009 at 7:14pm
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I can see a great collection of art displayed on those brick walls...big bold pieces. I like the exposed brick.

posted by junklover on April 17th 2009 at 8:38pm
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This is a beautiful but difficult space. The long brick wall overwhelms it and the big bright windows on one end makes the other end very, very dark. It's not easy decorating a place like this.

posted by Clopes on April 17th 2009 at 10:21pm
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This room would be so great if the couch and rugs were different.

posted by ftpansy on April 17th 2009 at 11:49pm
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love the walls!

posted by redgirl_bkk on April 18th 2009 at 3:09am
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interesting place - something more should be done with the concrete and the brick wall - what I don't know - but it does present a challenge

posted by goduke1 on April 18th 2009 at 6:42am
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Looks like Lisa's been around

posted by welsb001 on April 18th 2009 at 9:20am
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I'm moving to Durham and would love a loft like this.

posted by meganpardue on April 18th 2009 at 9:50am
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couch is going very soon, one to match the single chair will be arriving.

posted by richzing on April 18th 2009 at 10:07am
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Its tricky because the apartment entry door is directly behind the recently installed bedroom cupboard. that hallway now needs some attention too. I think a heavy curved rail above attached to wardrobe corner across the foot of the bed to the bathroom wall and thick interesting fabric curtains might shield off the bed area when guests visit. That might be one good solution?

posted by richzing on April 18th 2009 at 10:13am
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love it

posted by eaton007 on April 18th 2009 at 1:16pm
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It's beautiful! I love the Kitchen! No criticism at all! But think you need a few reminders of where you came from: like a nice Nguni cow hide on those stunning concrete lounge floors with a big brown colonial leather couch & a big canvas of a CT sunset over the mountain! ;)

posted by IsabellaSA on April 18th 2009 at 2:24pm
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Oh like the idea of fabric curtains, but maybe trade thick heavy curtains for lots of light sheer fabric- this will be more airy and help keep the wide open feel of the apartment.

posted by IsabellaSA on April 18th 2009 at 2:27pm
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Looks Great!!! Think the Lisa's couches will be a great touch. Love the kitchen and the dividers. The walls are SWEET!!!!

posted by loraleevw on April 18th 2009 at 6:07pm
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I love the concrete wall! Looks industrial... Really cool!

posted by jaysmithphishin on April 18th 2009 at 6:28pm
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