A Loft on the Lachine Canal by L. McComber Architects
L. McComber Architects provided a design solution for the owners of this 700 square foot loft in Montreal, Canada. They needed to create a room for a newborn baby, so a suspended platform bed made of curved douglas fir plywood and tubular steel was created.
Visit the L. McComber website – here.
Photos by Steve Montpetit – www.stevemontpetit.com
Visit the L. McComber website – here.
niteowl on 30 Jan 2009 at 8:03 am #
tasteful,really
Peter Shaw on 30 Jan 2009 at 8:12 am #
Nicely done!
It’s good to see people spend money to make better use of smaller spaces, rather than simply go and buy a larger space.
sasha on 30 Jan 2009 at 9:49 am #
truly amazing…
isolationism on 30 Jan 2009 at 10:27 am #
Very tasteful, but the whole thing is so totally impractical it boggles the mind why someone would spend this kind of money on an apartment they will almost certainly have to abandon within a few years at best (assuming they manage to avoid a debilitating injury descending that precarious ladder to a bawling infant at 3:00 am). The article might have been better titled, “The death-throes of Montreal yuppies-cum-new-parents and their disposable income.”
Peter Shaw on 30 Jan 2009 at 12:35 pm #
They probably spent the money on this because it added value to the property since it now has more space. It doesn’t matter if they have to move out eventually, the additional space has made the apartment woth more money than it was before. It’s not a waste of money, it makes money.
Andrew Menil on 30 Jan 2009 at 2:12 pm #
This is a practical way of adding space to a small apartment. It wouldn’t cost very much either.
Tedq on 30 Jan 2009 at 5:06 pm #
it looks cool and is a cute idea, but forget bringing baby into the bed to sleep with mom and dad, unless you master the art of going back and forth up that ladded while sleep deprived.
André F. S. on 30 Jan 2009 at 6:24 pm #
It’s a very interesting solution, but I would complain about the ladder. It could be at the left or at the right, but not at the center of the baby’s room, it’s in the way.
Paul Johnston on 30 Jan 2009 at 6:46 pm #
utterly superb. the sleeping loft is sublime. might have been nice to see that same shape repeated, but that’s hardly criticism.
thank you for this.
alexandre on 30 Jan 2009 at 7:16 pm #
nice bed
Mrjna on 02 Feb 2009 at 10:45 am #
A fold-out ladder would be great to hide the ladder during the day.
Chrisss on 02 Feb 2009 at 12:35 pm #
The triumph of aesthetics of practicality. The loft is very pretty, but a ladder? Seriously? I would like to meet the new mother who has no problem climbing up and down a vertical ladder in the middle of the night, who is willing never to bring her infant (or toddler) into her bed at 3AM for feeding or comforting…
The kicker is that there appears to be plenty of room along the wall to have installed a set of narrow stairs, which, while imposing upon the limited space underneath, could have incorporated a really nice amount of built-in under-staircase storage. 2 problems–vertical access even while carrying a load (the baby, the bedding, whatever) and integrated storage for a space-challenged living area–could have been addressed.
Skyline on 03 Feb 2009 at 12:28 pm #
Well crafted and visually interesting. The space below might have benefited from the ladder being to one side or the other, instead of near the middle of the room. This would also allow for a more gradual slope to the stair benefiting the loft above.
kast on 03 Feb 2009 at 6:03 pm #
i dont think a pregnant mum can climb in a cat ladder .its too dangerous..
kostar on 03 Feb 2009 at 9:09 pm #
This is a really cool loft. How do you turn off the light when you get up the stairs and into bed?
Nino on 04 Feb 2009 at 10:15 am #
Ovo je nešto nevjerovatno, svaka ?ast na ideji, i sam živim u manjem stanu pa me ovo oduševilo.
Josh on 05 Feb 2009 at 9:31 pm #
Very pretty, not too useful.
-Middle of the night feedings?
-Carrying the baby upstairs?
-Changing bedding?
It seems a bit difficult
Matias on 05 Feb 2009 at 10:16 pm #
Nice
Robyn on 05 Feb 2009 at 11:36 pm #
I give the new parents two weeks before they shove the two chairs and the dresser over and put a second bed down next to the crib, for whoever is “on duty.”
mike on 06 Feb 2009 at 1:35 am #
get some comfortable furniture in there and it could work
Dave on 06 Feb 2009 at 4:16 am #
I’m guessing that the residents/owners didn’t construct the loft themselves, so this is one of those “admirable”, stylish projects that is largely affordable to the wealthy only. Look at the curvature of the wood floor/ceiling of the loft. This isn’t just a practical improvisation, it’s something that architecture/interior-design snobs whine about repeating the shape (hey, it will only cost 4,000 euros!)
The suggestion of a fold-away type ladder is a very good one, though.
mediahack on 06 Feb 2009 at 6:12 am #
I had to carry my baby up a bunk bed ladder when staying with a friend – it was a a whole five steps – and I nearly toppled backwards. I was so scared of going down, I called someone to take the baby off me before I got down. REALLY don’t think that loft is practical…
Nik on 06 Feb 2009 at 8:20 am #
wouldn’t cost very much money?
Don’t get me wrong, this is beautiful, but obtaining wood that is custom made the way that loft floor is for the master bed is extremely expensive. The floor is basically the same construction as a butcher block and the bending is custom. I almost doubt it is real but it looks too nice to be fake.
Pete on 06 Feb 2009 at 3:15 pm #
Pretty useless space if you ask me. There is nowhere to store clothing, cleaning supplies or anything that real people use everyday. It’s pretty and usless.
Bernard on 06 Feb 2009 at 5:27 pm #
Pete, don’t be so quick to judge. You haven’t seen the whole apartment. I have, and I know that there is closet space in the wall opposite the bed. You can’t see it in the photos, but it’s there.
Erik on 09 Feb 2009 at 5:35 am #
The thing everbody is missing is that; The Whole Bed probably cost no more than any other bed would have. $6000 – $8000. Fur Plywood is cheap. $4 a sheet of 4 x 8 x 3/4. you need about 15 sheets to get 8 foot length. Pipe is cheep if they have someone who can bend it your looking at $100-$200 in the big pipe. $40-$80 in the ladder. So before labor and finishing it comes to a max of $350. The worst part would be finding a cnc router to cut the plywood. $80-120 hr. Probably only needs 1-2 hrs. The pipe could be bent at any art or muffler shop. 2hrs max. toss in glue, sand paper, and finish may be $200 bucks and its as smooth as a babies ass.
so total would be 350+240+200+200= $900 add in mark up and install you get about $3000. The mattress could be any standard thing you have.
You have to remember Walmart is cheap mass produced crap and it still has a market mark up of %100 percent or more. Soo with some knowledge and know how making REAL cool stuff like this bed is acually considerable cheap.
Think about how much a down would be on a new place plus moving plus days off to move. I have a little boy about 4 now. My wife and I had a bed on stilts in my old apartment. we lived that way for 3 yrs. until we could aford to move. I comend these people for Adapting and not abandoning.
Ben on 09 Feb 2009 at 11:34 am #
“The floor is basically the same construction as a butcher block and the bending is custom. I almost doubt it is real but it looks too nice to be fake.”
I don’t think so…ever heard of a CNC machine?
This effect can be created with even small budgets.
stoertebeker on 09 Feb 2009 at 1:26 pm #
Everyone is concerned about safety here, but as someone who used to have a loft-bed for years I can assure you that you get used to it to the point where you will climb the ladder even when utterly drunk or sleepwalking without any problem at all.
The first thing which came to my mind was: with the kitchen being next to the sleeping room and not being seperated at all, I can almost smell the greasy odor up there after some serious cooking sessions. I’d never ever set up a loft bed in the kitchen … that’s just gross.
That being said, it is indeed really neat looking.
Maja on 16 Feb 2009 at 12:29 am #
Looks nice for parents… but all black and white environment for a baby! the kid will have some serious problems… visual, perceptual, psychological. No one here was considering that babies and small children do not appreciate white walls, white cabinets, sleek black chairs and hardwood floors.
Plus a vertical ladder… omg.
marco on 17 Feb 2009 at 1:33 pm #
its a bgreat hype and stylish use of space…
how did they get the pipe through the wood?
M Wilson on 17 Feb 2009 at 4:07 pm #
Very cool idea.
However,
If this was constructed the way I think it was, I may have some input as far as cost is concerned. Fir plywood is not $4. It is difficult to find a 4′x8′ sheet of OSB that is $4 even in the winter time. I am probably wrong, but it looks like to make this thing it would take about 40 sheets of 3/4″ plywood. It doesn’t appear any plywood is “bending” here, merely stacked on each other like a deck of cards. That would run you about $900-1000 for the raw wood alone, maybe more.
Fun project.
BJ on 24 Feb 2009 at 11:18 am #
Increasing loft space this is a very innovative way to do this. The lines are all very simple and clean and from a structural stand point this is a very innovative way to solve this. The way that the bed nests in that little groove makes the space seem all that more inviting. I also appreciate how there are no hand rails on the top part of space and how it creates this sort of juxtaposition of safety between the crib and the bedroom. The problem in the article is that it says that is made from bent ply wood but if you clearly look at the pieces it made from a series of cnc’ed or routed pieces but I love the construction. The whole house in general is really awesome.
kaylan on 04 Apr 2009 at 1:46 pm #
that is so hot i dropped my mouth when i saw that
MamaK on 04 Feb 2010 at 1:56 pm #
Fine enough for athletic teens or young adults who can carry laundry etc up a ladder, but a possible death trap for a child. There must be a railing or glass partition at the drop off, and a gate to keep the child from climbing up. Completely unsuitable for a family. No common sense on display here.
A on 17 Aug 2010 at 9:58 pm #
It looks very nice, but completely impractical and potentially dangerous for sleep deprived parents, a recovering new mom, and a growing child. Perhaps they don’t plan on living here much longer? This is an example of form being put before function. Put function first, then make it pretty! They could have moved the bed over a bit and put some minimalistic stairs to the right to have safer access to the loft, while still increasing space and having it look nice.
LIsa on 18 Aug 2010 at 10:50 pm #
Erik said: “The Whole Bed probably cost no more than any other bed would have. $6000 – $8000.”
Any other bed??? I would never dream of spending $6,000 on a bed….
stephanie didelot on 05 Feb 2011 at 10:29 am #
c’est ingénieux et beau.
Paris.