Of course, to create a loft-like setting, one must play up the rawness of the space, as Paul did when he left the ceiling’s corrugated steel exposed. “There are still even markings [on the beams] from when they built it,” Paul notes. “I thought it added character.”

The same went for furnishings. As the first home Paul decorated by himself and for himself, this loft represented a fresh start. “I sold everything I owned,” he says, “every piece of furniture…and I started just basically from scratch.” Using his preference for bright, primary colors like red, blue and yellow as a starting point, Paul shopped around places like Thingz and BoConcept to select pieces himself.

It’s not so surprising then, that the coffee table’s centerpiece is a big glass bowl of red and blue pens. This, Paul laughs, was born from his collect-all drawer where he’d toss his pens after work. One day, as he was sorting through it, he decided to turn his unintentional collection into a conversation piece that now comes in handy during the many parties and networking events he hosts. “Everybody wants to come here,” he explains, “because it’s a fun place.” Take, for example, the party he hosted one summer when he suggested some friends get together at his house before descending into Kierland Commons to attend one of the summer concerts. “Nobody ever left my loft,” he recalls good-humoredly. “Everybody stayed there until one in the morning. They just partied, and then they’d go out and watch the band from up on the balcony and then come back and party some more.”

This, it seems, is part of the loft experience, a laidback lifestyle centered on good friends and good times. Paul has since moved back to a single-family home again, this time in Paradise Valley. He’ll be remodeling it himself. (“I’ve always wanted to gut a house and remodel it,” he admits.) But it’s only a matter of time before the loft’s next owner looks a little closer at those homes up in the sky during a Kierland outing and discovers for himself the allure of urban-meets-suburban dwelling.

To Learn More

For additional information about Cliff Paul’s home at The Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons, contact Sandra Wilken Luxury Properties at 480.596.0001 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For details on The Plaza Lofts project, call 480.355.0207 or visit www.plazaloftskierland.com.