Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Moving

This morning I found out that someone else is on the move. Decorator and artist, William Rankin McLure has decided to move from his spacious downtown Birmingham loft into a quaint little 2-bedroom apartment in the Highland Park area.

The move back to a traditional space might be prompted by the need for change, but William also let word slip on his popular Instagram page that he was saving up to build a house. So far, this is all we've been able to see of the new digs:


The apartment has hardwood floors throughout, including in the large formal living room and dining room. You may remember that he once painted the hardwood floors of his pre-loft apartment white:


This time though, he says he'll be getting a quote to have the floors refinished before he paints them. He tagged his instagram photo, #whiteonwhite, which would lead you to think that they'll be getting a coat of paint, but perhaps this is a new leaf for McLure and he will once again wow us, sans white floors. 

A little digging revealed only two photos of the apartment prior to the McLure touch:


They're quite small photos, but you can see that there's a great deal of natural light, and a ton of wall space for all of his art. He posted about the move on February 18th, and then showed this sneak peek in his instagram story today:


Appliance delivery, and of some pretty pricey appliances. Fhiaba is an Italian manufacturer of high end appliances, similar to sub-zero. This built in fridge can range from $4,500 - $10,000. There's also a little bit of a hint to what may have happened with the rest of the apartment. Wall to wall seagrass carpet covers the old kitchen floor. 

It will be interesting to see what furniture William chooses to move to his new digs. After all, it's very likely that it won't all fit. Last summer, William had Hector Manuel Sanchez photograph the loft he's leaving for this new traditional apartment. 










While square footage of the loft may be similar to the new place, certainly the ability float furniture without having to worry about doors and windows and walls makes placement much easier. I assume we'll definitely see the dining room table and chairs, and walls filled with his art. But what about that living room? Do you think that 40" square fiberglass coffee table is gonna fit? 

One thing that I do know is that William has masterful vision. He took this: 


And turned it into this: 


Which, was featured in multiple magazines and on a One Kings Lane home tour. When he moved into his loft, it was not the glossy white space you see on Instagram now. 


Concrete gray floors, light oak cabinets and no window treatments. Seemingly overnight, he turned it into this: 


Ikea cabinets and laminate counters look mighty impressive in all of his photos of the renovated space. I'm curious to see how/if these will be given new life in his new space.

While I figure out my move, and sort the pieces of what's to come, it's nice to see that William will be doing the same, figuring it out faster and more beautifully I'm sure! To see more updates on his move and what ends up in the new space, follow him on Instagram.