Part 2 – Gonzales Residence, Philadelphia

Posted on: April 15th, 2009 | 15 Comments

Part 2 – Gonzales Residence, Philadelphia (PDF)

  • Joshua W

    This is my suggestion. I really feel that the front space makes a better space for the master. Sorry for the sloppy work in paint.

    [img]1_gonzales1.jpg[/img]

  • Grace

    Sorry, John, but I still like Louis’s kitchen placement! (But your master bedroom is fabulous). Unless it is quite small, I think the living room couch placement is too close to the flat screen.

  • renie

    oh . . honestly grace version is good. . but i do like john’s plan the most’ it is simple yet functional . the privacy on room to the kitchen is very nice. .smooth design . .

  • John Brown

    Joshua,
    Nice plan. I like the large kitchen (although the distance between the counters may be getting a bit too big)and the entry millwork by the dining area. It could easily be detailed to be both closet and display/dish storage/ wine cabinet.

    Your concept for the bedrooms deals pretty well with my comment on Louis’ scheme from yesterday about the half bath for the clients son. I also like the fact that you were able to open up the entry. I think the biggest cost to the plan is the second bedroom. The door and closet configuration is a bit awkward and the bathroom door opens directly onto the bed. However, on the whole those are probably appropriate trade-offs for a better master bedroom location.

  • John Brown

    Grace,
    I also have an affinity for the kitchen located on the long wall adjacent to the terrace. However, one concern I have is whether there is sufficient space in the old kitchen for the living room.

    My thought was to feature that long wall with a full height, wall to wall storage unit (think open bookshelves with a sliding ladder). It could accommodate a big screen TV for her son as well as some other closed storage on the bottom level. Above would be a combination of books and objects. It would become a visual feature for the entire house as well as the actual living room furniture.

    I think it is great to have so many options for the client to choose from.

  • Joshua W

    Thanks for the comments John. I really enjoy these exercises and appreciate the time and effort you put into them each week.

  • Paul C

    John,
    If it’s not too late to suggest/request, a good candidate for the “In Detail” segment tomorrow would be the double sided extended kitchen cabinet/hallway millwork. It would be interesting to delve a little deeper into this concept.
    Thanks.

  • Louis Pereira

    John – I like the kitchen and think that if you added an eating counter along the south wall at counter height at 12″ depth, it would make good use of that wall.

    If your Kitchen island is already 3′ depth, then you could have a 12″ depth base cabinets along the west side of the island.

    I also like the Master Bedroom layout…brilliant!…

    Excellent ideas by all!

    [img]090415a.jpg[/img]

  • Louis Pereira

    Joshua – I also like you plan. If you shift the club chairs further up, you may be able to approach the glass or patio doors to the terrace.

    As for the kitchen, bringing the peninsula closer to minimise distance between the counters as john suggested, (9′ (2.75m) is the recommended max. distance between each appliance/fixture), is a good idea and would also dedicate more space to the Dining Room.

  • John Brown

    Thanks for the suggestion about the kitchen. I think it is reminiscent of the extended kitchen bar in last week’s case study, the Evergreen Gardens Residence. I don’t see any issue pushing the island up that amount either. Do you?

  • James Scott

    I appreciate the owners request for a second bath, but this seems to me to be a real luxury when looking at the fact that the unit will possibly be occupied by only 2 people for a what may be a short time.

    And there really is no storage to speak of at this point. I see that second bath as very valuable space in other ways.

    Nor being a bachelor for some time I wonder if it is practical to open up the kitchen along the top and left walls incorporating the dining table into the work space. If entertaining is a feature the owner likes than the more open the feeling can be the better.

    Just my thoughts.

  • John Brown

    James
    Both of the points you raise are really dependent on the client’s sensibilities aren’t they. It is difficult with such a succinct brief to know what would be most appropriate in this situation. I could easily see the tradeoff of storage for a second bathroom go either way. Similarly the desirability of a more open relationship between the dining table and the kitchen.

  • Louis Pereira

    John – Regarding ‘pushing the island up’, I don’t see any concern with that. There is quite a bit of space to allow for easy diagonal circulation from the Dining room to the Terrace

  • Tony

    i like the concept that John came up with for this because it is simple. My only worry is in the kitchen. The old kitchen counter was in front of the window so that means the window is small and about four feet off the ground. i think it will be too small on the wall with the new island layout. is there any budget for a bigger window? how would you deal with that if it was an apartment. any suggestions from the others?

  • John Brown

    Tony,
    That is a good point and not something that I had considered in this round of the concept design. Changing a window in a condominium project is usually very difficult because the corporation owns the structure and exterior skin of the building. Better to work with the context as given.

    I think that Louis’ suggestion of wrapping the counter around as a 12″ eating counter facing the window starts to address this situation. It may also be possible to incorporate open shelving over and around the window to make a small window look less isolated on a larger wall. Check out the open shelving the kitchen in Paul Cha’s Green Penthouse Loft. It is the current project of the week listing.