Nature and industry meet in this Akron loft

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Housed in the former Swinehart Tire & Rubber Co. building, now Cascade Lofts, this 1,000-square-foot Akron loft functions as both an Airbnb and a hospitality suite for Cascade Loft’s Trailhead event space.

Karen Starr, co-owner of Hazel Tree Design Studio in Akron, married those functions with Rust Belt flair and natural elements. Her design incorporates the exposed ductwork and factory windows overlooking the Towpath Trail with Akron-centric decor that acknowledges the Rubber City’s industrial roots and showcases its interior design wares.

“These interior design clients are very focused on environmental stewardship,” she says. “Whenever we could source locally or with an uprecycled material — that was front and center.”

Local furnishings:

“It was very important to have artisan-made furnishings, lighting and art,” Starr says. John Strauss of Strauss Studios in Canton made the primary bedroom’s maple platform bed, while Freddy Hill supplied the light fixtures and collaborated with fellow Clevelander Kevin Busta on the live-edge maple dining table and sugar-pine-topped nightstands. “They were torched, so they have this really cool high-low contrast,” Starr says of the latter. Steel coffee and side tables from Doug Meyer of Warren share space with a teal-tweed Norwalk Furniture sofa. Nearby, a metal bird by Akron native Michael Marras perches among locally made vases and the clients’ treasures: a tire pattern, an old bank and an antique camera.

Murphy bed:

Starr installed a desk bed made by Hiddenbed USA in the secondary bedroom. It allows the room to function as a workspace when the loft is a hospitality suite or has just a couple of renters. When the double bed is pulled down, the desk lowers beneath it. “You can leave all of your things,” she says. “You don’t have to move any of that to pull the bed down.”

Repurposed items:

See eco-friendly design, including in the kitchen, where a found-object assemblage by Akron artist Bret Hines combines metal ID tags from Akron’s Sumner’s Butter, an Akron Brewing Co. image and bottles on decorative wood. Hill fashioned the living-area armchair from wood, some of it reclaimed, while Starr found the lawyer’s chair in the secondary bedroom at the Bomb Shelter. The dining chairs were made from recycled plastic. Starr points to a vintage bicycle hanging from the ceiling. “That was inspired by the Towpath,” she says.