Score.

Just took the drive out to IKEA.  Got some HUGE green glass sliding doors (they're called PAX) for $50 bucks on clearance.  Regular price: $500.  It looks like we'll have to build a custom rail system for them to fit on anything else except Ikea's freestanding wardrobe.  I think they'll make perfect closet doors for the bedroom, so we incorporated a big enough opening into the building plans for the construction crew.  For now they'll stay in the box.

I'm too tired to think of a witty caption.  Big, green, sleek and slidey.

Big Plans.

Before we get started on all the work, I drew up some plans to get the measurements nailed down and give us (and the contractors) a clear idea of where we're going.  The main changes will be:

-Build a wall to separate our loft from the one next door.
-Build an "L" wall to form the bedroom.
-Create a bedroom closet and shift the hall closets to accommodate our washer/dryer.
-Enlarge the kitchen to include a dishwasher and more cabinets.
-Gut the bathroom and start over.
-Paint!

This is a quickie plan I created of the loft in its existing state.  The horizontal piece of wall at the top left is technically new.  It divides our apartment from the adjacent one.

This is the proposed loft plan which includes the new construction and some furniture placement.

Contractors arrive tomorrow to start working.  We have two days to find a kitchen.  Is that even possible?

Welcome To The Loft.

We found one.

2 months of searching and dozens of apartments behind us, we've signed a lease on a converted factory brick loft in Chicago's West Loop.  The space has never been lived in and it shows.  Using Joan's Master's Degree in Interior Architecture as a bargaining chip, we negotiated a budget from the management to remodel the loft into a desirable living space.  Looking at the space, we see we have some work ahead of us.

Each of us has moved EVERY YEAR since coming to the city and we're effing tired of it.  We're staying here, sink or swim.

Empty.  Raw.  Feed me.

That enormous kitchen island? Going bye bye.

Enormous Western facing windows.  Indoor tanning anyone?

What a tasty delight this kitchen is... not.  It has to go.  And yes, that bathroom is yellow.

As you can see, aside from the vast open space, it's not much to look at.  1,275 square feet of pure converted factory potential.  We know it's ugly, but we have big plans.  Our lease includes a budget to remodel the kitchen and bathroom, install washer/dryer hookups, build a bedroom and closet, and make the space not only livable, but rentable in the future.  The fun (read: challenging) part of it will be making something great out of a very measly budget.