loft living
KMSalter Design Email Save The dining area feels grand and artful thanks to another sculptural custom light fixture from AM Studio-Lighting. The clients have an appreciation for fine art and wanted to find just the right piece for their dining room wall, so Salter took them to the Art Gallery of Hamilton, where they worked with a consultant to find an organic piece that would work well as a counterpoint to the hard lines of ductwork and structural members.
One of the biggest challenges in this project was the lighting. Being an urban loft with exposed 20-foot ceilings made installation tricky. The previous owner bridged the distance with suspended track lighting, but these homeowners thought they were an “eyesore” and obstructed the view with their mass and wiring. So, instead of purchasing lighting meant for more standard room volumes and requiring an electrician to “make it work,” Salter commissioned custom fixtures from AM Studio-Lighting in Toronto. This allowed her complete freedom over color, number of pendants and cord length. The sculptural pendants she chose for the kitchen, dining and stairwell sconces resulted in a condo that shines so brightly one of the homeowners can see it from her office building downtown.
Next in a series of important face-lifts was the kitchen, where Salter focused on creating a more functional space for the homeowners to host intimate gatherings and indulge their culinary interests and wine-tasting. She inserted a wine fridge into the cabinetry, working with a master cabinetmaker to ensure that it would tie in seamlessly with the rest of the cabinetry.
A trip to Weavers Art, a rug company in Toronto, kicked off the design decisions. The living room rug they purchased there inspired the home’s color palette and established an emphasis on texture and various upholstery materials, such as leather on the sofa and woven backs on the armchairs. The designer credits texture and mixed materials as key ingredients in the comfort of a home, especially when there are hard lines of exposed ductwork and structural elements to balance. For example, the sculptural Noguchi glass-topped coffee table provides a lighter touch than would a table in wood or metal.
The loft has wonderful high windows and great views, which Wemlinger and the homeowners didn’t want to obstruct. “They are high enough that privacy isn’t really much of an issue,” she says. “But I wanted to soften them.” This is a good example of the balance of hard and soft, industrial and elegant. “I like simple window treatments; these are semi-sheer linen and you can see a little of the brick through them,” Wemlinger says. For juxtaposition, she hit a home improvement store and bought industrial pipes to serve as the drapery rods. She spray-painted the galvanized elbows and pipes black to match the rings
Salter treated the outdoor area like a room, drawing up design options and bringing in a landscape company to execute them. She wanted the deck to feel like a backyard with trees and greenery and even a little spot for her clients to grow herbs. The space features a lounging area where planter boxes and a built-in bench line the railing. Salter wasn’t concerned about the planters blocking the view because she knew she was giving her clients the best of both worlds: privacy and a sense of enclosure with an expansive view upward from eye level. In the summer, the homeowners enjoy seeing their lush vegetation through the wall of windows. Salter also designed the space with winter in mind, choosing durable Sunbrella cushions and teak furniture that ages gracefully and can withstand the elements, since storing most of it indoors is not an option.
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