Loft Conversion

Boston, MA

Tackling an upscale loft conversion in the heart of Boston's Leather District, Bob offers viewers a unique 13 episode look at the latest trend in stylish city living. The story's set on an urban landscape in renewal: blocks of gracious 19th-century brick-front buildings, designed to house and supply Boston's bustling shoe industry. After that industry's decline and decades of disuse and neglect, vast improvements in the quality of city life are promised by the "Big Dig", the now infamous construction project that will sink the city's expanded highway system, along with its noise and exhaust, in underground tunnels. As a result of these imminent improvements, the Leather District has been transformed into the ideal neighborhood for successful artists and professionals with a taste for urban living.

Built in 1901 and later used as a fur storage warehouse for Boston's big department stores, 717 Atlantic Avenue is one of scores of Leather District buildings being broken up into loft apartments. Our loft on the sixth floor of this elegant brick Richardsonian Romanesque facade overlooks South Station, Boston's transportation hub. Given the value of its location, this apartment's getting a top-of-the-line treatment: cutting edge design, custom-made furniture and casework, sleek modern fixtures and state of the art appliances. Bob also journeys around town to visit some spectacularly decorated lofts, and he even goes underground to check out the progress of the highway tunnel that's being dug right under the building's front steps!

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	Show Information:	View all videos from this project

	Loft Conversion Initial Tour (HA0914) Dates Aired: December 7-13, 1998 \| June 7-13, 1999 Bob takes a walking tour of some of Boston's best-preserved antique commercial buildings in the Leather District with architectural historian Brian Pfeiffer, winding up at our gracious brick front on ... View show summary
	Plumbing, Heating and the "BIg Dig" (HA0915) Dates Aired: December 14-20, 1998 \| June 14-20, 1999 Work gets started installing windows in our loft space six stories above Atlantic Avenue, after a peek around the basement to see how the plumbing and heating installations are coming ... View show summary
	Plastering the Loft (HA0916) Dates Aired: December 21-27, 1998 \| June 21-27, 1999 The plastering crew is hard at work on stilts, and Bob tries his hand. Next, it's a field trip to Cambridge, where world-renowned landscape architect Martha Schwartz has made a ... View show summary
	Elevating the Kitchen and Bedroom (HA0917) Dates Aired: December 28-January 3, 1999 \| June 28-July 4, 1999 Before heading up to our loft on the sixth floor, Bob gets a progress report on the common areas in the building from developer Neal Gold. In our unit, Ryley ... View show summary
	Paint and Plate Glass Windows (HA0918) Dates Aired: January 4-10, 1999 \| July 5-11, 1999 The entryway and foyer of our Atlantic Avenue building is getting a new paint job and replacement plate glass windows. On the way up to our unit, Bob stops to ... View show summary
	Framing a Wall with Built-in Cabinets (HA0919) Dates Aired: January 11-17, 1999 \| July 12-18, 1999 This time the architect really throws Bob a curve! Carpenters David Ives and Brian Dauphinée are taking on the challenge of framing and plastering a 48-foot wall with a carefully ... View show summary
	Installing Plumbing Fixtures (HA0920) Dates Aired: January 18-24, 1999 \| July 19-25, 1999 Bob and plumber Elie Ghazali install some cutting-edge Kohler plumbing fixtures in the bathroom: an electrically powered full-body shower tower, a dual-speed pressurized toilet, and a hand spun turquoise glass ... View show summary
	Installing Stainless Steel Countertops (HA0921) Dates Aired: January 25-31, 1999 \| July 26-August 1, 1999 The men of steel are here! Stainless steel countertops get welded together on site for the restaurant style kitchen. Bob tours the fabrication shop in Weymouth, Massachusetts where they were ... View show summary
	Drywall and Plastering Tips (HA0922) Dates Aired: February 1-7, 1999 \| August 2-8, 1999 Ryley is on site at the loft to help David Ives put together a bookshelf nook, and Brian Dauphinee gives Bob some pointers on installing precision drywall and plastering in ... View show summary
	Installing Track Lighting (HA0923) Dates Aired: February 8-14, 1999 \| August 9-15, 1999 The electricians are getting started on the lighting at the Loft project; Bob takes a look at how track lighting gets put together. Lighting designer Markus Earley gives Bob a ... View show summary
	Building a Closet System (HA0924) Dates Aired: February 15-21, 1999 \| August 16-22, 1999 Architect Greg Rochlin is back on site to oversee the fabrication of the hallway closet system?a multicolored design pieced together in Formica© laminate. Lighting designer Markus Earley returns with some ... View show summary
	Kitchen Work and Shutters (HA0925) Dates Aired: February 22-28, 1999 \| August 23-29, 1999 Bob adds the finishing touches to the loft's restaurant style kitchen as he and Ryley put together the wire shelving system and install the stainless steel range hood. We take ... View show summary
	Loft Conversion Final Tour (HA0926) Dates Aired: March 1-7, 1999 \| August 30-September 5, 1999 Bob gives a grand tour of the finished loft conversion on Atlantic Avenue with designer Lisa Shire, starting with the graciously restored facade and common areas, and winding up in ... View show summary