In 2015 we sold our home and rented this industrial loft while we awaited a green light to move abroad. The green light unfortunately never came, but we embraced the new chapter and the opportunities it afforded us. One of the biggest perks (for me) was the chance to live out my dream of living in (and styling) a loft. While I’ve shared little sneak peaks here and there, I’ve never shared the main living areas…until now! Situated in a historic factory (circa 1850s), the property was converted into condominiums in 2010. The architectural details and light won me over – enormous windows, exposed brick, original wood floors and beams…it’s the stuff loft dreams are made of. It was a fairly blank canvas, and while living smaller as a family of four was a challenge, I had a lot of fun with the space.

 

 

The neoclassical settee is a special piece from my grandparents home, and it was given new life with the help of my friends at Chairloom. I was determined to reupholster it in black velvet (see it’s original state) and gild the wood. Despite some hesitation due to having young kids, I’m so glad I went with it. Disclaimer: Marie + Henry are very careful with items in our home, and black velvet would probably not be a great choice for most families with kids. While it’s not our everyday sofa, it’s a true statement piece now. The lamp is from Target, pillows are West Elm + Jonathan Adler. The original Bertoia chair is another treasured piece, which I bought from a design showroom owner years ago (it’s surprisingly comfortable). The leather moroccan pouf is extremely versatile and migrates from room to room, as does the kids teepee.

 

 

Despite having the biggest bedroom and room to play downstairs, we wanted the kids to have some dedicated space in the main living area as well. We brought this chair up from their room so that they could read and play their ukuleles here. We mounted hooks on the wall next to the chair for them, and they make excellent wall decor! Giving your children’s artwork a place of prominence in your home is something I highly recommend – this wire makes changing it up a cinch. Their train tracks live in a vintage metal basket, and their favorite records stay in the bookcase. I taught them how to handle vinyl and let them select and play the tunes – they can reach the turntable thanks to the stool that belonged to my husband’s grandfather. Hopefully someday soon I’ll be reunited with my vintage Klipsch speakers and get the rest of my records out of storage – alas, sharing walls with people is not ideal as a serious audiophile.

 

 

The kitchen isn’t that exciting (nor is it our taste) but I’ll share a snippet of it. As renters you can only do so much – if we had planned to stay longer I would have removed the cabinet doors to give the illusion of open shelving, or talked the landlord into letting us paint and/or change the doors to a more simple shaker style. Small but efficient, having it be completely open to the main living area was pretty awesome. With no dining space, we used stools at the island for meals. While not ideal, it worked for us and our busy lifestyle (plus we walk to dinner in town as much as possible). My favorite pieces in the kitchen are the custom cutting board I gave my husband for our anniversary, and my vintage brass tea set.

 

 

For more photos, including the kids room and a fun wallpaper collaboration, follow the links below for a few earlier features. This post would be entirely too long if I repeated them again here! I should mention – we painted the entire place when we moved in and used my favorite white: “All White” by Farrow + Ball. We also painted a few black accent walls (the half wall upstairs and two down) using Benjamin Moore’s  “All Black”. Gotta love paint as one of the most cost-effective ways to give a space a makeover! There are so many ways to make a rental feel like your own, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Should you have any other questions about the space, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments!

 

 

the kids room | the powder room | the loft at christmas