apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I live in a loft, too, and my best advice would be to live in the space for at least a month or two before rushing out to buy furniture. You already have a sectional, sofa and chair so you won't be sitting on the floor. Get a sense of how you will actually use the space before you buy something.

Unless you are planning to have a LOT of houseguests, I personally wouldn't spend the time or money to enclose the area around a sofa when it's used as a sleeping space.

Not sure why you want to close off the kitchen - the combo kitchen/living room layout is pretty standard in a loft. You might consider adding an island or a restaurant-style prep table (depending on your style) to add some functionality, though.

I'd recommend the Ikea PAX system for replacement closet doors and freestanding closets.

I'll second Kathryn's advise. I moved in to my loft last year and I glad I waited to buy furniture...although even after living there I've still made some buying mistakes.

Furnishing a big open space is a lot harder than you think it is...the scale of your pieces becomes a major issue...move what furniture you have and play around with it in the space before ordering any additional pieces.

I second the advice of holding off for a month or two before doing ANYTHING.

Also, think of the things you have, such as what kind of TV do you have, is it flat panel (LCD/Plasma) or is it a conventional TV? Things like that can determine what you can do. Most flat panel sets can be hung on the wall if you wish, some of the wall mounts allow you to move the TV up/down, angle it if necessary by a few degrees. Also, do you have lots fo books, media etc, as that needs to be factored into the equation too. So living in the space will tell you what you need.

I do also go along with the suggestion moving furniture around to decide what will work in the space. Look into closet storage organizational stuff from say Closet Maid where you can have mult level racks, drawers, bins etc to hang all of your stuff and you may be able to utilize the back wall as well.

You have a lot of space on the ground floor to be flexible, but do ensure that the windows and TV don't compete for prime focal point if you can help it. If anything, creat a seperate TV viewing area where one of the couches may be used there and the other, say the sectional can be used in the main area near the windows as a suggestion.

But do live with the space, move things around and let the space talk to you and a solution(s) will come.

Sounds like you already have too much furniture - a brown leather sectional AND a red leather sofa & chair? Too much leather!!!

After you move in, either put the sectional or the sofa on Craigslist and use the funds for something else (preferably, fabric-covered...).

Any don't try to close off the kitchen: if anything, get a freestanding unit that you can use as an island in the kitchen.

maybe she likes leather! Give her a break!

You are receiving good advice on living in space for a little while to identify your needs and how you use the space. To help identify opportunities for "rooms" in an open floor plan, draw some dotted lines to grid your floorplan. For instance, what looks like a window nook at the front of your space, could be considered a separate "room" by drawing a dotted horizontal line on the plan. This space could become a reading nook, an office idea or a dining space. Draw a vertical line to that rectangle from your kitchen sink wall. Eventually you will have a blocked or gridded floorplan. This will aid you when floating sofas/consoles, etc... and visually create the separations you are seeking.

Also, if you are not prepared to remove anything at this time, add some complimentary textures to mask the leather on leather thing. Wool, cashmere, or mohair throw on chair juxtaposed with a silk or satin pillow will add some warmth to the space. Patterns with both red and brown will tie that color scheme all together too.

Can you add a closet under the stairs? That could add a lot of storage to your space.

I'm guessing the upstairs is open to the downstairs. You might consider using the panel systems at IKEA for providing some privacy upstairs, which can be moved off to the side as needed.

Dining table will be located under the overhang of the master bedroom.

Best advice I've ever heard, that I continue to pass along:
Design and furnish your home for the way you live 95% of the time.

Extreme example to show WHY you do that. You have big company, lots of family, family reunion, and you have 15 people over. Would you seriously consider having sleeping and dining always available for 15 people? No? I didn't think so.

So if there is you and your husband, you need seating for two. If you have company once a month, you can have extra chairs, but they don't need to be part of a set that is located at a mile-long table that seats 10.

AND, how often DO you dine at home? Do you always have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the table? Every day? If you are grabbing breakfast on the go, eating lunch out, and rarely cook, then it seems silly to have a dining set that won't be used and that space could be used for something else. Something that you DO always do. Something that you WOULD always use.

The space is YOURS to arrange around YOUR life. Not the life of others, not the life you dream of living or think you should be living. But the one you have now.

Those first couple months will help you to decide what it is you really need.

Does it echo? So you will need more textiles to absorb the sound.

Is it too bright? You may need light filtering blinds.

How much extra storage and of what kind? You could probably put a wardrobe on either side of the bedroom doors, on the inside of the bedroom. Mirrored doors could help brighten it up, if it is a dark area. While deep-toned doors could help make it less bright. You'll find that out by LIVING in your cool new space.

It looks like it will be a WONDERFUL space to have to yourselves. If you can tell us more about what you need the space to DO for you, maybe folks will be able to give more suggestions.

[Upstairs, in the bedroom, we have no idea how to utilize the weird little but long annex space; the work-in closed is quite small, so maybe a free standing closet, but how would we access it?]

This space looks quite narrow, maybe 30 to 36 inches? If it were me, I'd either used if for tall bookcases or closed storage for shoes or sweaters and the like. Both of these solutions are narrow and still provide access.

I think waiting for a while is excellent advice. Good luck. It looks like a great place.