Richard & Julie’s Elegant Industrial Loft

Richard & Julie’s loft in a former Pawtucket, Rhode Island mill achieves the kind of tasteful sophistication that many of us can only aspire to and though each element is carefully selected and styled, the space never loses the warmth of a home or the personality of its owners.

Richard, a graphic designer, and Julie, a lighting designer who originally trained in interior design, bought the loft when the building was first converted and were lucky to able to work with the developer as the space was renovated so the results would be anything but cookie-cutter. They kept many of the building’s industrial bones intact and reused when they could — scrap wood became the dramatic stairway up into their cozy loft (a DJ booth during parties) and an old fire door was repurposed for the bathroom. The design is replete with clever ideas including simple plywood used as an elegant closet solution, a set of sliding doors that double as a photo wall and hide a small home office, and their amazing convertible home theater that we profiled last week.

Much of the loft’s charm comes from the collection of vintage and exotic treasures that the couple have found during their travels. A beautifully lit antique sculpture creates a point of drama in their simply decorated bedroom and another sculpture, a huge wooden head they found in Spain and managed to lug home, only to have it temporarily confiscated by Customs, hangs above the stairwell.

Spacious enough to be ideal for entertaining groups large and small, which the pair does often, or just relaxing with their two cats and dog, Uncle Ned, the loft inspires apartment-envy in all who visit, but most importantly it’s a place the owners love coming home to.

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our style: Mid Century Modern/Ecclectic

Inspiration: Architecture and interiors of the Harvard Five, art and travel.

Favorite Element: The giant freight elevator pulleys on the ceiling. We love the unique original details in this unit.

Biggest Challenge: The brick walls. They demand a certain color palette with their mint green paint speckles. We like the warmth they provide to the space though.

Biggest Embarrassment: We don’t love the budget kitchen cabinets. We hope to redesign with something more like a Henrybuilt kitchen.

Proudest DIY: The sliding panel doors, especially the 15′ sliding panel wall in the bedroom that hides our closet. We had a tight budget and were able to do a lot with dressed up plywood.

Biggest Indulgence: Several pieces of mid-century furniture.

Best advice: Mix and match. We blended old and new with the interior space and furnishings. Look for inspiration all around you and don’t fall victim to trends.

Resources of Note:

Furniture: Modhaus.com And many of the wonderful mid-century antique shops along Rue Amherst in Montreal. Sofa and dining table from Room & Board. Bed is West Elm. The sage chair was made by my grandfather many years ago when he worked for Beacon Hill Furniture. It’s one of my favorite pieces.

Accessories: Ceramic bowls from Asya Palatova at gleena.com. Many other things are from our travels around the world.

Lighting: the dining chandelier is vintage 70’s Italian glass from a shop in Montreal. Track lighting from W.A.C. Lighting

Rugs and Carpets: The runner is from Turkey.

Window Treatments: Good old IKEA

Artwork: Painting of Uncle Ned by Jennifer French. Prints over coach and in dining area are modern aboriginal art from Australian artists. Downstairs are Polish movie posters.

Thanks, Richard & Julie!

Images: Sarah Rainwater

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