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Part 1 – Chelsea Renovation, New York
August 31st, 2009  |  22 Comments
  • Brad W

    A couple of questions:

    1. Can the plumbing be relocated?
    2. The thick wall between the kitchen and the bathroom must remain?
    3. Ceiling height?

  • John Y

    Brad has asked 3 of my 4 questions already. The fourth is whether we can get a jpg or pdf of the existing plan.

    Anyway, that bedroom space is tricky with that stepped wall effect in the northeast corner.

  • James Scott

    [img]shweek28.jpg[/img]

    Here’s a quickee showing a general space plan. I’m thinking of how to keep the long wall open with the bedroom somewhat tucked behind a wall but not totally closed off to maintain light infiltration throughout the plan.

  • Brad W

    [img]chelseaapartment1.jpg[/img]

    Here is a an option…

    I raised the floor in the hall and the bathroom to accommodate plumbing relocation from the central stack. Once this was done, I was able to provide a large bathroom with steam shower and double sinks, an area for an optional in suite laundry and a walkin closet. The living spaces are aligned along the windowed walls with privacy addressed using commerical window treatments.

  • Brad W

    Here are my assumptions to my earlier three questions:
    1. Yes, the plumbing can be relocated with some imagination.
    2. Yes, the central wall must remain.
    3. The ceiling height is restored to be greater than 8′.

    And JohnY the image can be obtained by doing a print screen of the Slow Home window. Paste that into Paint and crop out the floor plan.

  • Anonymous

    [img]before.jpg[/img]

    Brad,
    Those sound like good starting assumptions although we will have to wait until tomorrow about the center wall. I believe the ceiling height is closer to 12′. The architect is going to be commenting tomorrow.

    Here is the before plan.

  • John Brown

    Sorry, That last post was from me.

  • Jane

    [img]aug31jc.jpg[/img]

    Hi, attached is my first cut. I wanted to keep the living/kichen areas open to take full advantage of the windows and keep the bath and bedroom private, although now without windows. The placement of furniture and how the bedroom gets devided is up to the pros – I like the ideas from last week with the cabinetry divisons.

  • Paul C

    Brad W,
    Although the space required for the laundry may need to be increased slightly (minor tweak) your plan is very nicely done, in particular how you managed to work with what is assumed to be the immovable structure/partitions. Did you envision the walk-in closet as a glass (possible translucent) enclosed space?

    James,
    Having the living at the other end of the unit certainly helps expand the immediate sense of openness as soon as one enters the unit.

    Jane,
    Depending on how the bedroom space partitions are detailed, the unit could feel very open. Nicely done.

    John,
    You had mentioned privacy concerns, is it possible to expand on that please? Distance from windows to public realm (i.e. sidewalk/street). Is there a ground level patio? Can there be?

  • highway6

    I would say ideally we would want the front to be open kitchen/living while pushing the bedroom to the end with windows on two sides. Except for the fact that the client wants this emphasis on the restroom… and having that near the new bedroom location would bisect this great space in half and i dont think that is desirable.

  • Brad W

    Paul C – In all honesty, I was doing the concept quickly and so I simply used a simple line to indicate the closet space. I like your idea to highlight the closet in some fashion. Chelsea apartments are not cheap so I would assume there is a substantial budget to accommodate high-end and creative finishes.

  • John Y

    Given that the brief talked about potential privacy issues in the windows, I’m hesitant to push the bedroom toward the back of the unit (otherwise, this would be my first instinct).

  • Jim Argeropoulos

    I was thinking that privacy is an issue and one of them likes to collect. That would make for a perfect opportunity to build some millwork to block below head level views and put the collection on display in a way that keeps it from direct UV exposure.

  • Cat

    I like Jane’s plan if the client can stand that windowless bedroom. Maybe if you made the north wall a moveable wall of some sort, or perhaps just a piece of millwork? I’d swap Jane’s storage and bathroom, so the bathroom might have a little piece of window.

    I also James Scott’s plan that moves the bedroom over to have 2 windows. It will give the entry a much nicer,open feel to be able to see out into the apartment and out the window.

    I guess some of this depends on where the clients spend their time. I know some people who work, watch TV, read, eat, and sleep in their bedrooms. And so then the bedroom windows would be nice. If you did a lot of entertaining and spent most of your time in the living room and kitchen, and just slept in the bedroom, you might like a dark, cozy space.

    Brad W’s plan leaves both the living areas and the bedroom with lots of windows which is nice. It still has a little bit of hallway space that I’d like to eliminate, but can’t figure out how to.

    It’s interesting that the architect is involved in the privacy issue and the windows. Is there some high-tech solution to this? I think I’ve seen magic one-way glass on TV? But I’m pretty sure that was on new construction. I’d normally have thought this to be an interior design/window treatment issue, but think it’s great if the architect has a solution — can’t wait to see it.

  • Jane

    Regarding Cat’s comments about one-way glass. I am aware (and have used) a window electrostatic film, which is great for UV protection, however at night one can see into the house if there are lights on. I’m not aware of an after market product that gives UV daytime protection and night security.

  • Anonymous

    Cat – Assuming the central wall can be eliminated and plumbing can go anywhere could you reduce hall space further? For example, you could design a kitchen that you have to walk thru in order to get from the entry to the living space at the far corner of the unit. Or perhaps, as others have suggested, move the living space closer to the entry. In my design, not knowing otherwise, I imposed what I thought were reasonable constraints and I located the living space to take advantage of the rare corner view. This results in hall space which could be customized to serve as display space or highlighted with interesting materials. Perhaps I could extend my walkin closet space over the hall to provide additional long term storage.

  • Anonymous

    The previous comment was from me. Sorry…

  • BradW

    Anon comments above from BradW – am not using my computer and it is causing confusion…

  • Terri

    [img]chelsea1.jpg[/img]

    It’s very late so I’m lacking in inspiration but still thought I might “take a shot” as John suggested. I went a route similar to James, with the bedroom and living room switched. I also decided to limit the plumbing movement as much as possible. It’s pretty pedestrian, using the kitchen as hall, though possibly with all those windows and the right cabinetry it could be less hindering. The space might appeal if the details were right.

    Looking forward to seeing the real deal.

  • Paul C

    Terri,
    Bravo for considering essentially the same circulation technique as the finished home, that being the hallway through the kitchen.

  • Terri

    Paul C,

    Thanks for the praise, but as I said on the Part Two post, I hadn’t imagined anything quite so bold (though it’s been reassuring to see that a walk-through kitchen can be pretty cool!).

  • Paul C

    Terri,
    You demonstrated one of the key precepts in design that being to pose the question…what if…or put another way commensurate with the modesty…what if eh?

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