I have to decide whether to enlist the help of a professional to design the interior of the loft. The obvious cons is cost. I also have to negotiate with the developer to see if I can do that, meaning stopping their standard build out, and hopefully get some cash credit back for not using their stuff. At this point I have no idea how that kind of arrangement will work. I have always thought my next house would be a custom design house. So designing the interior of the loft would be the closest thing to that. Why custom design? Well, the current house at the farm is semi custom designed. Just not by me, but by the original owners. It indeed is a very special house. It has nothing to do with its size, but the layout, and all the little touches that make it both a very livable house and a good party house. Then there is the surroundings and the location. Everyone who has visited the farm loves it.

Back to the loft -- what is the look that I am after? I have given this a lot of thought for a long time. What kind of building interiors I always like? Library, gallery and museum, dojos, Japanese tea house, hotels. A peaceful but functional space. Space. Openness. Light. Natural light.

Talking about light. I need windows. This loft has windows on almost all the living space. Only the kitchen and bathroom areas are against a solid wall. A corner unit loft. That is very important. There are 11 windows.