By Sarah J. Dills
Photos by Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

Times have changed since the 19th century frontier, but the phrase still represents having a good time in the city. Although most people might think of Manhattan, Las Vegas or Miami when they think of a metropolitan hub of nightlife and entertainment; downtown Cleveland has much to offer any evening partygoer.

From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to the multitude of restaurants and nightclubs, there is no limit to the activities accessible downtown on any night of the week. One Ohio City loft owner probably won’t be found with a bucket of red paint near the side of any building. Instead, he is taking a more technological approach to painting his loft red, and every other color of the rainbow, using LED technology. As a resident of the suburbs, the loft owner never liked the long trip home after a night downtown. Looking for a way to keep the party going, he enlisted the help of Jeffrey Knezevich from Amazing Design to transform a Ohio City loft into a residential nightclub.

Keeping up with the Jetsons

Knezevich is not a residential architect, but rather a commercial designer and contractor. He has designed several Cleveland hotspots, one of which caught the future loft owner’s eye. "The owner frequents a club, the Velvet Dog, that I designed, and he asked the owners about me," Knezevich says of how he was brought on for this residential redesign. "We had no idea where we were going with the project when we started."

Knezevich says the Velvet Dog was a jumping off point for the project, but the club is more of a funky contemporary. He adds that the theme for the loft became, "What would you do if you wanted to live in the Jetsons’ house?"

Some of the key ingredients giving the home a space-like feel are the contoured architectural lines, stainless steel and lighting. "We decided we could paint with lights," Knezevich explains.

Rainbow connection

The loft owner wanted a space that could be multi-functional according to Knezevich. They decided to break the usage into three categories: formal for business meetings, funky for after-hour parties, and family oriented for the children. Because the unit had to be able to shift personalities, the owner didn’t want to have to paint the walls any certain color.

Knezevich was familiar with LED (light-emitting diodes) technology though his commercial work, and the owner had business customers in the field. The pair thought they could utilize the specialized lighting to give the loft a multitude of color options.

According to an article by Joe Knisley, senior editorial consultant with EC&M magazine, light-emitting diodes are solid-state devices that convert electric energy directly into light of a single color. They could be considered a green product, because they employ "cold" light generation technology. LEDs don’t waste energy in the form of non-light producing heat. LEDs cover the entire light spectrum, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue and white.

Dialight, one of the world leaders in LED technology, says typical applications include military equipment, test and measurement devices, and harsh environments including the aviation and marine industries. The loft owner says LED technology used in residential projects is still fairly new, but Knezevich always found a way to bring his wishes to reality.

"Jeff and his crew were able to take what we had in our heads, and create it in the loft," the owner says. "Jeff’s the kind of guy to make things happen."

Knezevich says the LED technology is nice in the residential setting, because you can change the entire atmosphere of your home with the touch of a button. The lights are hooked to an iPlayer controlled by a laptop. The colors can undulate, and they can be set to certain times. "You can have it set to where when you walk in at 6 p.m., everything is blue," he explains. "Then as the night progresses, the colors change. On St. Patrick’s Day, we painted everything green."

Crank it up

Not only is the lighting system out of this world, the sound system is commercial quality. The full, club sound system is completely different than what most people have in their homes according to Knezevich. One amp, at 150 watts, and one set of speakers would be enough for most homeowners. However, the loft system has several amps, at 500 watts, with huge sub wolf speakers. "Believe me, we can crank the music," Knezevich says.

The audio/visual technology is also advanced in the loft. The entire upstairs landing of the loft is devoted to a plush theatre room. A tapestry of square, floor pillows creates the comfortable couches, and a glass railing provides a safety barrier for the loft while maintaining the open atmosphere. This is an area where the family can gather for a movie, or one of the children’s hockey teams can relax to watch a game. "You push one button and the curtain closes around the room, the lights dim, the projector screen comes down, and you’re ready to watch a movie," Knezevich says.

Along the same lines with the theatre area, there are six television screens mounted to the two-story wall overlooking the pool table. The six screens surround four other screens mounted to look like, and create an image of, one larger television screen. The screens are not for watching television though. "We always thought it would be cool to have pictures on the wall that change, whether it be every five seconds or every five minutes," the owner says. "When we have a party with our kid’s hockey team, we can rotate photos of the team."

Knezevich says the technology used for the screens of family photos is similar to the technology used in high-end trade shows or presentations. However, the area underneath the screens is much more exciting. A unit houses four beverage refrigerators for thirsty pool players. "We have parties here for my kids with magic shows, black lights, fog machines, bubble machines, you name it," the loft owner says.

Working up an appetite

With all of the activities that can happen in this loft from playing pool to watching movies, it is obvious that people will work up an appetite. The kitchen is equipped to handle the needs of partygoers while keeping with the futuristic theme of the loft.

"The kitchen was designed to be pretty tame," Knezevich explains. "The countertop is simple, black concrete with glass imbedded in the surface. However, there are also fiber optics built-in. When it goes to full-blown party mode, we kick on the black lights."

The result is a shimmery surface with intricate details to keep people’s imaginations spinning. Bar stools provide additional seating, and stainless steel appliances match the atmosphere of the home.

Off to bed

Down a flight of stairs illuminated by LED lighting, there is a bedroom and bathroom for the owner and his family. After all, the main reason for selecting the loft was to have a place to sleep on the weekends to be closer to all that downtown Cleveland has to offer.

The loft owner says the unit is completely different from his home in the suburbs, yet he and his family have always wanted a contemporary dwelling.

"When he (the owner) talked to me about this idea at first, I thought he was crazy," Knezevich admits. "But then he explained it to me. It’s like owning a boat that doesn’t depreciate. Why not invest in a place where you can walk out of the door and go to any of the best places the city has to offer?"

View original article at http://cleveland.housetrends.com/article.php?id=55