sneak peek: melissa mcclure’s LA loft

when it comes to homes, i’ve always dreamed of living in a loft, so jewelry designer melissa mcclure‘s LA loft is right up my alley. not every home can rock a cool old vintage sign inside or effectively turn a darkroom into a home office, but melissa sure pulls it off with ease. thanks so much to melissa for sharing today (and to amy holbrook for the tip) and don’t forget to check out her fantastic jewelry designs. click here to see more, full-sized images, and here to find all our incredible sneak peeks! – anne

[Above: There are three 1930’s skylights that cast crazy shadows in the open space. The ceilings are 30 feet at the top of the bow trusses. The owner of the building is a Seattle-based architect that did all of the metal work himself while he was utilizing the space as his design office in the 1980’s.]

This area was described as an “urban junkyard” by an interior designer I know. I thought that has great, but I think of it as industrial hippie. The coke machine still works and the light table lights up.

Blackboard walls frame the eat-in kitchen (I still can’t remember to buy chalk at the store!). The kitchen supply purchased table is mounted on casters so it can be pulled out from the wall to accommodate up to six diners. I also can move it into the showroom space for any other functions.

View from kitchen of the showroom area (to the left) and my workbench and tool cabinets to the right. The giant gray wall in the back left was a wall built by the photographer who worked here before me. I knocked it down, painted it and then hung it from chains from the industrial fluorescent lights like a giant painting.

The vintage industrial work sink is held up by concrete counters and metal kitchen boxes created by the owner/ architect back in the 80’s. Simple stainless IKEA shelves were put in by me to house my bar and tableware. There is a pull-out butcher block work table on casters to the right of the sink to increase countertop prep area. . . My sturdy vintage O’Keefe & Merritt stove from the 50’s. The walls are the same gray as the canvas in the showroom lounge. I have a strange obsession with egg cups and objects that are made to resemble animals– there are egg cups in the shape of chicken feet on the top of the stove next to the spices.

This table was an editors cutting table before it was donated to me by a friend (much of the furniture I have was cast-off from friends and family). I had no idea that being cheap made me somewhat environmentally friendly. The colored rolls of paper on the far right are seamless rolls for photography, left here by the last photographer tenant. The doorway at the far right leads to the room that houses chemicals used in my goldsmithing work.

More blackboard walls divide the upstairs lounge from a room that serves as a closet.

My office once served as the previous tenant’s darkroom. I painted the walls out in a deep gray, the ceiling is next! I This is the space where I draw, read and do all the other business tasks associated with the business.

An original Eames rocker, vintage phone and clocks (batteries dying!) that are supposed to reflect the local time in my favorite cities are in front of tinker-toy type modular room divider pieces created by my good friend Mark Epping. . .  My bizarre collection of books, science and lab items, globes, mannequin parts and outdated machinery. This area is upstairs and lines the narrow walkway to the upstairs lounge.

My loftcat, Monkey, is a favorite subject for my photographer/ neighbor and has an entire wall dedicated to her. I am not the crazy cat lady, I just think it’s great to have collections of like subjects and display them together when I can. Monkey cares more for the Starck chair than any other in the loft.