Here’s a story that risks offending those with religious views, so consider this your fair warning…

Years ago, I was showing an authentic hard loft church conversion to an older, single male.  This building is about as “authentic” as they come since all kinds of stained glass features were incorporated into the condominium, as well as some stone carvings of people and faces.

One such feature was left behind on the wall in the master bedroom.

I’m no religious scholar, and I really don’t want to offend, so I’ll just say that there was a stained glass feature of a religious person on the wall.

My client looked at the stained glass, looked at the bed, then looked back to the stained glass, and then back at the bed.  He then said, “I hope she knows what she’s getting herself into…”

Why the developer of this particular condo conversion decided to leave that stained glass piece behind in the bedroom, or, build the condo so the feature was present in a bedroom at all, is beyond me.

But what’s the alternative?

Do you remove this beautiful piece of art?

I don’t know that there’s a perfect solution here.

Consider that when you’re converting an existing space to condominium residences, you’re going to have to work around what’s already there.  In some conversions, a developer will rip out everything except the exterior walls, and start anew.  In other conversions, especially in the case of church conversions, a developer will simply divide the existing space into units.

As a result, there are a lot of authentic hard lofts that have very hard features.  Or very authentic features.

Today, I want to show a few examples and you can determine what is “too” authentic and what is a pass.

For example, I think we can all marvel at the beauty of this authentic hard loft space:

Three original church windows, refinished with beautiful black trim, and original red brick.

The expensive Eames chair doesn’t exactly hurt the photo either, but I think we can all agree that this is really pretty.

And not too authentic, right?

But what about this:

That’s very authentic!

You can almost feel the space as it was used when this building was a church.

Those large double-doors, which now open to a bedroom, might have opened to a “nave.”  And yes, I Googled that term.  It’s where people sit in a church, evidently.

Somebody’s living room contains two massive stained glass windows with wood trim, in between hand-laid stone, with stained glass and century-old double-doors.

How authentic is this, seriously?

But is it too authentic for you?

When we look at bedrooms, there are all sorts of different levels of authenticity.

How about this one:

Pretty basic, right?

Some brick, some stained glass, and that’s that.

Not too authentic though.

So how about this:

I don’t love this.

The two doors are reminiscent of the entrance to the church and would make me feel like I’m sleeping in the foyer.

This is nice:

Ignore the furniture and decor, but the red-brick and rounded window is what loft enthusiasts are going for!

But now, let’s get to the really hard lofts.

What do you think of this:

Could you sleep in there?

With an arch above your head, surrounded by industrial brick and timber?

How about this:

More arches, more timber, more brick.

Is this a little too authentic?

What about less brick and beam, but more structural in nature?

That’s less pretty, and in a way, considering the steel beams supported the entire building at one point, this could be more authentic.

Here’s one that combines the steel support beams and the timber:

It’s pretty and it’s gritty.

But is it too authentic?

Now, how about this:

Some people kill for this!

But others would feel like the wood beams above their head remind them of their camp cabin in 1981…

Here’s a different vibe:

Industrial feeling, gothic, and that window is really authentic!  It’s like you’re sleeping in the church.

Does that hit home for you?

Lastly, how about this bed “room” here:

That’s too authentic for me.

I would bump my head on that, fo-sho!

Let’s take a look at bathrooms now.

This is really cool:

But how functional is the bath tub?

Is it a little too authentic?

The 130-year-old wood in this bathroom is gorgeous!

But what do you make of the location of this bath tub?

Too authentic?  Or just authentic enough?

Another very common feature of hard loft conversions is stained glass.

This is lovely:

And this is quite pretty too:

And sometimes, “less is more” applies to stained glass features where it’s nice to have something without being overwhelming, like this:

However, and this is a dangerous “however,” there comes a time when some original stained glass pieces, no matter how beautiful, are just too authentic.

Like this one here:

I’m not trying to offend anybody, but I’m just making a point.

This is really, really, authentic:

And I have to wonder if this doesn’t eliminate some of the buyer pool?

There are a lot of religions out there and Toronto is an extremely diverse city.

So I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that having these historic, irreplaceable, authentic stained glass pieces in one’s bedroom might not appeal to everybody:

Another common feature of hard loft conversions is the original mouldings.

Whether it’s plaster, stone, or brick, we’re accustomed to seeing features we would never get in a design today.

Check out the ornate detail on the wall here:

That’s very simple but it’s very pretty!

Whenever I see detail like that, I can’t help but wonder how somebody did that 100+ years ago.  With what tools?  With what method?  And how long did it take?

Here’s another example:

Very understated!

But sometimes, there are features in these loft conversions that are just too authentic.

Like maybe this one?

I dunno, it could work.  It could be cool.

It’s definitely a conversation starter!

But I think I tap out at this one:

That’s way too “authentic” for me.

Here it is from another angle, just so you can appreciate where it’s incorporated into the condo:

And what about something that’s “too authentic” but also in a place where you don’t really feel comfortable…

….like in the bath?

For those of you who feel that the examples above weren’t too authentic, I’m happy to double-down with this one:

Way, way too authentic.

Too historic, too hard, too authentic.  Just too real.

Lastly, is there something to be said for simply having too “rough” a space?

I mean, we love “authenticity” and the timber, steel, brick, stone, beams, et al.  But at some point, doesn’t it feel like we’re living in an unfinished space?

Let me know what you think of this…

That feels raw to me, but I’ve been in my traditional family home for five years, after seven years in a very soft-loft style condo, and another condo before that for four years.

Hard loft living isn’t for everybody.  And while I wished I had lived in a space like this when I first moved downtown, I can’t see myself sleeping in that bedroom pictured above, today.

Can you?