Designs by Shoshana

When this downtown Allentown brick warehouse building was converted to loft style apartments my team and I were hired to ‘glam up’ the lobby, two empty model apartments, along with the main hallway, and a community atrium- to help potential tenants visualize how they could live there.  Loft living can be very cool if designed right.  You have high ceilings, great concrete floors and exposed pipes to work with.  But you have to worry that the spaces do not end up looking cold and uninviting.

Our goal was to create a warm, contemporary urban vibe for young hip professionals in this urban area.  We got to work right away.  Once our design plan was approved we had three weeks to complete the project on a budget.  Our paint crew rolled on the colors while SJ and I, in baseball caps and sneakers, purchased, assembled and placed all the furniture and decor.  And with some help from a contractor from heaven, all of our wishes came true (minus the broken mirrors and stressed out moments)!!

THE LOBBY

To dramatize the unique curves of the lobby’s walls we painted stripes in two shades of grey to keep it serene and fresh.

I fell madly in love with a rockin’ red orange paint color and used it to dramatize the lobby’s fun niches.  It is very unexpected for such a clean gray palette.

HALLWAY TO MODEL APARTMENTS

From the lobby, prospective renters take the elevator up to the hallway where the model apartments are.  We wanted to create a ‘wow’ moment as soon as the elevator doors opened up.  To do this, we focused on the main wall directly across.  Finding inspiration in this contemporary large chocolate and cream wallpaper, we had it glued on, then wrapped the rockin’ red orange paint color all around it, giving it a big bold dose of personality.

THE UPTOWN MODEL APARTMENT

The Uptown model apartment is a rich blend of bold color and shiny finishes.  A place for a young sophisticated executive to host after work happy hours and .  We brought in that red orange, along with deep grays, to play off the shimmering finishes and exposed pipes.  Warm deep colors can bring down the size of tall walls, to make room feel comfortable.  To keep the space from feeling overwhelmed with color we broke it up with some white walls in between.

To take advantage of the main space we floated a good amount of seating in the center of the room, utilizing as much floor space as possible that would other wise be unused.  Using light colored upholstery and a thin metal framed coffee table keeps the loft space feeling open and airy.   The oversized shiny chandelier above not only offers greater brightness when natural is limited, but offers an industrial chic addition, that now compliments the exposed piping.  We also used a buffet as the media center to get more storage out of it.

The foyer leading into the apartment is long and narrow, so to give it strong interest, we used horizontal stripes of the same paint color but in two different finishes- matte and semi gloss.  The silver framed mirrors grouped together become art work, but do not take away from the clean lines of the paint stripes.  Now it feels like its own fun space to have a conversation in.

AFTER

There is something so soothing and happy about a light shade of purple.  Maybe that is why it is so popular these days.  We used a beautiful shade of it in the kitchen area to distinguish it from the rest of the bold palette.  We also introduced a tall piece of furniture in the small alcove, taking advantage of more storage using a ready made piece.

In these loft apartments there is a wall that divides two sides of a bedroom.  In order to help a perspective renter visualize how to use these rooms, we created a home office and reading lounge on one side.  We changed up the paint color to keep it relaxing, but still used bits of the red-orange in accents to tie it to the colors used in the living room.  The paper mache ceiling fixtures are my favorite and they were the most stressful.  When I ordered them no one could tell me how they hung from the ceiling.  When I opened the box and found a long wire and metal links I was relieved.

On the other side of the dividing wall is where we placed the bed.  The headboard literally came in the day the project had to be completed.  Tracking it became a daily ritual, but it was worth it.  The elephant colored leather adds the luxuriousness to this urban pad.

THE PRODIGY MODEL APARTMENT

The Prodigy model apartment has some unique spaces and niches so our goal was to showcase all of them, and create a warm, classic urban oasis.  Through a mix of materials and finishes, make this a home for relaxing and recharging.  The living room is the first space you enter when you open the apartment door.  The room is longer in width than depth, so we lightened up the walls to brighten up the space and instead, added bold color to the furniture and accents.  To get this room right I spent a lot of time plopped in the center of this room in the ‘thinking mans’ position.

Super cool space with such unique floor plan!  We had to be creative with it, and make it functional!!  First up, create stairs!

This was the most intriguing space that really needed to be furnished to visualize how great it was!  Like the other apartment, there is a dividing wall in this space so we treated one side as the bedroom and the other as a home office and library.  We took advantage of the upper niche which was four feet off the ground and five feet deep.  We created our very own staircase leading up to it.  Everyone that walks into this space loves to try out the staircase.  We used a bold golden yellow on the back brick walls to give it depth and importance.   This is a really great loft area!

On the bedroom side of the dividing wall we made the bed a focal point by placing it on the tall wall.  This new layout also gave it more privacy and left the rest of the space open for more furniture if you wanted a sitting area.

The bedding was a clearance find, and instead of using traditional table lamps, we placed utilitarian desk lamps that bring in that loft industrial vibe.

BEFORE

AFTER

This apartment has a ton of natural light seeping down a hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom.  I was really attracted to this hallway. I wanted to soften the light but not take away from the view of downtown Allentown.  The windows were super tall so custom drapes was my top choice.  But I had less than a week so I bought ready made white grommet drapes, and had a sewer attach a limited supply of this silky orange fabric to the bottom to create a longer drape.   They turned out fabulous!

AFTER

Another long hallway to the washer/dryer and bathroom made for an interesting new function.  To show possible renters how you could use the space, we set up a vanity station.

THE ATRIUM

BEFORE

The four story Atrium area is such a unique space, and needed to be spotlighted, so with our hot red-orange paint, Gerry and his team of painters spiced up the back brick wall.  It was amazing to watch them, four stories up on scaffolding, with cans of very bright paint rocking back and forth in their hands; yet painting steady as an arrow.  We then added three contemporary canvas art pieces vertically down the center to give it big colorful interest.

For more information on this apartment building located in downtown Allentown PA CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to see Shoshana’s TV interview about this!!!

CLICK HERE to see this TV interview