Loft

In this 650 square foot loft studio, located in a small town just above Dallas, the theme is airy, minimal and cool. What sets this space apart from other minimally decorated homes is how warm and inviting it is—despite not having a lot of “stuff.” You can get this look in your home (no matter its size)—Drew provided the exact shopping resources for nearly every item in his Texas home!

Name: Kristin, Nathan, and Addison (a schnauzer/poodle mix) Location: Ukrainian Village — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: 10 months, owned Kristin and Nathan haven’t been in their loft for long, but it sure doesn’t show. Especially impressive when you learn how much work they had to do after purchasing the space. The chain smoking previous owner had been there for years and the loft was covered in (stinky) carpet.

Name: Aelfie Oudghiri, her husband, their daughter, and Shah the cat Location: Brooklyn, NY Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned Fans of textile, furniture, and accessories company Aelfie are familiar with the brand’s stylish offerings—quirky graphics, loud colors, patterns that complement (and sometimes even clash, in a good way).

"I love all my chairs. I'm a chair person, and all my chairs have a story," interior designer JJ Acuna says.

Name: Thierry Chow and Peter Yuill Location: Hong Kong Size: 1,600 square feet Years Lived In: Rent for 2 good years Forget all the outdated notions of what you think feng shui is about—that isn’t what expert Thierry Chow practices. Under her company, TRE, this modern master blends ancient feng shui concepts in all aspects of design (including fashion) with the contemporary world.

Name: Ashley Taylor and Tymer Tilton and their dog Moseby Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Golden accents around this Red Hook loft shimmer in the warm sunlight beaming through a large south-facing window. Healthy green plants cheerfully spread their leaves from corners, tabletops, and even the ceiling. A deep, soothing teal grounds the space.

Name: Gianni Ruggiero, his wife Valeria Dubin, and their two daughters Olivia and Mila Location: Barcelona — Spain Size: 2,153 square feet Years lived in: 8 years, renting This big open Barcelona loft has seen a lot over its lifetime. In the 1960s, it was a photography studio, welcoming lots of models and colorful characters into its airy interior. When that photographer retired, he moved out and let his son rent the place: Gianni, an architect who appreciates simplicity in things.

The building has a modern, minimal style with concrete floors, white walls, sleek cabinetry, and sliding glass bedroom doors.

"If nothing goes together, everything goes together."

Name: Maggie Williams Location: St-Henri, Montreal Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1 year Maggie‘s old converted Montreal loft is visually striking and incredibly spacious, but in the wrong hands, its industrial elements could dominate. Thankfully, Maggie’s always loved thrifting and finding beauty in other people’s discarded items. She hunts for unwanted furniture pieces, repairing and refinishing them.

Name: Victoria Bartlett, designer and stylist Location: Bedford-Stuyvesant — Brooklyn, New York Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 1 year When I first spotted Victoria Bartlett‘s Brooklyn loft in a posting on Dezeen, I knew that it was a very beautiful space—and that I wanted to photograph it for Apartment Therapy. But I still wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I arrived.

Name: Brittany Shields, husband Brett, brown lab, Bear, and little tabby cat, Gus Location: Midtown — Atlanta, Georgia Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, renting From a creative family, Brittany started her interior design company, Penny Shields, in 2010. It’s named after her “quirky and edgy grandmother,” and she offers her design services on residential and commercial projects.

Name: Bailey Li of Bailey Li Interiors Location: The Valley Arts District — Orange, New Jersey Size: 670 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting I love the idea of residing in a restored firehouse that is now used as a live/work art gallery that houses a group of creatives from different mediums! It’s like living in a piece of history that is birthing a new story.

Name: Emily Location: Kansas City, Missouri Size: Living room/kitchen, 975 square feet I am sharing the living room and kitchen space of my loft apartment. I am 27 and moved into my one-bedroom apartment one year ago. The building was previously an industrial space and was converted into loft apartments within the last 15-20 years during the revival of Kansas City’s downtown Arts neighborhood, known as the Crossroads District.

Project by: Jacqueline Palmer Location: Oakland, California With exposed beams, a spiral staircase and 1,200 square feet Jacqueline had a pretty fantastic starting point. She was able to mix really well chosen pieces of different styles to create a home that is welcoming and stylish.

Name: Jeanette Moncada and Mikul Eriksson Location: Emeryville, California Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 4 Months; Rented Jeanette and Mikul have lived in their Emeryville open factory loft for a mere four months, but they sure have nailed down their own rhythm and routine. The two creatives run Sugar Sugar Studio, a rental space for video and still shoots, just off of the apartment’s kitchen area.

Name: Heidi Unkefer (left), Brittany Meyer (right) & Jess Manning Location: Wicker Park/East Village; Chicago, Illinois Years lived in: 3 years (Brittany), 1.5 years (Heidi), 0.5 years (Jess) This is no brand-new condo made to look like an industrial space with high ceilings and exposed ducts; this is a paint-on-the-floor, full of history, open and raw, ever-evolving space, one that has changed in size and configuration over the years depending on whomever was living there at the moment.

Name: Becca Kannapell Location: Noble Square; Chicago, Illinois Size: Approximately 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; Rented When Becca and her boyfriend moved from New York City to Chicago a year ago, they were amazed by their new-found apartment options. Both of them lived in tiny 400-square-foot apartments in Manhattan, and now they have all this space to create in — and Becca has been taking full advantage.

Name: Danielle Suppa & Mark James Location: Toronto; Ontario, Canada Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned This loft is home to Danielle and Mark, a creative and sporty duo, and is located in Toronto’s emerging West End. The building was originally the manufacturing portion of an early 19th century train factory and was converted into a residential space in 2008.

Name: Eloïse and Jose Location: Verdun; Montreal, Canada Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; Rented It’s always impressive to enter a big, open, high-ceilinged living space, filled with huge windows, abundant natural light, and a massive brick wall. Despite these delightful architectural features, it could be quite challenging to make this type of room feel cozy, balanced, and comfortable, but Jose and Eloïse achieved it by simply using a few helpful tricks.

Name: Gregory Keith Metcalf Location: Downtown Arts District; Los Angeles, CA Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: Less than a year; Rented Fellow photographer Greg Metcalf and I have been friends for years. A move from the suburbs of Silver Lake to the Arts District of Downtown LA has offered Greg quite a contrast in architecture, neighborhood, and lifestyle. I jumped at the chance to shoot his new place; I love a good loft and this home exemplifies the true meaning of live/work space.

Name: Kelley Bozarth, an environmental graphic designer, + Matthew Deal, a digital marketer Location: Downtown Salisbury, North Carolina Size: 1250 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; rented Living with a significant other for the first time, Kelley and Matt were pleasantly surprised to see how well their thrifted finds and hand-me-downs blended together. With their wedding on the horizon, Kelley and Matt have made this downtown rental into a home.

Name: Tyler Antrup and Matthias Helfen Location: St Roch; New Orleans, Louisiana Size: 850 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; Owned Tyler and Matthias’ cottage, shared by kitty Bruce and pitbull rescue Omie Wise, is hard to miss when coming up their street. The Crayola-esque hues make the house stand out amongst the neighbors, many of which are in pre-renovation state.

Name: David Del Fonzo Location: Downtown; Los Angeles, CA Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 1 month; Rented David’s spacious Downtown LA studio epitomizes the ideal bachelor pad. Sturdy, industrial materials are combined with plush fabrics and personal accents from David’s childhood to create a handsome and inviting space with a healthy dose of personality. In just 1 month, David has turned a stark, cavernous studio into a functional and cozy living space.

Name: Danielle of Good Look’n Location: West Midtown; Atlanta, GA Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 5 Months Moving from Boston just four months ago, Danielle has just recently settled into her industrial style loft. She hasn’t let that stop her from creating a space that is all her own. After all, she also has made a business out of making things look, well, good!

Name: Jocelyn Location: Tribeca, Manhattan, New York Size: 2,000 square feet indoors Years lived in: 5.5 years; owned Jocelyn and her husband purchased a loft from a long time resident artist with great creative flair, but who made design choices that were very different than their own. Let the scraping begin.

Name: Katie Hackworth, principal designer and owner of H2 Design + Build, her husband Paul, their two daughters & three rescue mutts Location: Bellevue, Washington (a stone’s throw away from Seattle) Size: Approximately 1600 square feet Years lived in: 8 months; Rented Early last summer, Katie and her family decided to sell their modern farmhouse, which they built from 2010 to 2011. When the house sold, the new owners purchased about 75% of the furnishings.

Name: Bridget and Robert Park Location: Ballpark District, Denver, Colorado Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; rented Hailing from Seattle, these two newlyweds recently made the trek to Denver for a new adventure and grad school. After one year of living in the ballpark district of downtown Denver, a friend told them about an affordable housing program in the city that gave lower income households access to some of the city’s most beautiful historic lofts.

Name: Scott Jarrell and Kristan Cunningham, owners of Hammer + Spear Location: Downtown Arts District; Los Angeles, California Size: 3,500 square feet Years lived in: 4 years; Rented Kristan and Scott’s showroom Hammer + Spear has been a fixture of the DTLA Artist District for the past year. Their store is perfectly edited and styled with unpretentious perfection, so it’s no surprise that their home is a wonderful mixture of smart DIY solutions and collected vintage charms.

Name: Shelley Gainer Location: Toronto, Canada Size: 1100 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; owned The first place place that popped into my head after getting my Apartment Therapy gig was the beautiful loft of my friend (and former boss!) Shelley. This is as authentic as it gets for a loft, folks. The building was converted from a warehouse into lofts in 2003, featuring wood beams, brick walls, metal warehouse doors, concrete floors and huge windows.

Name: Shaun Sperling & Matt Leyes Location: Andersonville; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 3 years Matt and Shaun’s loft is a study in the type of creative freedom that comes from having a loft space, loving DIY projects, and joyfully merging two design styles.

Name: Sabreen & Terrence Madden Location: Lakeview; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,250 square feet Years lived in: 4 years There’s no better project for a newly married couple than to build a nest together – a place where the new commitment can grow with shared experiences. Finding the right place that represents both spouses can be tough, but Sabreen and Terrence found their perfect place in this historic loft, housed in the once popular Belmont Theatre.

Name: Ara Katz and Chris Ovitz Location: Abbot Kinney Boulevard; Venice, California Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 1 1/2 years Ara and Chris decided to move in together and looked endlessly for a loft, but couldn’t find the right space. They kept coming back to a loft building on Abbot Kinney as the model for their dream home, but every unit was already occupied. Ara constantly kept her eye on the building and after a long wait, a unit was finally available.

Name: Arthur Garcia-Clemente & Kristin Over Location: Printer’s Row, Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Rented When two interior designers move in together for the first time, to a loft space with only a few walls and even fewer enclosed rooms, the chances for design conflict run high.

Name: Brian & Kerry Grabowski Location: Jamaica Plain — Boston, Massachusetts Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 4.5 — owned Entering Brian & Kerry’s loft, the first thing you see is the courtyard. It’s hard to miss an entire wall of windows that reaches up to the 18-foot ceilings. “In the winter, it’s like living in a snow globe,” Brian reminisces, “…when it actually snows.

Name: Heather Chontos, Kodie (12) and Zana (3), and dog MarvinLocation: Clinton Hill — Brooklyn, New YorkSize: 1000 square feetYears lived in: 3 years — rent If this post title seems to have a lot of adjectives to describe the home, we felt it only fitting consider the creative woman renting this space happens to wear a lot of hats herself.

Name: Greg Hennes & Grey Helvey Location: South East — Portland, OregonSize: approximately 1600 square feetYears lived in: 6 months — rented Greg and Grey moved into their studio loft in January of this year. The vibe they’ve created is one of serene calm, mixed with innovation and creativity. The space is astounding, full of open air and light — it’s the ideal showcase for their Antler & Co. handmade goods.

Name: Jason, Meridith, and their two kids, Wylder and ArloLocation: Clinton, OklahomaSize: 3,000 square feetYears lived in: 1.5 When you think about the state of Oklahoma, hip loft living isn’t usually what comes to mind first. Well, this family isn’t exactly cookie-cutter and they’ve done some serious renovations to make their home top notch. Even though we’re in the middle of showcasing our smallest spaces, this one is anything but.

Name: Michael Stout, Joshua Lekwa & Walter ReplogleLocation: Bushwick — Brooklyn, New YorkSize: 1,100 square feetYears lived in: 8½ — rented What do you get when you put a designer, a comedian and an architect in an industrial loft with a notorious reputation? Inspired living!

Name: Rob and Barb Location: SoMa — San Francisco, CaliforniaSize: 1,100 square feetYears lived in: 1 — owned For Rob and Barb, it was loft-love at first sight. After months of seeing places in their price range that made them cringe, they happened upon this light-filled gem. The only problem was the small army of other folks who felt the same way. After riding the emotional rollercoaster of a bidding war and a very slow moving bank, their offer was accepted Christmas week of 2009.

Name: Orna of Designs by Orna and Reid Willis with their daughter Nina and puppy EstherLocation: Northern Liberties — Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSize: 2,950 square feet — 3 bedrooms Years lived in: 6 — own Being an artist certainly gives you an advantage in the realm of design. Artists already have an eye for design and color, so it’s only natural for their homes to be large pieces of art.

Name: Jan McCarthy and Jerry McCarthy Location: Eastern Columbia Building – Downtown Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: 1650 Square FeetYears lived in: 3 1/2 Years This lovely home belongs to the parents of one of my good friends. Jan and Jerry’s loft is in the Eastern Columbia building. The industrial building is one of my favorite loft spaces in downtown Los Angeles and is known for the Kelly Wearstler designs in the public areas.

Name: Kate Bingaman-Burt & Clifton BurtLocation: Portland, OregonSize: 600 square feetYears lived in: 2 Kate and Clifton have done an amazing job showing off the items they’ve collected while maintaining a great live/work space in their small lofted apartment. You may be familiar with Kate’s art-project-turned-book, Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, a collection of ink drawings cataloging many of her daily purchases.

Name: Christopher Cushingham Location: Downtown Los Angeles, California Size: 780 Square Feet Years lived in: 6 months Large windows are a valued element to loft living. Chris worked as a residential window cleaner growing up, which helped develop his appreciation for unique and expansive windows. In fact, these industrial windows and the generous natural light they provide sold him on this particular loft.

Name: Matthew MauProfession: Graphic Designer by day and DJ by nightLocation: Downtown Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: 845 Square FeetType: Studio Loft Years lived in: 2 Years I met Matthew through school and was visiting him at his downtown loft talking about websites. As he was talking to me, I was looking around and couldn’t help but be distracted by his designer’s eye for decor. His personal space is a close replica of his interests and personality.

Name: Aaron TullerLocation: Portland, ORSize: 1100 sq ft.Years lived in: almost 2 Aaron is co-owner of one of our favorite online sources of independent and handmade goods, buyolympia.com. When they relocated to Portland a couple of years ago he took the opportunity to pare down his belongings to the essentials and move into this minimal loft.

Name: Ivonne CasasLocation: Williamsburg, BrooklynSize: 1,800 square feet — now, 450 square feetYears lived in: 13 years Rent or Own: Rent Ivonne’s South Williamsburg loft lives in infamy. In 2008 the building was suddenly evacuated by the fire department citing “imminent danger” due to broken standpipes and a basement full of matzo wheat which could combust at any moment.

Name: Lori DennisLocation: Los Angeles, California   Size: 1,000 square feetYears lived in: Recently renovated We’re taking a bit of a de-tour today from our usual type of house tour we present.

Name: Michael & AnnaLocation: ChicagoSize: 1750 square feetYears lived in: 2 years Michael and Anna (who work in advertising and as a chef, respectively) live in a heavy timber loft in a former garment factory in Bucktown. Their design aesthetic fits right in with the architecture of this historical space, where the huge windows overlook long-overgrown abandoned railroad tracks.

Here is Keehnan’s final post! Comment away…Name: Dave D.Location: East Williamsburg/BushwickSize: 1534 sq ft in total-2 floors divded with a wooden stairwell, lower level bedroom-the bedroom is 500 sq ftYears lived in: 8 years since the building’s inception >> Dave, in addition to living downstairs from us, works from home. While he designs tees for his own line and plays a part in other ventures, clearly his first love is surfing.

Name: Andreas Location: Greektown, Chicago Size: 1,000 sq. ft. Years lived in: 8 months I’m inspired by the Danish Modern movement, specifically Grete Jalk, Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner. I really wanted my home to look different than any place I’d seen before. I wanted it completely different than the way it was when I moved in…and it is (see the “Before” photos). And I love good chairs!