List Price: $560,000
The Property: This two-bedroom loft has a supremely contemporary sensibility, as evidenced by the gleaming metal kitchen cabinets (intended for a high-school science lab), the black granite tepee-shaped fireplace, and a sleek, elongated bathroom sink.

Marc Lawrence, an executive at Lawrence Foods (his family’s bakery and food-ingredients manufacturing company in Elk Grove Village), bought the space in 2001. At the time, it had only one bedroom and medium-quality finishes, installed by the development company that had converted the 1920s warehouse building to condos. Lawrence’s interior designer, George Johnson, made some crafty changes, most notably cordoning off one end of the too-long living room with a wall of glass. With curtains drawn, that wall encloses a new second bedroom; with them open, it provides a clear line of sight toward the Loop’s bright night lights. Johnson was also responsible for the chem-lab cabinetry, the sculptural fireplace, and a pair of sloping, neon-trimmed partial walls that create a foyer where there was once only more open space.

A few years ago, Lawrence married his wife, Brooke (she also works at Lawrence Foods); she kicked the contemporary style up another few notches when she brought in Graunk Enzenberger, a principal at the River North design boutique Orange Skin. Together, they introduced a rich color palette to the loft that plays off its heavy timber beams and the daylight pouring in the tall windows. 

Price Points: The Lawrences have bought and are now renovating a superb mid-century modern house in Glenview. They put this 1,900-square-foot loft on the market on July 9th with an asking price of $596,000; they have since dropped the price to $560,000. A buyer can negotiate to buy many of the loft’s custom-fit furnishings separately, and there are three parking spaces also for sale (two indoors, priced at $35,000 each, and one outdoor, priced at $25,000).

Listing Agent: Paul Ragi of Keller Williams Realty, 312-953-0786