Part 1 – Fernandez Residence, Ontario

Jim H

[img]1_fernandez.jpg[/img]

I removed most of the interior walls. In my layout millwork will be the key ingredient to this space being a success.

John Brown

Jim,
A very nice simple solution to a small space. How would you suggest that the client deal with a dinner party?

John Y

sigh… I’d begun experimenting with moving the bed up into the north corner, while creating a galley kitchen/dining area in the south, next to the bathroom… but a Fireworks crash wiped that out. Dunno if I have time to finish now, although I’ll try to squeeze it in.

John Brown

John,
How unfortunate. I would have really liked to have seen how that idea panned out. Any chance of a rough sketch?

Jim H

[img]fernandez2.jpg[/img]

Eat out or buy a bigger condo (kidding). From the information that we are working from, I didn’t hear entertaining guests in house was a priority. The larger counter could be removed and a small table added. Or a table top could be designed as part of the millwork. It could fold out from the millwork. The chairs from the counter would be used for seating. The top would fold back into the millwork when not in use.

John Y

I’ll get something posted for sure, but it may not be until late this evening — I have some appointments filling my afternoon.

EDUARDO B.

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SMALL OPEN SPACE

EDUARDO B.

[img]fernandezresidenceontario.jpg[/img]

SMALL OPEN SPACE
hope this time we can see my plan

Brad W

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Mostly, just a refresh of the apartment. The entry closet is incorporated into the kitchen millwork. The bathroom space is small but efficient. Of note, the toilet has not been moved. If moving it is possible then the vanity could be lengthened. A stacked laundry is accessible from the kitchen and is located between the bedroom and the bathroom. The kitchen, living area and bedroom speak for themselves. Simple, elegant and very livable with high quality finishes.

Volker

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Since she wanted to have a loft-like place, I tried to keep the living/bedroom/dining area as open as possible it is supposed to be open for any arrangements needed: more space to have a huge dining place for friends, some additional sofas or lounging seats and so on. The kitchen and bathroom is reduced to fit in a single “supply-line” at the rear of the place. From my point of view I do not like to actually “stmble” right into the living area therefore I added a little detour – and placed an “eye-catcher” since she likes sailing and wants to relax, why not have a huge tub in the middle of the appartment – so she can have a nice hot bath while looking out, watching tv and so on. The tub should have a glass-wall facing the entrance. The 2nd tub in the bathroom should actually be a shower but didn’t have the time to build a shower-icon.

Jim H

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Last one before I leave the office. This layout is a little more playful.

John Y

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A few notes on this: I’m cramming an over/under washer/dryer unit into the bathroom, which gives us a small vanity but I think might be a worthwhile tradeoff to get laundry into the condo. If that’s not a priority for the client, the vanity can easily be extended along that whole section.

I’m assuming there’d be a dishwasher under the counter next to the sink. If it’s not possible to get plumbing over on that side, the sink and dishwasher could move where the range is and vice-versa, albeit at the expense of some of the overhead cabinets.

I have the two sets of French doors in the bedroom so that it doesn’t feel like a cell back there, but with curtains on the glass in the doors, they could still be closed up if privacy is needed.

That’s built-in shelving units on the northwest wall in the living room. A television could be hung on the segment of wall between the two windows — unless it’s really a monstrous TV.

Ultimately, it’s a cozy space — there are a couple of tight squeezes, but nothing *too* bad, I don’t think. If necessary, the bedroom could be made smaller (perhaps with sliding glass doors of some sort) to allow for more living-room space. But I wouldn’t want to make it too much smaller than it already is.

John Brown

Eduardo,
I like the incorporation of the desk in the millwork piece that separates the bedroom from the living area.

John Brown

Volker,
Bathtubs in the entry an apartment for an exhibitionist :)

Terri

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I wanted to keep doorways to a minimum so I’ve planned for a floating closet with an unusual door arrangement. I envision a frosted glass unit suspended from ceiling that covers the closet during the day and closes off the bedroom from the kitchen, etc. at night. I know this is uncoventional to not have closet doors part of the time, but I figure at night it’s not high priority to hide the closet’s contents. Also, in the morning, it’s all right there without opening the closet up.

The kitchen island has a tabletop-height extension for the dining chairs, but also the coffee table is one of those folding units that can fold up to tabletop height for dining in living room. A bookshelf unit would be built in under the wall end of the island, facing living room. TV/stereo would be built in to the back of floating closet.

James Scott

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Here’s a quick one. The blue is a Murphy bed. Haven’t quite figured out the details. All of the light blue is glazing, including glazing over the kitchen to stream some light into the bath.

John Brown

Jim H,
As you probably guessed I am not usually a big fan of 45 degree angles in plan but your concept is quite good. It adds some much needed space to the bedroom. It would be interesting to see if the free standing angled wall could be detailed separately. My one concern is that the circulation space by the kitchen is getting tight.

John Brown

John Y,
Thanks very much for drawing this out again. I really like the location of the kitchen. As you say, the biggest challenge is getting natural light into the bedroom. I wonder if it is possible to do something more open than 2 sets of doors in an enclosing wall? The challenge then might be privacy, particularly from the entry.

John Brown

Terri,
I like the idea of the combined door for the bedroom and closet. It could be a great detail. Having the closet open may be an issue for some.

John Brown

James,
The idea of the long wall(s) of millwork is a nice one and the scheme allows light to get into the bedroom. Do you think the murphy bed is necessary? That space feels a bit empty when it is in the up position as you have shown it in the plan.

Doug Roberts

I have assumed that there is little or no need for bedroom privacy, so the bedroom, living room and kitchen/dining are all together in one big space. The only closed off spaces are the bathroom and a closet, and both are placed against the northeast wall, on either side of the entry. There is a spot for a stacked washer/dryer just inside the closet door. A millwork TV stand is placed at the foot of the bed. The TV would disappear down into the millwork when not in use and, when raised, would be able to pivot to face either the bed or the living room.

The kitchen island would be a square counter-height table, which could do double duty as both an island and as a dining table for up to 8 people.

Doug Roberts

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Sorry, here is the floorplan I was referring to.

James Scott

Thinking about it, maybe a pullout is possible though most consider them to be more temporary or guest accommodation. I guess what I’m really trying to have the living space be multi-purpose.

My biggest fear is trying to cram too much into this space. My sister-in-law has a similarly sized space which includes front hall & closet, full bath, 2 bedrooms and stacked laundry. But the living, dining and kitchen are so crammed it’s claustrophobic.

John Y

I thought about glass walls — perhaps frosted — instead of the French doors. I wonder if a combination could work.

Brad W

John Y – I like the kitchen location. I do think the space between your kitchen counters is a little tight.

In general, I think some of the designs require plumbing changes that might be difficult but…

Brad W

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Another option…

Brad W

What I don’t like about my second option above is the loss of a distinct one bedroom and the affect that may have on resale value…

James Scott

Doug – Terrific ideas, great way to deal the storage, laundry and other necessities.

Brad – Maybe provisions can prepare for the eventuality of a wall if needed for a sale. A quick trip to city hall, $100 for the fee and $1500 or so for a wall, some trim and paint. It’s not structural, so getting the city’s stamp should be easy.

John – Trying to figure out how to eliminate a standard bed. What kind of plan would we get if we borrowed from traditional Japan as an example. Tatami mats and futons, low slung tables, built in storage and multi-function spaces. Any thoughts?

John Y

James,

I’m rather interested in borrowing from Japanese use of small spaces in a general sense, but I’m not sure if I see it working in this particular case — perhaps it can, but so far I’m unconvinced.

Cat

I actually loved Jim H’s first plan, and didn’t mind the lack of dinner party space, but thought he needed to work in the laundry somewhere. I loved the lack of walls and using millwork partitions instead.

On seeing some of the later plans, though, it makes some sense to swap the kitchen and bedroom locations. Brad W’s last plan though makes it a long walk if you need to pee in the middle of the night. Doug Robert’s plan moves the bedroom and uses just millwork, but I think the closet is using up too much space, and forcing the bed into the living room a little too much.

Not sure I could ever live in just 630 sq ft, but some of these plans might convince me that I could. If only I didn’t have all of this “stuff” requiring a little more storage.

Is it OK to post my thoughts — even if I’m too lame to draw up my own plans?

John Y

Cat — please do post them! Most days I don’t have time to make drawings of my own, but I certainly don’t let that stop me from talking about the day’s project.

Doug Roberts

Cat — it is definitely OK to post your thoughts, regardless of whether you draw your own plans or not. Those of us who do draw plans are always hungry for feedback. Speaking of feedback, thanks for your comment on my plan. I knew I was pushing the envelope a bit by making the bedroom a seamless part of the living space, but I thought that making the closet wall line up with the bathroom wall might create a sense of symmetry that might be appealing. I could see adding to the sense of symmetry by surrounding the head of the bed with millwork (built-in night stands/cupboards/bookshelves/lighting) that would somewhat mirror the kitchen cupboards on the other side of the entry hall — maybe the same design but a more luxurious finish.

John Brown

Some very thoughtful comments and design work on the bedroom location/type/etc. That is the primary issue with this project and I appreciate the attempts to push the envelope. I think the discussion of Japanese precedents is a good one for this.

The second biggest issue for me is how to elegantly deal with the dining table. Even if the client doesn’t plan to have alot of dinner parties I think that every house needs a table – to read, work, eat, build a model, do a slow home exercise ….

Cat, Your comments are always appreciated as are those of everyone watching – whether they have time or the inclination to draw or not.

John Y

Now I’m experimenting with a sliding (lightly frosted) glass wall of the sort seen here: http://www.slidingdoorco.com/

What I’d really like to do is have millwork along the entirety of the northwest wall and have the wall slide into a gap in it. But I’m having trouble getting dimensions I want that way while keeping a coat closet.

MichaelG

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Heres a quick one. Seems like most of the usable ideas have already been explored. Some nice creativity today though. The only extra I can contribute is the front loading washer dryer in the bathroom. See attached for inspiration.

I’m also not sure if a tatami mat space would work here. Its a big commitment to set up your bed every night, then pack it up every morning. You also need to air out a futon once a week, which might be tough on that balcony. Unless you’re really committed to the concept of using a tatami room as a bedroom and as a living space, and you really wanted one, then it would be better to have it as an ‘extra’ room. This is how modern Japanese houses incorporate tatami rooms, if they even have one.

MichaelG

Note that is a washer/dryer combo, and will allow extra vanity space. A variation of John Y’s plan of a washer/dryer stack.

Volker

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Yohn I agree, place a tub in the mifddle of an appartment is special but then, she is a single lady, asking for a a loft (usually a huge room – seperated rooms only when really needed), she is a working lady, wanting to relax from a busy working day – and again, having a huge tub is perfect for that, why hiding it somewhere in the back of the place? The tub will be a unique thing to her place, making it special. The LA and Berlin/Germany based architects of GRAFT did a very nice appartment ontop of an existing house and placed the tub right in the middle of the living room – as you can see in the picture attached.

John Brown

Michael G,
Thanks for the image showing the washer/dryer under the bathroom vanity. This could make a lot of sense as it allows the counter to be used for laundry when necessary.

John Brown

Volker,
A very beautiful image. Thanks for sharing it with the group. It makes the idea of a tub in the middle of a space much more appealing.

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