Last summer, after a few months of searching for condos in downtown Columbus, Ohio, I was lucky enough to purchase a small studio unit at the Buggyworks buildings on West Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District.

The Buggyworks was built in 1902 as a warehouse to manufacture horse drawn carriages. After serving for a few years as a nightclub (Mecca), performance areas, and artists’ lofts (among other things), the buildings were overhauled recently to house ‘authentic urban lofts.’

Through a series of fortunate events, I was able purchase the only studio size unit remaining for sale because somebody had dropped out. It’s just under 700 square feet…the perfect size for me.

Unfortunately, none of the furniture I currently owned would do much justice to the space. As a result, I was forced to go on a little bit of a spending spree to furnish the new digs. I am just now considering myself finished after spending thousands(!) of dollars.

Here’s some comparisons of the loft when I first moved in and today.

When I first saw the space I thought that it looked small–too small. However, I listened to the commonly heard comment that once you get furniture inside it actually looks bigger. After filling it up, I’m pleased with how much room I have. Any more and I would have to buy more things to fill it up…

The bar stools are from CB2 while the blue chair in the foreground I purchased at a Design within Reach warehouse sale. Almost everything else, including the shelving and everything on it came from good ol’ Target. Although the current collection isn’t as cool in my opinion, I recommend the Thomas O’Brien collection. It’s modern and cheap. The blender, toaster, and paper paper holder are from Michael Graves, also through Target.

The CD racks come from an awesome store place called BluDot. They come in the mail as a flat metal sheet with instructions on how to fold them into racks

The view below is when you first enter my condo. The wall is the other side of the cabinets, microwave, oven, etc.

One day was I was particularly frustrated due to work (story coming soon), I suddenly decided to paint the freestanding wall black. Most people had negative reactions when I told them about it, but seem to like it once they see. The painting on the wall is by my brother Greg. It keeps me on my toes.

The final comparison photo is looking out into the living room. Not much to say about this, the couch and everything is hidden by the island.

Next page has more pics….

• Buying a ventless dryer
• My near on-the-job nervous breakdown
• North Bank Condos