Fixing an 800 sq.ft. Apartment – Part 1

Posted on: February 17th, 2011 | 4 Comments

In this week’s “From Fast to Slow” segment, John and Matthew take on an 800 square foot apartment with major circulation and kitchen design problems. Tune in tomorrow to see how they turn this “Fast House” into a “Slow Home”.

  • Mid America Mom

    That door would be better toward the kitchen- that way guests are not tramping all through the bedroom.

    NEWS!!!
    My husband accepted a job offer today. I am off to the mile high city of DENVER at some point in the near future.

    My mother asked me the other day if I should look at the slow home project for our new place. That was a great idea but we are really looking at apartments or existing homes.

    We would love to replicate our old place in Yorkville (the east side of the annex) in Toronto but that really does not seem to exist. Highrise and rowhomes, big and small retailing, decent school, close to school/work/entertainment, and no one uses their car with the great transit. SIGH.

    Trying to keep the eventual commute downtown to 1/2 hour on public transit, within a lower budget, and decent public school. The master planned communities we uncovered during the slow home project; lowry, stapleton, bradburn village, do not fit that bill :( . Downtown core does not have decent public schools. I did research a cohousing somewhat green development in the west side that looked nice but it is too pricey to rent or buy.

    I am entertaining the thought of a fixer upper in some of the neighborhoods. One that needs help with interior but livable without issues like the roof, water heater, furnace… At the moment that means a single story 2 bed 1 bath bungalow of around 900 sq feet (how can I live in that? We survived a two bedroom of 650 in TO!) and a full basement. So when we have saved a little we can do what we can (after I rip up all carpet from the hardwood floors). Also looking at apartments of course…

    Back to househunting!
    Mid America Mom

  • Matthew North

    Hi Mid America Mom – That is exciting news about your move to Denver! When John and I were there last June for the Slow Home project I was struck by the high quality of the historical neighborhoods just outside the downtown core. There are a lot of 1920′s and 1930′s vintage arts and crafts style houses, that would have been in that 900 square foot range you are talking about. A lot of the neighborhoods had small and unique retail areas and I was also impressed with the quality of the parks. We did also drive through some of the newer developments, like Stapleton, but it was the inner city areas that left a mark on me. I also think the LODO district with the baseball park is also a real urban success story. I am looking forward to hearing your reports about the move and where you decide to settle in Denver.

  • Terri

    Hello Mid America Mom,
    You sure get around!;) I hope that you find the right place in Denver. I remember a site that featured the rebuilt projects around the city, but I can’t remember the name now. (John did mention it during the Slow Home Project, way back then.) I felt that Denver was on the right track when it came to revitalizing the downtown core and east of there. Good luck, and I hope you get to stay put for a while!

  • Mid America Mom

    Thanks for comments folks! I will try to keep you informed.

    back to hunting… he is due there in one month.

    Mid America Mom