Home DH and I bought our first house...loft technically!!!

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/29/2009 10:11:44 PM
Author: Skippy123
Congrats; it is gorgeous!!! I love the huge kitchen, the floors and the exposed brick (super cool)!!! Fabulous new place!!

Thank so much skip!! Hope you are doing well!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:54:19 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 6/29/2009 11:19:45 PM
Author: kcoursolle

Date: 6/29/2009 8:52:20 PM

Author: neatfreak

Congrats K!! We are in the process too-it''s a huge time suck!


I think that is Minneapolis maybe?

Ding Ding Ding!!! It is Minneapolis!!


I noticed your inspection thread, congrats on the new digs to you as well!! Are you still in Madison? And yes, this is all definitely a huge time suck. Although it''s very fun and exciting, I''ve hardly gotten any work done these days. When we were waiting for counteroffers I would just pace around the house waiting for the phone to ring. Now I''m spending entirely too much time looking at pictures of lofts online to get ideas.

Yeah! I thought so. I love Minneapolis-my DH was born there. We are still in Madison now but our new place (assuming the contractor doesn''t think the foundation has problems-fingers crossed!) is outside of San Francisco. We''re doing the opposite of you-Midwest to the West Coast!

We are doing the opposite move almost!! No that you mention it, I do remember the thread about buying in San Fran as well. I read your thread a while back about short sales. We took the same approach to another property and it didn''t work out, but luckily we ended up liking this one actually more!

I hope I get to see some pics of your new place. Best wishes for a good closing and move.

 

[Phoenix]

Wow!! that''s AWESOME!! I''ve always wanted to live in a loft.

Congrats.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Congratulations!

 

[aliciagirl]

That's gorgeous!! We love our rental loft but it doesn't have nearly as many fancy details as yours! I love the backsplash in the kitchen!

One thing we do for decor is always keep an eye on Craigslist for local artists. When your walls are that massive, it takes big art and we've scored several really awesome pieces for around $100-200 that are at least 6'x8'. I've found a lot of things we loved (but couldn't quite afford) at those super contemporary furniture stores, as well. We did buy a couch for our reading room and it fits in perfect with the decor.

Here's a link to the kind of stuff I'm talking about: http://designerstouchcleveland.com/. I know you aren't in Cleveland, but it might spark some ideas.

Sorry for the ramble. I love lofts!

Edited to add: There's also http://www.loftlifemag.com/loftblog.php this blog which has fabulous idea for decorating!!

 

[Bia]

Very cool. Congrats!

 

[Giada]

Congratulations on your new home! I hope you have many happy times there!

 

[lovelylulu]

Congratulations!!! That is a gorgeous space!! so airy and it looks really welcoming (unlike a lot of lofts)

 

[Kay]

It''s a beautiful loft, K. I love all the wood -- it makes the loft look warm and homey, which a lot of lofts don''t. The tile in the bathroom is also very nice. I like the size of the kitchen. I can see maybe removing the upper cabinets between the kitchen and the other room so the cook can more easily visit with guests, but I would keep the lower cabinets to function like an island or breakfast bar.

 

[rainwood]

That''s a beautiful loft. I love the warmth from the natural wood. And that view will give you lots of light, which also makes the place so inviting. Although I''m not usually a big fan of tearing out kitchen cabinets, it looks like it might be a good idea here. Best of luck on the move.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

What a lovely loft! Congratulations!!!!!!

 

[April20]

Date: 6/29/2009 11:21:10 PM
Author: kcoursolle

Date: 6/29/2009 9:17:51 PM
Author: April20
I LOVE it!! What a great space!

I lived in a loft temporarily for a few months last year between houses. It was a converted Triumph motorcycle warehouse. We really liked living there- I''d do it again. It didn''t have quite the level of detail that yours has, yours is really sweeeeeeet. I am super jealous of your kitchen. I want to see pictures after you move in!!

There will definitely be some more pictures later on when we have some decor figured out, happy to share! It may be a while though, since we really don''t have any money left after the downpayment lol.

Do you have any pictures of your rental loft? It sounds fab, I''d love to see it.

I don''t have any photos of our specific unit, but I grabbed some from the real estate listing.

The lofts I was in had concrete ceilings and exposed concrete beams and columns. No wood at all. Here''s a big of the hallway to the back where the kitchen is.

 

[April20]

Here''s the view we had from the roof deck. There are thee floors total, we were in the middle. The view out the front of our until was mostly this, but slightly cut off. The units were about 1.5 from downtown.

There was a restaurant on the other side of the building, but it closed right before we moved out. When there wasn''t anything interesting to see out the front of the unit, we''d watch the people at the outdoor bar from our bedroom. It was good people watching.

 

[InLuv101]

Gorgerous loft! I hope you create lots of great memories there!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/30/2009 10:00:40 AM
Author: aliciagirl
That''s gorgeous!! We love our rental loft but it doesn''t have nearly as many fancy details as yours! I love the backsplash in the kitchen!

One thing we do for decor is always keep an eye on Craigslist for local artists. When your walls are that massive, it takes big art and we''ve scored several really awesome pieces for around $100-200 that are at least 6''x8''. I''ve found a lot of things we loved (but couldn''t quite afford) at those super contemporary furniture stores, as well. We did buy a couch for our reading room and it fits in perfect with the decor.

Here''s a link to the kind of stuff I''m talking about: http://designerstouchcleveland.com/. I know you aren''t in Cleveland, but it might spark some ideas.

Sorry for the ramble. I love lofts!

Edited to add: There''s also http://www.loftlifemag.com/loftblog.php this blog which has fabulous idea for decorating!!

Great idea for checking out craigslist for local artists! I''ve checked out etsy for great ideas too, and I totally agree that big art works well in lofts. I''m thinking something big for the wall where the dining room table is going to go.

Thanks for the great links too! That blog is fab!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/30/2009 12:48:09 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I absolutely LOVE it!! We looked at lofts here in San Diego near the ballpark a few years ago.. 600k for 1800 square feet? Oh.. I dont think so. Not when you have detox as your neighbor. LOL

Yeah...you don''t get a lot of space for your money here in SoCal, although I think 1800 is actually pretty big for a loft style place... It was really fun house hunting in Minneapolis because our dollar stretched so much farther.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/30/2009 12:58:34 PM
Author: Kay
It''s a beautiful loft, K. I love all the wood -- it makes the loft look warm and homey, which a lot of lofts don''t. The tile in the bathroom is also very nice. I like the size of the kitchen. I can see maybe removing the upper cabinets between the kitchen and the other room so the cook can more easily visit with guests, but I would keep the lower cabinets to function like an island or breakfast bar.

Thanks Kay! By the way, what you described for the kitched is exactly what I''m thinking. I want to keep everything below nad just remove the set of three cabinets on top (the ones with the see-through glass doors. I think this should open the space quite a bit and although I''ve never thought about it, it woudl almost function like an island.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/30/2009 2:03:58 PM
Author: April20

Date: 6/29/2009 11:21:10 PM
Author: kcoursolle

Date: 6/29/2009 9:17:51 PM
Author: April20
I LOVE it!! What a great space!

I lived in a loft temporarily for a few months last year between houses. It was a converted Triumph motorcycle warehouse. We really liked living there- I''d do it again. It didn''t have quite the level of detail that yours has, yours is really sweeeeeeet. I am super jealous of your kitchen. I want to see pictures after you move in!!

There will definitely be some more pictures later on when we have some decor figured out, happy to share! It may be a while though, since we really don''t have any money left after the downpayment lol.

Do you have any pictures of your rental loft? It sounds fab, I''d love to see it.

I don''t have any photos of our specific unit, but I grabbed some from the real estate listing.

The lofts I was in had concrete ceilings and exposed concrete beams and columns. No wood at all. Here''s a big of the hallway to the back where the kitchen is.

oooooh, love it!! It''s so sleek and contemporary, love the geometric architechture and those massive concrete pillars! Your view is really fab too!

We don''t have a rooftop deck, but hopefully someday it will be something the HOA will want since it would help all of our property values. We would all have a pretty good downtown view that way too.

 

[teapot]

What a great space! Is it me, but it looks like the cabinets that you want to remove have glass doors on both sides? If so, I would be careful when removing them, you could totally sell those.... of course i would keep them because I like having "storage".

 

[tigian]

Your loft is great! Love it! I''m jealous of the hardwood floors and open space. Thanks for sharing!

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, it''s GORGEOUS! I love it! Congratulations! The lay out, the beams, everything is just fantastic! I hope you post pics once your stuff is in it-I would love to see it!

P.S. I''m in the process of buying my first house, too! It''s exciting but incredibly time consuming!

 

[snlee]

For a minute I thought I was going crazy...I thought you already bought a new place. Glad you found a place you love even more! It looks great! Love the hardwood floors! Congratulations! When do you move in?

 

[dani13]

YAY, KC!!! Congratulation!!!! The place is great!!!! Best of luck with your move!!!

 

[Porridge]

Oh. Wow. I love it. Everything about it. I want a place just like that! It''s gorgeous. Sorry I have no decorating advice for you, I am literally hopeless at that stuff.

 

[lili]

It looks amazing!
Love it

 

[zoebartlett]

What a beautiful loft -- I love it!

 

[butterfly 17]

I love lofts! I love the concept of all that open space! Yours is beautiful! Congrats!

 

[whitby_2773]

hi kcoursolle

it looks fabbo! i wish you both years of peace and happiness in your new home.

buying a home is such a big deal - yours looks wonderful

congratulations.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Gorgeous! It''s so spacious! I always think that storage is the issue to solve in lofts -- well in any house I suppose. How is your place for that?

What field is your graduate work in? We are also planning a big move accross the country in about 3 months

I got a faculty position at a unversity and luckily DH''s company is transferring him, so we are looking to buy before we move. I''m on mat leave so I have lots of time to devote to the search! Too much actually! LOL!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

What a marvellous space! Congrats on your new home!!!

cheers--Sharon