When Scott and Sean Meyer, two brothers who are both software engineers, set out to buy a Denver condo together in early 2020, they had clear criteria in mind. For starters, they wanted to be able to walk to work and other amenities in minutes, due to the local climate. “We set a boundary based on how long a comfortable walk is in snowy weather,” says Scott. (Under 20 minutes was ideal.)

They also wanted three bedrooms—one for each of them, and an extra for visiting friends or family. “Since we’re two brothers living together, we didn’t want one person to have a significantly nicer bedroom than the other,” adds Sean. They were relocating from the outskirts of the city to a downtown building, and there were things from the suburbs that they didn’t want to give up: “Like being able to bring a muddy bike inside without having to go through a super nice lobby,” says Sean.

They ended up finding a 2,150-square-foot one-bedroom loft in a converted candy factory in the LoDo (Lower Downtown) neighborhood. Built in 1909, it was once home to the Brecht Chocolate and Candies company, before it was converted into lofts into the 1990s. Their commute by foot would be about five minutes, and it even had its own street entrance and interior access to a parking garage for bike storage.

The only problem? It was open—very open. There was a single lofted bedroom in the mezzanine overlooking the living space below, and there was no door to the bathroom. “It was just open, too," says Sean.

Before: Entrance

After: Entrance

After: Kitchen

Even so, they loved the loft’s exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and huge windows. “We kept talking about it,” says Scott. “So, eventually we thought, maybe we don’t have to look for a perfect place. Maybe we can make a place perfect if it has the right bones.”

They bought the loft, moved in, and picked up some drywall, wood, and doors from Home Depot to build temporary walls while they figured out their next steps. “The intention was to live like that for maybe six months, but we lived like that for two and a half years,” says Scott.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen and Dining Room

To narrow in on a plan, Sean and Scott started out by contracting five different freelancers on Fiverr. Some of their ideas were good, but many weren’t. Then they hired a design firm, but Scott says “they really wanted to do very cookie-cutter, normal things, and part of what we love about this space is it’s quirky and weird and dynamic.”

Finally, they put out a call on Houzz. When architect Chris Fuller of Helios Design Group biked over to see the house, the brothers were sold. Fuller handled permitting, mechanicals, and historic preservation compliance (since the loft is in a protected building), and interior designer Ariel Roth oversaw the space planning and interior detailing.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

As they were planning the project, the design team found that they could keep the existing mezzanine, but they weren’t allowed to add a second. “Our ceilings weren’t tall enough to add another level by code,” says Roth. They opted to preserve the existing bedroom and close it off with steel-framed interior windows that are rated well for acoustics.

“Sound privacy was big here,” says Roth—and she kept it top of mind while creating the remaining two bedrooms and selecting the furnishings. Even the chandelier over the living room does its part, as it’s made from sound-absorbing felt.

Before: Back of Loft

After: Back of Loft

The brothers also wanted to have their own offices. “We loved the place because it was big and open, but it’s not very livable to have complete open space,” says Sean. Under the existing mezzanine bedroom, which is Sean’s, Roth tucked an office and a full bathroom—and there’s a powder room and laundry across the hall.

The other two bedrooms do double duty. In Scott’s, which has a brick exterior wall with windows, there’s a lofted bed with an office beneath it, and an en suite bathroom. The third bedroom has sliding doors on two walls, so it can serve as part of the common areas, or be closed up for privacy.

After: Flex Room

After: Scott’s Office, Bedroom, and Bathroom

Comfort was key. The loft now has a normal amount of doors, and the main rooms are set up to accommodate the brothers’ weekly game night gatherings. “We play big complicated board games that take forever to set up,” says Scott, so they appreciate how the dining table has a concealed interior that can keep one game in play, and allow for a second game, or meal, to unfold on the solid top.

Before: Mezzanine

After: Mezzanine

As for aesthetics, “they wanted to do something more playful and colorful," says Roth. “I didn’t use color sparingly.” She punched up the predominantly blue and green palette with neon-yellow sconces, sound-absorbing pink felt in the guest bedroom, a red toilet paper holder, and graphic powder room wallpaper, which nods to Scott and Sean’s professional backgrounds. “It’s called Pixel,” says Roth.

In the end, the brothers are happy they hired a designer. “If left to us, the design would be like no colors, straight lines, and very boring,” says Scott. “You don’t let software engineers design houses. You see what we do to apps.”