SoHo loft gets an inspiring new look

Moving into this beautiful SoHo loft in New York City, fashion designer Dana Barnes came across the dilemma of trying to mask the acoustics of her 3,250-square-foot 19th century warehouse. She somehow needed to muffle the sound of her young daughters pitter-pattering of feet across her bare floors. Born was the idea of crafting crocheted felted unspun marino wool into squares. Each one is hand crafted and takes about four hours to produce. After the squares are made, they are placed in an organdy bag and put into a washing machine to agitate for an hour or so. The agitation is what causes the wool fibers to mash and separate. When the granny square is finished, it is taken up to the rooftop to dry on a cheesecloth, and held down by straight pins to block its shape. Ms. Barnes, with the help of her assistant, uses curved needles to puff out the fibers to create texture. Her prices range from $95 to $200 a square-foot, a three-foot square motif is priced at $1,575. Via

The loft is comprised of white washed brick walls and wide open spaces which created a decorating dilemma for Ms. Barnes who is not particularly fond of furniture. Minimalistically designed, the space can be rearranged for parties or play time for the children, the main emphasis is on the wool rugs.

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