What a Lofty Idea.

Brian and I do not have the same tastes when it comes to an idea of a home.

We have talked about the prospect of buying a house once we are both settled and situated in both marriage and career. Brian tends to like homes that are.... on the mend. Meaning that they have the potential to be great investments. I, on the other hand, want a house that I am happy living in. I understand Brian's standpoint. He wants a house that is going to make us money. He is thinking about our future. I am thinking about the now. I don't want to live in a house that will be great someday. I want a house that I love now and will still love ten years from now. I guess Brian is just assuming that we won't want to stay in the same house for very long which I can see. I myself have never lived in one place for very long. But still. I can't help but find myself looking at houses that are more glamorous than investment-worthy.

I first suggested that we sacrifice location for a better home, meaning that we look outside of Vancouver into the suburbs. Brian was adamant that the best investments were within the city limits. Based on the budget we estimated, this meant that we could afford some fix-me-upper near a major highway. I was not pleased. I then proposed that we look at condos instead of single detached homes. Brian considered it but still didn't think that condos were as good an investment as a home-home. I personally liked the more modern tendencies of condos but wasn't particularly impressed by any. We had a bit of a dilemma: the condos I picked lacked any bit of personality while the houses Brian picked had too much personality.

One day I was looking at a New York City venue website and came across an article covering industrial yet chic housing in the city. I loved the combination of modern and older styles and wondered if Vancouver offered any loft style homes. I googled "Vancouver lofts" and lo and behold, I found an AMAZING website which showcased what I felt were the most unique and outstanding homes in the city. I mentioned the idea of looking at lofts to Brian and voila! We finally agreed on something! He loved the idea as well! We came across a fabulous real estate site and have already begun to compile a list of homes we'd like to view in the upcoming month. For anyone who has a more eclectic taste in housing check out Albrighton Lofts.

Here are a few pics for the curious:

A gem in downtown Vancouver

Lofty-lofty.

Kitchen's not too shabby either.

A West Van spacious loft

So much sunlight!

Modern kitchen.

Smaller loft with winding staircase (I love winding staircases).

Upstairs bedroom.

Another winding staircase loft. Living room view.

Catwalk to a study area.

High ceilings!

Cozy.

I know we're still a long way from house-buying but it never hurts to look, right? :)