Pearl Loft: Modern Industrial

One of the first condo conversion projects to be finished in the newly minted Pearl District, this was once the iconic Meier & Frank warehouse building where families would take their station wagons to pickup a mattress or a sofa after purchasing it from the downtown flagship department store.

Like many turn of the century loft conversions, the dominant theme here is cavernous open space, glass, black metal, and concrete. This particular unit was a relatively untouched example on the top floor. At only 1,500 square feet, the rooms are massive with only one bedroom and 1.5 baths spread over an open two level floorplan. The trick here was to bring homey touches to the stark, modern space in honor of the home goods warehouse it once was.

  • The building

    The epitome of industrial loft conversion

  • BRASS on BRASS on BRASS

    All brass fixtures and accents were added to offset the cold use of black metals in construction. Shown here is Jonathan Adler banana coat hooks on Hygge & West geometric wallpaper with a Schoolhouse electric sconce

  • Gathering place

    Live edge walnut table from Denali Furniture, custom bar cabinetry with Pental quartz top and Sub-Zero beverage center

  • Small Kitchen, BIG upgrades

    New can lighting replaced claustrophobic ceiling mount fixture, new custom cabinetry, hood, walnut shelving, and herringbone tilework.

  • Shallow can be good

    Skinny cabinets were added under a new hanging storage system to maximize available space. Including the bar around the corner, we doubled the storage options here.

  • Hidden gems

    We fabricated a custom sliding cover to hide the tv when not in use. The photo used is an original piece snapped of a Balinese coffee plantation. Also of note is the hickory engineered wood flooring. Due to its heavy color variation, hickory is a great flooring choice to tie together other wood elements in a home (like the maple stairs here with the teak and walnut furniture).

  • Blending

    The palette upstairs is slightly different than the main level in order to blend the new design elements with a lighter touch on this floor. The original faucets were saved and installed on the new larger vanity from Restoration Hardware. The existing mirror was reinstalled atop the new backsplash, which was chosen to match the kitchen remodel.

  • Barriers to entry

    Because there is so much open space in this loft, sound travels. We did our best to cut down that phenomenon by building an eight foot barn door and filling it with sound-deadening foam. It’s pretty heavy, but glides like a dream.