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By Jordan Macnab, The Macnabs Real Estate Team
Published on themacnabs.com
The view from the mezzanine. Reclaimed barn board dining table, original polished concrete floors, living green wall, and the rooftop deck beyond. Photo: Dan Stone.
Before The Macnabs became one of the most recognized real estate teams in the Tri-Cities, Jordan Macnab was lying on scaffolding in a half-finished Vancouver loft, spray gun in hand, being pushed across an 18-foot ceiling by a friend.
That image — equal parts ridiculous and resourceful — captures everything about what became one of the most talked-about renovation projects in Vancouver’s design community. The Vintage Modern Loft at 408–272 E 4th Ave in Mt. Pleasant’s Brewery Creek district was Jordan and Katie Macnab’s dream home — a place they built with their own hands, with the help of friends and family, and fully intended to grow into. Life had other plans. When baby number two arrived, they knew it was time to move on.
What they left behind was a loft that had been featured across five international design publications, picked up organically across Pinterest and social media, and ultimately sold for $910,850 — a $310,850 lift above their $600,000 all-in investment (purchase price plus renovation). One of the coolest lofts in Vancouver, by any measure.
This is the full story.
Before diving in, watch the cinematic house tour teaser Jordan produced for the listing. It gives you a feel for the space that photos alone can’t.
The money shot: 18-foot ceilings, reclaimed barn board feature wall, barn door to the baby room above, and the kitchen in the background. Every element hand-built or carefully sourced. Photo: Dan Stone.
The Mecca loft building sits in Mt. Pleasant’s Brewery Creek — a neighbourhood that, in 2014, was just beginning its transformation into one of Vancouver’s most desirable urban enclaves, surrounded by craft breweries, close to Olympic Village, the seawall, and the independent shops and restaurants of Main Street.
The loft itself was a genuine rarity in the Vancouver market: a true double-height industrial space with 18-foot ceilings, 1,350 square feet spread across two levels, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and views of Grouse Mountain. As the top-floor unit — and the only one in the building with exclusive access to a rooftop deck — it was a unicorn find in Vancouver’s loft scene. The building had been constructed in 1995 specifically for artist live/work buyers, and the original polished concrete floors — still in place — told that story beautifully.
Jordan and Katie purchased it for $550,000. They saw exactly what it could become. Then Katie got pregnant with their first child, Gray, and the vision had a deadline. They had six weeks to renovate before welcoming him into the world.
The east-facing wall of windows floods the space with natural light. The reclaimed barn board wall and sliding barn door to baby Gray’s room are visible on the upper level. Photo: Dan Stone.
With a $50,000 budget and an unconventional team — friends, family, tradespeople, and Jordan himself — the couple set out to transform the open industrial space into something that was simultaneously lofty and liveable, cool and functional, industrial and warm.
The design leads were:
The renovation introduced a series of bold moves that each solved a real problem while adding genuine character.
The open-plan main floor needed definition without sacrificing its lofty feel. Jordan’s solution was a floor-to-ceiling reclaimed barn board wall, built from wood sourced through Western Reclaimed Wood Corp. The wall did two things at once: it created visual warmth against the industrial concrete and white walls, and it concealed a secret door — a hidden entrance to Jordan’s home office. The office also doubles as a guest suite, complete with a Murphy bed tucked behind the reclaimed wood facade.
With a newborn on the way, the couple needed a nursery that was close but not too close. Jordan framed off a cozy lofted room beside the master bedroom, accessed through a sliding barn door sourced from Rustica Hardware. Inside, Grandma Judy hand-painted a tree mural using a reverse-tape technique — the wall was painted gray, then the tape removed to reveal the design in the original white underneath. The light fixture was custom-built by Jordan from the same reclaimed barn board, wired by his in-laws with jam jar fixtures.
To paint the 18-foot ceiling, Jordan lay flat on scaffolding with a spray gun while a friend pushed him back and forth across the space. It’s exactly the kind of detail that separates a renovation story from a design story.
The kitchen anchors the main floor with matte gray woodgrain cabinetry, pure white quartz countertops from Canadian Countertops, a clean subway tile backsplash, and a full KitchenAid appliance suite. Simple, durable, and timeless.
The dining table was built by Jordan himself — the top crafted from the same reclaimed barn board used throughout the space. A friend fabricated the legs from sprinkler pipe. The Ikea pendant lights above were rewired by Jordan’s in-laws so they could hang correctly from the high ceiling.
The dining table Jordan built himself — reclaimed barn board top, sprinkler pipe legs. The living wall by GreenStems and the private rooftop deck are visible through the windows. Photo: Dan Stone.
A living green wall by GreenStems anchors the staircase. The modular wine rack visible in the living area was designed by a friend who invented the Stact system. Floor-to-ceiling windows deliver the Northshore mountain views. The couch is from Van Gogh. Glass work was handled by Quest Glass. Nearly every element has a story and a person attached to it.
The master bedroom sits in the upper loft, open to the double-height space below. Jordan demolished the original architectural walls and rebuilt the space with an inset for the bed — showcasing a piece of original art by Linzy Arnott, a wedding gift. Behind the wall is a walk-in closet and a new ensuite bathroom, with a clever window connecting the bedroom to the shower. The bed frame lifts to reveal hidden storage beneath, a necessity in loft living.
What began as a personal renovation project — built partly out of necessity, partly out of passion — ended up attracting the attention of international design publications.
The loft was featured in:
The publications weren’t solicited with a press kit. The work spoke for itself.
The loft sold for $910,850.
To put that in perspective: Jordan and Katie bought it for $550,000, renovated it for $50,000 — largely with their own labour and the help of friends and family — and sold it for nearly $311,000 more than their total investment. That’s not a flip story. That’s what happens when you buy the right property, invest in it with genuine craftsmanship and care, and market it in a way that makes buyers feel the life that was lived there.
They didn’t want to sell. This was their dream home — a place they designed together, built together, and brought their son Gray home to. But with baby number two on the way, the loft that had been perfectly designed for their life at one stage was ready to become someone else’s dream. The Brewery Creek neighbourhood has continued to evolve exactly as Jordan and Katie anticipated, and the area’s combination of urban density, walkability, craft culture, and mountain views has made it one of Vancouver’s most sought-after addresses.
The Vintage Modern Loft wasn’t just a renovation — it was a proof of concept. It showed that understanding a neighbourhood’s trajectory, investing in authentic design, and bringing real craftsmanship to a listing creates results that go beyond the transaction.
Today, Jordan and Russ Macnab apply that same instinct to every property they represent across the Tri-Cities — Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody — and throughout Metro Vancouver. Whether buying, selling, or simply planning ahead, the team brings the same combination of market knowledge, design sensibility, and genuine care that turned a six-week family renovation into an internationally recognized project.
If the Vintage Modern Loft got you thinking — you’re not alone. Lofts like this are rare in Vancouver and across the Lower Mainland, and knowing how to find them, evaluate them, and unlock their potential takes a specific kind of experience.
Jordan Macnab has lived it firsthand. He bought a raw industrial loft, renovated it with his own hands, got it featured across five international design publications, and sold it for $910,850. That’s not just a real estate story — it’s a renovation and design story, and it gives Jordan a perspective on loft properties that most agents simply don’t have.
Whether you’re looking for active loft listings in Vancouver or anywhere across the Lower Mainland — or you want expert guidance on buying, renovating, and selling a loft for maximum return — Jordan is the person to call.
📞 604-551-5695
✉️ jordan@themacnabs.com
🌐 themacnabs.com
This post was written with assistance from AI. All renovation details, design credits, and sale data are accurate and sourced directly from The Macnabs’ own records and the original publication features listed above.
As featured in: HomeAdore · One Kindesign · HomeDSGN · CAANdesign