Remodelling Apt/Lofts In Atlanta

Posted on: July 28th, 2010 | 24 Comments

This is Day 190 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.

Thanks to viewer input from Molly K, we are going to re-work the floor plan from Monday’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode for today’s Design Project! This floor plan scored a lousy 7 out of 20 on the Slow Home Test and we need your help to re-work it and get the points up as high as possible.

In fact, this week, we are going to be adding a twist to the Design Project because we will be using the Slow Home Test to score your finished Design Projects and then post the ones who have made the greatest improvements!

As you remember, the project was the “Pierce” in the “Lofts @ 5300” in North Atlanta. It is 1,230 sq ft with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Fix the organization! You will need to relocate the kitchen, living and dining spaces as well as come up with a better furniture layout.
2. Correct the problem with the closet in the second bedroom that opens to the main bath.
3. Make minor adjustments to improve the entry and laundry area.
4. Re-design the access door and window unit to the balcony to improve circulation and furniture placement.

Good luck!




Day 190 – PDF
Day 190 – Existing
Day 190 – Demo
Day 190 – Full Symbol Library

When you are ready, click on the player below to see how John has designed this space.

See John's final design

Make sure to join us tomorrow for our “In Detail” look at Indoor Living spaces in apartment/ loft projects. Also, please watch this latest video installment from the “Atlanta Regional Commission” to give you more background about the Atlanta area.

  • nicole

    [img]10_pp1.jpg[/img]

    By tightening up the bath / closet on the left hand side, a better entry can be created.
    Lots of storage can be added, even a computer / workstation.
    Dining is situated on the rh side to still allow for some access to light.

  • Franco

    [img]1_franco2.jpg[/img]

    Here’s my attempt.
    I decided to play around with the closet/entry area (like nicole), it enhances that space significantly.

    The plan is fairly self-explanatory. I too went for maximization of storage space (i.e. storage in main bath, bookcase/desk unit left of dinning and bookcase/hutch with fireplace (electric if gas not possible) on the rh side)

  • Terri

    I separated the A/C unit from the laundry (at least that’s what I think those two symbols on the existing plan represent). The master bedroom has a more private entry with a combo linen/vacuum closet across from laundry closet.

    The kitchen woodwork continues past a pantry cupboard to create shelving/glassware type of storage in the dining area. Balcony door now slides from right side; all fixed glass on left.

    Bedrooms and bathrooms more or less unchanged except for shrinking bathtub space in master. I’d like to do something with the second bathroom but that block in the corner presented problems.

  • Terri

    [img]atlantapt.jpg[/img]

    Sorry, here’s my plan.

  • Murray

    [img]atlantaapt.jpg[/img]

    Here is my go.
    For me the major design flaw was the relationship between the foyer and the 4 foot wide area that opened up to the left (top of plan). This narrow space limited options and I found it awkward to incorporate in any meaningful way; I ended up putting the kitchen there.
    I didn’t see a lot of added-space benefit to the walk-in closets and got rid of those.
    I am assuming that odd unit is one great big A/C unit for the Atlanta climate.
    A bit nervous about subjecting this to the SlowHome test!

  • jim baer

    [img]100728slowhomedesign.jpg[/img]

    my thoughts

  • MollyK

    [img]shatlantaaptr2jpage002.jpg[/img]

    Here’s my take…

    Did not want to close in the entry by putting the closet directly beside the front door. Instead, I utilized space beside front door to install a ledge for keys, purse, newspaper, etc. Adjacent to it is a deep closet.
    The laundry moved across the hall with what I thought was a water heater but may turn out to be an A/C unit.
    Since John mentioned that the 1st bedroom could be viewed from the kitchen in the original plan, I turned the bedroom door to block the view.
    The kitchen and dining area utilize the back wall…both have a direct view beyond the balcony. The corner seemed a logical location for a banquette, and I added the exposed beam to give it the perception of having it’s own “room.”
    The living area worked better with a sliding glass door for the balcony. The fixed glass piece allowed more “wall” space for furniture placement. The built-in on the wall opposite the couch has a small desk for computer work.
    Finally, I took the closet door from the shared bath and put it in the 2nd bedroom. I installed a pocket door which allowed more functional space inside the closet. I also installed a pocket door in the closet and bathroom of the 1st bedroom to better utilize space as well.

  • Manolo

    [img]4_mytry.jpg[/img]

    For mine I switched the bedrooms so that the master is on the right and the left side bathroom is shared for guests now. The wall separating the main living space from the master suite is a built-in bookshelf and television unit. A sliding wood door hides the master suite away. The floating bit in the kitchen is tall storage and the fridge. Perhaps this doesn’t hit the roof and leaves some room for light to sneak in toward the entry…(although you would have to dust up there a lot). The space beside the water heater is storage with enough room to happily store 2 or 3 bikes instead of leaving them downstairs.

  • Mid America Mom

    [img]atcondo1.jpg[/img]

    The entry now is a bit tighter but there is a closet on the way into the unit.

    Just to the right of the entry is a small hall with the AC or whatever that thing is and the laundry. This way water and mechanicals are on a shared wall saving cost and energy. At the end is a door into a full bath.

    I thought to reduce noise from the living area to the one bedroom. The entry is moved to the small hall and the a wall closet is against one wall to the living space. Here we gain the ability to have the bed against two walls.

    The dining area has space for a table, desk, and sideboard (if desired). The kitchen I originally planned a double galley. But I flipped it to a U so the diners at the penisula are 1. out of the circulation and 2. have a view to the outside and 3. A view to those in the kitchen and living room.

    The living space now has a slider with the opening closer to the entry.

    At the end of the unit is the new master bedroom. The entry door is at the kitchen. The closet entry, on the bedroom side, is in the middle. I took great care on the door placement. A middle location gives the most options for closet organizing.

    It was fun and I may not be done with this yet :) Wonder what John did with the kitchen.

    Mid America Mom

  • Mid America Mom

    OOPS forget to tell you why the sink is on the back wall and not penisula (which I would prefer). Water lines are on that wall in the bath so thought to bring them over to kitchen would be more efficient.

    Mid America Mom

  • Jamie L

    [img]try.jpg[/img]

    Here’s my attempt.

  • ReneP

    [img]redesignwk4.jpg[/img]

    The entrance was moved slightly and a roomy coat closet added. I sacrificed my egalitarian virtues to make the master bedroom bigger this made the entrance hall work better. Opposite the MB is a storage/laundry room. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory.

  • Frances GF

    I can’t believe I’ve drawn a U shaped kitchen, but this layout asked for one. The good news is it is large enough for two to cook, cooking is best shared.
    The entry closet includes a pantry for more storage.
    The TV is placed off centre to allow vertical display and storage.

  • Frances GF

    [img]1_shdp75demo.jpg[/img]

    Sorry, it’s late, here is the attachment.

  • JPod

    [img]newfloorplan.jpg[/img]

    Here is my floor plan, I didn’t have a lot of ideas for it. This was a real tough one for me.

  • Grace Coulter

    plans look great everyone,
    John’s redesign was great. I really liked the detail with the bookshelves at the entry. You can easily see how the addition of a built in would change the feel of two spaces dramatically.
    jim baer – I think your plan looks very clean and liveable
    nicole- I think your plan is also an extremely effective solution.
    cheers,

  • Amanda

    [img]shdp75template.jpg[/img]

    Here is my attempt

  • Ashley P

    [img]week4floorplan.jpg[/img]

    The first three features of this house I wanted to fix were a bigger laundry room, a more private entrance to the 2nd bedroom and a door from the room to the closet rather than from the bathroom. I wish there was more natural light to work with but hopefully the doors to the patio get lots of sunlight to help illuminate the rest of the floor plan.

  • bstone52

    [img]finisheddesign.jpg[/img]

    That was hard! the main room is very oddly proportioned and doesn’t accommodate the living room dining room very well! I think I overcame this problem. Moved the laundry etc, kept the bedrooms relatively normal and put some sliding doors on the balcony

  • Kyle B

    [img]draft4.jpg[/img]

    This was a difficult project for me. Upon alocating space I realized just how much of it there is! That said, I was able to include a study and extra storage after fitting in the essentials (living, kitchen, and dining). I also pushed back the guest bathroom door and was able to fit in a small linen closet inbetween the bathroom and bedroom.

  • Kyle B

    [img]1_draft4.jpg[/img]

    Second attempt at posting. Didn’t work the first time.

    This was a difficult plan for me. There was a lot of space to work with here! I was avoided putting the dining table adjacent to the entry. I like how John separated these spaces. I also really like MollyK’s plan. The consideration of the bedroom entrance facing the kitchen was well thought out. Also, the banquette is a very nice touch.

  • Tara

    [img]1_atlantaapt.jpg[/img]

    Here’s my redesign for yesterdays project.
    I combined the closet and hotwater heater into a larger closet and turned the washer dryer to open on the other side. I extended the pantry wall a bit past the wall itself so that it helps define the entry from the ktichen. I kept the main living spaces in the same areas as I think this made logical sense but made slight changes to improve the quality of the spaces. I added an island to the kitchen to fill out the space. The kitchen now relates better to the dining space. I turned the balcony door into a glass slider which allowed for more light to get into the room. The opening of the door also works well with the furniture placement. As far as the second bedroom’s closet, I simply changed the door on the bedroom side to gain direct access.

  • Joshua

    [img]atlantasapartment.jpg[/img]

    Alright, as I comment before there were as couple of simple changes that could really inprove this apartment, because I this I tired not to make any majpor moves. The kitchen was plenty large enough for an island and I felt as though it helps use the space up. The entry to laundry and maste bedroom were change as to make them more private. Extra closet space in the front entry, as well as a redesign of the living room. I realise that the doot to the patio has change, but I think that this is a must in order to have anything viable in that space. The dining is still kind of back in the corner, but with a little more room, and eaiser access to the outdoor living. The door in the 2nd bedroom into the closet had been changed. All in all, with only slight changes, I think we made a large improvement. I re did the slow home test and got a 13/20, big improveent from a place that originally got a 5/20. (From me anyways) Hope you enjoy my thoughts.

    Joshua

  • Andrew

    [img]designprojectaptloftatlantamcconnell.jpg[/img]

    Late submission, but here’s my entry!