Budget Breakdown: A Work-From-Home Couple Reenvision a Loft for $291K. The Office Steals the Show

Amy and Tomasz run their photography business from a maple plywood workspace hung with Japanese noren curtains in their sub-1,000-square-foot flat.

Tomasz Wagner and Amy Tran first saw their current home from the window of the apartment complex next door. Partners in life and work—the couple run a lifestyle and wedding photography company in Vancouver, B.C.—they were residing in a live/work space in the False Creek neighborhood and noticed a loft was going up for sale, a space dated to 1996 that had previously been used by a woodworker.

The layout wasn’t optimal—the kitchen sat just inside the front door, the laundry area was inexplicably large, and a mezzanine, presumably the future bedroom, had no bathroom. Still, Amy and Tomasz shared a vision of a compact home with a creative studio. "We were drawn to the double-height ceilings and all the natural light," Tomasz says. "It’s located on the top floor and opens up to a common area with a garden. We wanted a patio or outdoor space, and this allowed us to have that without tripling our budget to get a house."

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: A Work-From-Home Couple Reenvision a Loft for $291K. The Office Steals the Show
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