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Posts Tagged ‘small spaces’

Art Deco Stucco Details and a Clever Floor Plan Rearrangement (If I say so myself)

Posted in Design Projects, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

This very small house in South Berkeley just sold. I remodelled it and added a small additon back in 2012.  The realtor, ABIO Properties,  and photographer Peter Lyons generously shared their photos with me.

I was very proud of the solution I came up with on a very tight budget to add a second bedroom in existing space and a big living room at the back  This way the bedrooms both were close to the bathroom and the living area at the back got a great connection to the garden.

Berkeley Craftsman managed to skillfully execute the design within the budget.

Old Floor plan

OLD FLOOR PLAN

NEW FLOORPLAN

NEW FLOOR PLAN

I was also excited about the subtle art deco stucco details.

I didn’t invent this stucco window detail. I copied it from a few 1920s houses in Berkeley, but I was quite pleased with its enhancement of what was a very plain front façade. The window sill is clear cedar stained dark.

3246 Idaho 3 front window

We did something similar at the back around the 8′ wide glass doors One simple detail goes a long way on a small house

You can see more shots and the interior on Zillow. 

 

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New Window Seat in the Trees

Posted in Design Projects, tagged , , , , , , , on September 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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House Surgery

Posted in Design Projects, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Many houses have floor plans that don’t work very well. In the case of this project, the first problem is a nice living room disconnected from the rest of the house.  (You have to go through the vestibule to get to the living room and the vestibule is not very big, especially if you include a coat tree and shoe storage.  When I arrived and saw the space it also became clear that the kitchen/ diningroom connection could also be improved, as well as kitchen storage and counter space.

The budget isn’t grand, but a lot can be gained with a few small changes.

asbuilt

We will close the opening between vestibule and dining room and open a bigger one directly from dining room to living room. Then we will eliminate a big chunk of hallway between kitchen and dining and use this space to expand the kitchen counter and add some dearly needed kitchen storage.

proposed plan

Someday things might shift back the other way, but for now, most people seem to prefer informal dining that is very connected to the kitchen.

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A Small Addition Behind a Bungalow in Berkeley, California

Posted in Design Projects, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

Last week Akhila gave me a tricycle tour of her crib.

She recently commissioned deedsdesign for an addition including a master suite, expanded kitchen, and family room.  Popping up the roof just a few feet allowed for a vaulted ceiling and high windows over the kitchen and an attic loft over the master.  The kitchen is on the north side, so the high south windows provide southern sunshine while leaving room for enough cabinets on the north wall. (click on the thumbnails to see enlarged drawings)

The dining room gets a lot of southern sunshine and has french doors leading to the deck.

The Lapeyre stairs provide easy access to the loft above.  We enclosed the loft with low walls to hide any boxes stored up there, but added open railings for the last 18″ or so.  This way the required 42″ tall “guards” don’t seem so tall and a bit more light circulates.

I didn’t get any photos of the loft  itself,  but it has built-in shelving and a fir plywood floor, finished with polyurethane. (As you can see the project isn’t quite finished yet)

The homeowner waited for me below while I toured the loft area.


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