Upcycling on a big scale

I am currently quite distracted due to the start of a very big upcycling project. We bought an old factory in the inner west of Sydney and have now begun to convert it into a home. I am the project manager and am there every day making decisions and supervising the tradesmen. This is both exciting and daunting and I keep thinking about starting a dedicated blog to track our progress and get everyone's input - but there simply isnt time yet. It is hard to focus on the detail of small vintage things when my day to day decisions are of a very different scale. So a mention here will have to do!

The factory has a history dating back to 1903 when Cobb and co carriage repairs, boat building and furniture manufacturing occurred. In 1967, Blythe Furniture owned it and produced very fashionable and apparently robust furniture. In 1980 it burnt down leaving a couple of walls and some lovely iron support structures from the 1920s.  The rebuild is in very 1980s red brick - which curiously I am quite attached to!

When we bought it - it held two kitchen and cabinet makers both near retirement. It was timely that we turned it into a home - it is the only factory in the street and is surrounded by lovely old federation (early 20th century) houses and mid century blocks of flats (apartments).

Demolition started in February and it has not been without some dramas already - but thats another blog post....I can now speak purlin, drop beam and noggin. Now where's the plan? I need to measure up for roof struts.....