A couple quick thoughts,

First is that when you are near the main door to a condo/apartment you can hear a pin drop out in the hallway. Other doors opening and closing, people and pets, etc. coming and going. Is there enough of a “buffer” between the suite and the other residents and their activities? To me the bedroom is right beside the hallway and I can’t see that as being restful.

Secondly, the washer and dryer, as convenient as it is to have one en suite, I’m betting a honey cruller donut that the building has laundry facilities on site. Is it really that necessary? If you had to lug to the corner laundry that’s one thing, but if the facilities exist, that’s another. As well older buildings may not allow the inclusion of a washer and/or dryer within the units since the plumbing may not be able to handle the extra load.

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I wondered if I could achieve the feel of John’s plan while staying in a tigher budget.

First of all, the demolition is not as extensive. I removed only the L-shaped kitchen wall to open up the space. New kitchen cabinets, counters and appliances are installed moving only the stove very slightly. The kitchen could be changed as per John’s plan to accommodate a washer/dryer. Hardwood floor is installed throughout the living and kitchen space. In the bathroom, only the sink is relocated. All fixtures, tiles and flooring is updated. The door location is changed. The bedroom flooring is updated in the same hardwood used in the living space. The major change here is an opening cut in the bedroom wall allowing additional south light to penetrate the living space. The unit is completely repainted. New window coverings and furniture complete the renovation.

The washer/dryer can be very discreet – note the MichaelG posting yesterday.

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Here’s another variation trying to maintain the buffer from the public hallway as I mentioned in my earlier post today.

There’s more storage as well and two entrances to the bathroom. Possibly there is enough flexibility to place the kitchen centrally. I’ve terminated the hall closet to allow a feature in the north corner, but that can easily be extended. Sliding doors throughout the unit to ease movement and the kitchen counter does double duty as dining space.

An over sized sliding door to the bedroom can help visually open up the space as well as providing privacy when needed.

I originally had openings on either end of the bedroom closet just as John Brown has done, but I decided that it made the space open but also a bit “chopped up” so I opted for a larger opening on the one side. Similarly, the bathroom door got moved off the north bedroom wall to create a little more privacy for guests using it (some people might feel “odd” about going through the end of someone else’s bedroom.

I like the washer/dryer option that Brad points out from MichaelG’s plan yesterday. Yet, I kind of like the idea of the laundry just a little separate from the main part of the bathroom.

Many of the plans have included small tables in an L-kitchen. I’m not sure that adheres to a loft look, does it? Seems kind of old-fashioned to me…

A good discussion about in suite laundry facilities. For convenience, security and privacy, most of the clients we have worked with – particularly single women – prefer to not have to go to a communal facility in the building. I can also understand the point about devoting space to something that already exists outside the unit. My sense is that many people were able to accommodate it relatively seamlessly. I particularly like the idea of locating under the bathroom vanity.

James,
Do you think that the added buffer space makes the living area too small?

Murray,
In a unit this size my expectation would be that the exterior walls are load bearing but not the interior partitions. None of the spans would be so excessive as to require an intermediary support. The existence of a plumbing stack (or two)in the walls servicing the other units above and below is a much greater possibility and could impact the final layout.

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John — Like James I feel that you have devoted too much of the very limited amount of space in this unit to the bedroom. The bed almost looks lost in the bedroom, whereas the living room seems tight. My preference would be to reverse this allocation of space — make the bedroom snug (although maybe not “single bed snug” as James is suggesting) and add the freed-up space to the living area. In this regard I have modified the plan I posted yesterday to incorporate a separate, but snug, bedroom using the “wall at the foot of the bed” concept that I posted a few weeks ago (see image). I also liked Paul’s idea of relocating the door to the balcony to make the corner of the living room more functional, so I incorporated that as well. Finally I shortened my kitchen counter slightly to create a place to store extra chairs for the counter-height table/island when not entertaining.

James Scott makes a goodpoint about the bedroom size. I’m single in a one-bedroom apartment, and the bedroom is only for sleeping (etc). It doesn’t need to be a retreat since there’s no one to retreat from. When no one is there, she could just lave the whole thing open. And if she wanted a bigger bed, some of the LR millwork at the end could work for clothing. His plan also allows plentry of room in the kitchen for one of those u/c washer/dryer units.

Regarding the necessity of having laundry in the unit- YES! My concern is not so much for safety, but for the pain-in-the-buttness of having to work your laundry schedule around other people and worrying about theft. Maybe I just don’t like to share, and why make the client if she can afford the nice upgrade that she’s saved for?

Paul C’c plan was also interesting, with only a single kitchen wall but with a dining table that, if made counter height, could function as a work surface island. The pantry storage is a nice addition even though she doesn’t have many tchotkes. At the least she could stick a suitcase n a shelf at the top. The “what if she has a dinner party” issue is resolved, adn she still gets a nice desk seperate from the kitchen (opt one).

Sorry about the lurking, but I love the site and seeing all the creative solutions from everyone, esp. when they include products I haven’t seen before. Thanks to all!

This just in,

CBC’s “As It Happens” (http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/) just interviewed the realtor of NYC’s skinniest house. On the market for a cool $2.75 million.

Here’s a link I picked from the internet.

http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2009/08/26/2009-08-26_skinniest_house_in_new_york_city_will_cost_you_fat_price_of275_million.html

When talking about the attributes the agent being interviewed said the nice thing about this house is it isn’t a cookie cutter home. I bet he frequents this site.

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I’ll see your Manhattan house and raise you these two. I used to see them walking to the station from my then girlfriend, now wife’s old apartment. Personally, I’d take the one in West Village, but not for $2.75mm! Nice find James.

While I disagree with most of the comments and designs, I do respect the effort that everyone has put forth. The majority of these layouts would simply not work.

Joe C,

I’d like to hear more about what you think would and wouldn’t work — I like to get input from as many places as possible.