The Demise of Lofts

ByHeather

I fell in love with the idea of living in a loft in the early 80’s. I was just about to graduate from college and Jennifer Beals was dancing across the screen in Flashdance in a beautiful, industrial-strength loft. It was a beautiful living space — about 2,000 square feet with no walls and no rooms. Ever since then I have dreamed of living in a completely open floor plan. Bed at one end, kitchen at the other, living and dining and working in between.

We are in the process of relocating to North Carolina and have entertained the idea of living in a loft. Unfortunately, today’s brain-dead developers have co-opted the term “loft” in their attempt to be hip. The marketing people have not been talking to the architects and builders.

For example, consider the Lofts at Lakeview in Durham. Download their brochure. Take a look at the floor plans. Granted the living room is open all the way to the kitchen. But the bedrooms and closets are crammed behind ugly and unnecessary walls.

These are not lofts by any definition of the word. They are urban apartments with an over abundance of LCD TVs in the common areas. Some day I will live in a loft. But it looks like it will not be offered by any of today’s urban developers.

Similar Posts

  • Checks and Balances

    ByHeather

    Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    — Lord Acton

    I was born in Canada and came to the US between my sophomore and junior year in high school. One of my first courses in my newly adopted country was high school civics. I learned with a newcomer’s sense of awe about the three branches of government and their important role in each checking the power of the other. It is highly attributed that this system of checks and balances is the genius of the America.

    In the intervening years since those wide-eyed high school years I have been a casual observer of the reality that power and money are self preserving. …

  • Man on Wire

    ByHeather

    When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk.

    — Philippe Petit

    I watched the wonderful documentary Man on Wire last night. It is the inspiring story of Philippe Petit and his lifelong passion to walk a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. His dream began even before the towers were built and culminated in a 45 minute walk in the sky on August 7, 1974. The film is especially bittersweet with all of the behind-the-scenes details of the twin towers, knowing their ultimate fate.

    Philippe’s quote above was in response to the incessant pleas by the press for an answer to “Why?” There is no why, he insisted. When he sees oranges, he juggles. When he sees two towers, he walks.

  • Be the Best of Whatever You Are

    ByHeather

    If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill,
         Be a shrub in the valley – but be
    The best little shrub by the side of the hill;
         Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

    If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of grass,
         And some highway happier make;
    If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass,
         But the liveliest bass in the lake!

    We can’t all be captains, some have to be crew,
         There’s something for all of us here;
    There’s work to be done, and we all have to do
         Our part in the way that’s sincere.

    If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail,
         If you can’t be the sun, be a star;
    It isn’t by size that you win or you fail,
         Be the best of whatever you are.

    — Douglas Mallock

  • Gorilla Marketing

    ByHeather

    I am an avid fan of podcasts. I listen to many hours a week of interesting and compelling content completely on my own schedule. The TWiT Network produces some of the best, including This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly and Roz Rows the Pacific. Leo Laporte is a master behind the microphone.

    Leo continues to chase profitability by adding an ever-increasing array of sponsors for his “netcasting” ventures. Drobo and GoToMeeting are recent additions and he is pushing the boundaries of tolerance with the seemingly endless droning on about Visa’s security protection for online fraud. …

  • Choose your rut carefully…

    ByHeather

    Choose your rut carefully, you’ll be in it for the next 50 miles.

    — Highway sign

    According to folklore, the above sign was spotted on the Alaskan highway. Or perhaps it was posted along the highways in the 20’s and 30’s, before blacktop became prevalent. Regardless of the source, it has served as an apt metaphor many times in my life.

    Each day we are faced with thousands of decisions: what to have for breakfast, what to wear, when to work out, how much time to spend surfing my RSS feeds. Most decisions have very short-term implications and can be corrected if errant.

    Occasionally decisions arise that have much longer-term implications: whether or not to take that new job, move to that new city, attend a certain college or purchase a particular car. In these cases, deliberation pays dividends. When I find myself facing such decisions I classify them with the “Choose your rut carefully” label. It may not be the most glamorous metaphor but it helps me take the time I need to make solid decisions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.