An In Depth Look At Apt/Lofts In Atlanta

Posted on: July 29th, 2010 | 14 Comments

This is Day 191 of the Slow Home Project and we need you to join us in our quest to evaluate the design quality of houses in nine North American cities in nine months.

For today’s “In Detail” segment we are looking at indoor living spaces in apartment/ loft units. All of the examples we have pulled are from the Atlanta area.

As you will recall from the “What’s Wrong With This House?” book, in a Slow Home, the indoor living space easily accommodates a furniture grouping, is organized around a focal point like a window, TV, fireplace or view and has a good connection to the outdoors.

Too often, apartment/ loft projects have oddly proportioned indoor living spaces that make them difficult to furnish and often cause the furniture to conflict with doorways and other major circulation routes.

We need you to go through the apartment/ loft floor plans from the Atlanta area and post examples of what you feel are both good and bad indoor living spaces along with your comments. We look forward to the discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew review some examples of both good and bad indoor living spaces in Atlanta apartment/ lofts.

To see the examples from the tutorial in detail, click on the images below.

1. This is an example of a well designed indoor living space. Note how the structural column is well placed, there is clear circulation around the
furniture and good access to the exterior terrace.

2. This is also a well designed indoor living space – it is also a corner condition like the previous example. Corners are easy to furnish and it is
easy to create a focus with a furniture grouping.

3. This is a poorly designed indoor living space. It is a combined living/dining space with not enough room for either function. The location of the door to the deck is also a problem.

4. The 45 degree angle on the exterior wall of this indoor living space causes problems for the furniture layout. The angled sofa is not acceptable as a furniture layout and all the access to the bedrooms is through the living space.

5. This indoor living space is an odd shape, the space continues without separation into the entry hallway and has a lack of focus. There is a conflict with the deck door and the furniture grouping is not well placed. Overall, a very poor design with many problems.

6. This living space is long and narrow and has no logical place for the TV to be placed. Currently, the furniture is focused towards the island, which is odd. If the furniture was reversed and the TV placed on the outside wall, there is not enough room for circulation between a sofa and the island.

7. This living room is long and narrow, has an awkward angle at the end of the unit and has almost no access to sunlight. It is also a problem that the circulation to the bedroom is between the TV and the sofa.

8. This is a problematic living space taken to the extreme. This floor plan rambles and the proportion is not wide enough to fit a proper furniture grouping. This loft conversion project would need to be entirely re-designed to get the indoor living point on the Slow Home Test.

Make sure to join us tomorrow because we will be posting the best Design Projects that were submitted on Wednesday as well as voting on who you think should win the award for best apartment/ loft project in Atlanta, and of course, announcing the Slow Homer of the Week!

  • Kyle B

    http://www.blocklofts-apts.com/images/floorplans/flash/a4.swf
    This living area is poorly designed mainly because of the awkward geometry of the loft. I feel this space would be impossible to furnish with a dining table. But, with only one bedroom, would the island suffice?

    http://www.stackslofts.com/assets/downloads/R4_TS_2B2B2_Loft.pdf
    Not much to say for this one. Everything is just done right. Focal point, check. View to the outside, check.

  • nicole

    [img]livingexercisebefore.jpg[/img][img]livingexerciseafter.jpg[/img]

    Central City Condos_residence b
    There are issues with the entry and kitchen, but I am only focusing on the living area.
    The original plan has a furniture layout that did not include a dining area, even though it was labelled. It has excess space and no focal point. Access to light is good.
    Attached is a revised furniture layout.

  • JPod

    http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com/apartment_finder/CommunityFloor.aspx?property_id=178824

    Other than having doors opening into doors in more than one place in this apartment, the living space does seem rather nice. It has the accessibility to the outdoor living space, as well as a large window.

    http://www.gallerybuckhead.com/pdf/2.pdf

    This living space is OK. It’s not great, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. It has great natral lighting because of all of the windows, it has acess to the outdoor space as well. The shape of the space is a little bit awkward, and even though this plan has furniture placed in it, I can see furniture placement being somewhat difficult.

  • Amanda

    http://www.twelvecentennialpark.com/floorplan/floorplans.html
    Bad example: The circulation to the deck cuts through the living area so that the couches and TV are placed too far apart. They also didn’t leave enough space for a dining table.

    http://www.theviewchastain.com/two-bedroom-floor-plan.php
    Good example: This is a good place for the living room. It is in the corner of the condo with two sides of windows to allow natural light in. If furnished there would be enough circulation space to the deck. There is also a central focus on the right wall. For once, there is also enough space for a dinning table between the kitchen and living area.

  • Franco

    http://www.liveatsweetauburn.com/1D.htm
    The Renaissance Walk-1D as submitted by Catherine Taney is an example of a good indoor living space. It has a focus around the TV, with nice natural light from 2 sides. Circulation in and around the area is great. Overall a nice job.

    http://bradenfellman.com/residential/greenwoodlofts/floorplans/
    Unit 405 as posted by Scott poses an interesting situation in terms of furniture placement. I would likely place dining near the kitchen, which leaves significant wasted space behind it (near balcony access). More relevant to this week’s in detail section, the living area would be in the bottom left of the plan. Although this location has great natural lighting, access to the bathroom/laundry, the angled wall and so many windows will make furniture placement difficult.

  • ReneP

    [img]iconapt.jpg[/img][img]galleryresidence.jpg[/img]

    http://www.atlanticstationapartments.com/properties/icon/floorplans.aspx
    Bad: ICON Apartments – Unit A1- Living area at the back of the apartment – entrance opens right into it (as well as the mechanical) – the only daylight getting to this space is through the kitchen.

    http://www.gallerybuckhead.com/pdf/2.pdf
    Good: Gallery Residences – Residence Two – Nice circulation available around and through the living area- lot’s of daylight through the windows as well as easy access to the balcony.

  • ReneP

    JPod –
    I see you already posted the Gallery Residences and it seems you did not like it. Sorry we do not agree – I really like the plan and furniture layout.
    I wonder if I can solicit some other opinions on the Gallery Residences.

  • Daniela M

    http://zrsapartments.com/villageatnorthlake/printable-floorplans.asp?id=615
    The Braselton is an example of what I feel is a bad indoor living space. I found it was far too hectic and lacked logical organization, making the space too busy. Firstly, the entry way is in the kitchen and is surrounded by two closets and a laundry area right behind the door. This would make the space very crowded and difficult, and doesn’t give a good first impression of the property.

    Additionally, the dining area is placed in the living room which makes the space crowded and causes it to lack a focal point. Although there is an area with bar stools, if individuals wanted to sit down and have a meal (and this is especially likely considering it is a two bedroom house), the living room would be rendered temporarily useless and vice versa.

    Lastly, I did not feel that access to the bathrooms was ideal. Firstly, access to the guest bath involves entering what seems like a portion of a bedroom as it is the only door that restricts access to the bedroom, which causes a lack of privacy. In an attempt to keep this bathroom private from the bedroom, there is a long hallway which leads from the door to the bedroom which is awkward. As well, although the only access to the master bath is through the master bedroom, making it less likely that guests would be using this bathroom, there is a closet attached to the bathroom which compromises privacy if a guest were to use this bathroom.

    http://zrsapartments.com/villageatnorthlake/printable-floorplans.asp?id=616
    In my opinion, Beverly is an example of a good indoor living space. Especially comapred to the Braselton, it offers a much more logical organization. The entry way opens into the dining and living area, and the dining area is afforded more space. Especially considering that the floor plan only ranges from 1,151 – 1,223 square feet, I found it surprising that the architect was able to incorporate both a dining area, a living area, and two bedrooms.

    Although the entry way is smaller, it does offer a closet which makes it a functional space. Additionally, the kitchen has more organization and although it’s separate from the other areas of the house, having a sink that overlooks a bar top and the dining area makes the space more open and inclusive.

    This plan also features access to the closet from the master bathroom which is, in my opinion, still not ideal, though this is a personal preference. Even so, by having the master bathroom more removed the common areas of the house, this bathroom is less likely to be used by guests.

  • Ashley P

    [img]grinnelloftsplan304.jpg[/img]

    This is actually a fairly good living space.
    - Clear focal point
    - Couch not located too far away from television
    - Sufficient natural lighting
    - Sliding glass doors lead to balcony
    - Allows for circulation
    - Easy to place furniture appropriately

  • Jamie L

    [img]willowfloorplan.gif[/img]

    it has Bright and airy living/dining area and it has big living space also good access to the exterior terrace. This plan has Recessed lighting. Nice circulation and good organization

  • Jamie L

    [img]10febbtowltypical2.jpg[/img]

    I would say this apartment is poorly designed. The kitchen is located too close to the entry also it is narrow, kitchen to the living/dining room has poor circulation. The access to the bathroom is poor also no privacy.

  • frazer

    [img]livingspace.gif[/img]

    Here’s a decent living space. Good light and connection to the outdoors with enough space and proximity to a focal point. It does have traffic in going through it however due to lack of extra space. The bedroom opens up to the living space but at least it is not right in the middle but on a more logical dividing line in the unit.

  • Joshua

    [img]living.jpg[/img]

    I’m not convinced that this is a great living room, but what I do like is the connection to the natural lighting, and the rest of the house. Having seen a bunch of outdoor access cutting through living spaces, it is nice to see good access, without cutting through the living space. My main fear with this space is that it will not be able to use all the space allocated. However all in all I like it and would definetly give it the points.

  • Andrew

    [img]screenshot20100730at1.04.jpg[/img]

    I don’t think this living space is very good. I’ve seen this a lot in floor plans where the living space and dining space have been grouped together into a single space and the owner is expected to furnish the room in order to create some definition. The problem here is that this square space does not help to define the 2 individual uses and the doors at the back make it awkward if you want circulation to go from the kitchen to the back of this living/dining space.