You Call This a Loft?

Loft living used to be reserved for some of the most down-to-earth people I know with modern furniture everywhere.

In the late 1970s and early '80s, artists flocked in increasing numbers to inner-city Los Angeles. Their neighborhood, near Traction Avenue and Hewitt Street, was anchored by Hilbie's (now Bloom's General Store), the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art and Lili Lakich's neon gallery. A surreal, multihued airplane hung precariously above Al's Bar on Hewitt, a beacon for bohemians. Read More

Living and loving the loft life

Let's face it: there's something undeniably sexy about warehouse lofts.

Open-concept living makes an exhibitionist of even the most timid homeowner and a voyeur of any unsuspecting guest. If you'd rather your top-secret bedroom shrine to Billy Ray Cyrus stay top-secret, you are clearly not a loft person.

Calvin Hwang, on the other hand, thrives on the loft lifestyle. In November 2004, after a lot of shopping around, he nabbed his 1,200 square feet of former-factory heaven in south Riverdale. Read More

Creative Loft Living

Bryce Gahagan chose a 900-square-foot loft to be his first home without roommates and probably his last as a bachelor. While his bedroom is walled off, the rest of the home is basically one open room.

Gahagan, facing a problem common to loft owners, needed to figure out how to separate the areas for cooking, eating, working and relaxing.

Three lights hang over the island in Gahagan's kitchen to define the counter eating area. A rug sets apart his living area, which is oriented toward the windows and a plasma screen on the wall. A palm tree Gahagan calls "Fred" serves as a screen between the living area and his computer workstation. Each space is defined yet open. View more