Redesign without the Remodel: Future Wealth Creation and Sustainable Living Arrangements

Although the bread and butter of our residential work is working with homeowners who are building or remodeling, our design expertise applies just as much to thinking about your space as it does to laying out floor plans.  In September and October, each Monday design.banter will feature "Redesign without the Remodel, " since the vast majority of us are not currently remodeling our homes or building a new one. It also goes without staying that the greenest design is adapting your current home to your changing needs.  Need some personalized advice? We are always available for consulting on an hourly basis. 

During our series Redesign without the Remodel, we have been looking at how to think outsider of the drywall box, so to say, about the rooms in your house. Who says you have to use the rooms in conventional ways, if that's not what works best for you? Here's a summary of different ways rooms can be used:

• Have only one dining area
• If you use the breakfast nook as your only dining area, just add a table cloth, candles, and dim the lights for when you want a formal feel
• If you use the formal dining area as your main area, use a table cloth to protect a nice table for everyday meals
• A breakfast nook can make a great office: it's adjacent to the hub of the home, and parents can monitor homework and computer use while cooking. Bills and other clutter can stop at the kitchen/office and never make it into the other parts of the house that are used for relaxing, not working. 
• A formal dining area can also be used as a library. Add a few nice chairs and a small table to create a formal parlor area.  
• Switch your formal dining and family room areas. Make the formal dining room, usually the smaller room, into a more intimate TV watching area. Formal dining areas are usually more closed off from the kitchen than family areas-no more turning up the TV over cooking and dishwasher noises. Family areas are usually larger and may have taller ceilings, making them ideal for a combination formal dining area/library/parlor area.
• Designate just one corner or wall of a room as office space, and allow it to be closed off with a curtain or desk with doors. Office areas can also be carved out under a staircase or in a closet. 
• Let your cars live outside and use the extra 400 square feet for active space. An inexpensive shed can house tools and outdoor and sporting equipment. 
• Think of ways an existing house can generate income or provide a community resource. Create a shared home office in the garage or rarely used formal areas. Identify areas that can be rented out.                                                                      

During the presentation of our project for the AIA Seattle 2009 What Makes it Green Awards, the judges were most interested in this graphic, illustrating the built-in flexibility of the San Juan Channel House. 

The layout of the house and garage apartment allow for future wealth creation and sustainable living arrangements for the family, through rental of different areas of the house, cohousing with another family or allowing adult children a place to live while they find their way financially or take care of aging parents. There are also options for creating a home office, for the owner or for rent to others. So far, the garage apartment has proved its flexibility by acting as a temporary apartment for friends in transition, space for a temporary live-in nanny, and a home office. 

In tough economic times, or just in looking towards a more sustainable future, we may need to use our space in different ways, whether that be working from home, adding a rental unit, or sharing what was once a single family home. New homes should be designed with this in mind, but more realistically existing homes can be retrofitted to adjust to our future needs.
           

Redesign without the Remodel: Formal Area Conversion

Although the bread and butter of our residential work is working with homeowners who are building or remodeling, our design expertise applies just as much to arranging spaces as it does to laying out floor plans.  In September and October, each Monday design.banter will feature "Redesign without the Remodel", with tips on how to "remodel" your home using furniture and items you may already own. Your home can have a brand new feel without ever lifting a hammer (well, except to hang a picture), since the vast majority of us are not currently remodeling our homes or building a new one. It also goes without staying that the greenest design is adapting your current home to your changing needs. Need some personalized advice? We are always available for consulting on an hourly basis.

OK, so I'm cheating a little on this one. This may require a little remodeling. Or it can just be treated as a room switch. This series has been about rethinking how we use our spaces and how they can used in nontraditional ways, in ways that work for the way you really live.

Why not make your breakfast nook the one dining area? Do you really need 2 eating tables? Not only are you paying for the extra furniture, but a mortgage on that space too. If your mortgage is $2000 per month on a 2,000 sq foot house, and your dining room is 168 SF, you are paying over $2,000 per year for a room you may only use for major holidays and birthdays. 

One idea is to have the nice table in the breakfast nook. For everyday dining, use a table cloth (and table protector if you have young kiddos). Then, when you want to create a special dining experience, take off the table cloth, light some candles and turn down the lights. You won't even notice that you're in the breakfast nook that you use every day!

If you have a breakfast bar or an area to place stools, this can serve as your casual dining area.

The formal dining room is usually the perfect size for an extra bedroom or a guest room. Instead of moving to accommodate another child or because of the lack of a guest room, you can use the rarely used formal dining room. If you don't want to get too much into the details, you can add some sliding doors, like those available from Raydoor or the Sliding Door Company, or DIY barn door sliders (where a track can be installed over the existing opening, so there is minimum disturbance).

A sliding barn door is a great way to partition off a room (with an opening too big for a traditional door) without creating remodeling dust. Photo credit.

Now to the possible remodeling part. The formal dining area is flexible because of its location at the front of the house, which opens up many possibilities for casual cohousing or house sharing. The formal area of a home can be turned into a separate room for an adult child or elderly parent. If the laundry room or a powder room are adjacent to the dining room, this opens up the opportunity to add a full bathroom. A separate entrance can be added to the front for renting out the room to a student. There is an opportunity for privacy in that the formal areas are usually separate from the other bedrooms. 

Use sliding doors to close off a home office or home office + foyer from the rest of the house. That way, the foyer can serve as an entrance for the office and the home. Photo: The Sliding Door Company.

The location at the front of the house also makes it ideal for a home office. It can be closed off from the rest of the house. A separate entry can be added, or if the dining room is off of the foyer, sliding doors can be added to close off the foyer for when clients or business associates visit. If you have employees, the can make them more comfortable in that they will have some separation from your house. In many homes, the most common entry is the one adjacent to the garage or driveway, so the front door is not often used. Extra income can be added (not to mention company during the day) if the home office is turned into a community office for other work-from-homers in the neighborhood. (See last week's entry on sharing a community home office).

Redesign without the Remodel: Setting up for Sharing Space-Garage

Although the bread and butter of our residential work is working with homeowners who are building or remodeling, our design expertise applies just as much to thinking about your space as it does to laying out floor plans.  In September and October, each Monday design.banter will feature "Redesign without the Remodel, " since the vast majority of us are not currently remodeling our homes or building a new one. It also goes without staying that the greenest design is adapting your current home to your changing needs.  Need some personalized advice? We are always available for consulting on an hourly basis. 

One of the things I'm most passionate about in design and in my own reading and writing is sharing spaces and items. A great summary and update of the sharing "movement" can be found here (warning, it's a PDF, but well worth opening), from the online magazine Shareable: Sharing by Design.

Redesign without the Remodel has been about thinking of your space in a different way and utilizing it the way that works best for you, not just how the rooms are labeled on a floor plan. Simplifying your home to include only what you need can open up space and possibilities. 

One room with so much possibility for sharing is a garage. Unless you live in place with very harsh winters, do your cars really need a bigger room than your bedroom? The area of a two car garage can be 25% of the average home. 

Along with ear plugs and headphones, one of the cheapest ways to "remodel" your house is to purchase a remote keyless entry, which you can do for under $50, to start your car from inside the house on a cold day. For under $200, you can purchase a storage shed for the backyard to hold outdoor and sports gear. 

A garage is an ideal place for a shared community office. It's private and separated from the rest of the house, usually with its own entry. The ideal situation would be to have a powder room close by in the house. No one can agree on the temperature in an office anyway, so personal fans and space heaters can be used in lieu of central heat and air.

Getting a garage in shape for an office will take some work, but not a full on remodel-some insulation in the walls, drywall and paint. Add sweat equity from those who will be sharing the office, and you can do it in a weekend (and as soon as a phone line can be hooked up).

More and more people are working from home, and having a shared community office offers many of the advantages of working from home without many of the disadvantages, the main one (in my opinion) being isolation. Internet connection, phone lines (a business line can be a huge expense for small businesses), printers, scanner, fax machine and office supplies (ordering in bulk cheaply), and conference table can all be shared. Also, very small businesses can share an admin person that they may not otherwise be able to afford. The advantages of working from home are in tact: no commute (except a walk to the neighbor's house), casual working environment, flexibility, saving money on commercial rent. 

As with most sharing solutions, there are many possibilities of how to handle the financial aspect. This could be a great way for the homeowner to earn some extra income from rent, and it would still be more affordable than standard office space for the other participants. A co-op could be formed among members, and one person could offer their garage as neighborhood storage for shared items such as tools, or as a neighborhood workshop.

These ideas can of course be applied to other rooms besides the garage, the most ideal being a rarely-used formal living or dining space, usually ideally located at the front of the house by the entry way. 

More ideas for sharing space next week.

Further Reading: 

• Superbia! 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods, by Dan Chiras and Dave Wann. You can read my review of this book here. 

• The Sharing Solution, by Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow, both lawyers. This book gives practical advice on sharing everything from cars to houses.

Redesign without the Remodel: Space for a Home Office

Although the bread and butter of our residential work is working with homeowners who are building or remodeling, our design expertise applies just as much to arranging furniture as it does to laying out floor plans.  In September and October, each Monday design.banter will feature "Redesign without the Remodel", with tips on how to "remodel" your home using furniture and items you may already own. Your home can have a brand new feel without ever lifting a hammer (well, except to hang a picture), since the vast majority of us are not currently remodeling our homes or building a new one. It also goes without staying that the greenest design is adapting your current home to your changing needs.  Need some personalized advice? We are always available for consulting on an hourly basis.

More and more people are working from home. Even if no one in your house works from home, chances are you need a space to pay bills, check the internet, and store records. Thinking of an office as a space rather than a room save you from designating an entire bedroom or using your extra living area as an office. Below are some ideas to fit an office into an existing space.

Office under the stairs: This space may currently be an awkward closet or storage area, but it can be a great space to squeeze in an office. It can be open or closed. Below is an option for a closed office (the door will open outward and a little bit of the staircase will be exposed).

Office under a staircase in a home with typical 8' ceilings. There is room for a bookshelf and a simple desk (use an old door or plywood, cut to fit the 3' clear space, support with 2x4's attached to studs). Use the space under the desk for extra storage (boxes holding records can double as a footrest) or for the hard drive for a desktop. Paint the walls a pleasant color, and add a mirror to the wall to make the space seem larger.

Guidance from the DIY network: How to Build an Office Under the Stairs

Office at the end of a room: This idea only takes up 2'-3' of space at the end of a room. In a 12' room, that's just 24-36 square feet.  You can use a reclaimed hollow core or smooth door, salvaged counter top (my desk growing up was an 8' section of laminate counter top held up by kitchen table legs), or a few layers of plywood. Short file cabinets can prop up the desk. Run a curtain rod or wire along the edge and use a curtain to hide whatever is going on underneath. Shelves on either end can extend to the ceiling and provide storage for all of the books and DVD's in the house. A closed cabinet or glass-door bookcase can be used to hide ugly binders or paperwork. 

 Utilize the end of a room for a desk and floor to ceiling storage. If there is no window, a wire or rod can be hung and large curtain can disguise the area when not in use.

Office in a closet: If you have a guest room or spare room, you can fit a desk in the closet to create an office that can be closed off when guests come or when the room is being utilized otherwise.  If you work from home but also have kids to watch, you can put the office in the kids play area and put a mirror behind the computer monitor to keep an eye on them while you work. A deadbolt placed at the top of the drawers will keep them out. The space can then also be used for art projects and craft supplies.

Even a small closet can be plenty of room for a computer and shelving. Photo credit.

If you live in a small space, your headphones or earplugs can add virtual square footage to your home. Clever design can allow you to have a fully functional office in a small space that can be closed off when you don't want to be reminded of work. 

Redesign without the Remodel: Programming Outdoor Space

Although the bread and butter of our residential work is working with homeowners who are building or remodeling, our design expertise applies just as much to arranging furniture as it does to laying out floor plans.  In September and October, each Monday design.banter will feature "Redesign without the Remodel", with tips on how to "remodel" your home using furniture and items you may already own. Your home can have a brand new feel without ever lifting a hammer (well, except to hang a picture), since the vast majority of us are not currently remodeling our homes or building a new one. It also goes without staying that the greenest design is adapting your current home to your changing needs.  Need some personalized advice? We are always available for consulting on an hourly basis. 

Speaking as someone who doesn't have a yard (and would love the extra space), most yards I see are underutilized. Most people have this expanse of space behind their house that can be used much of the year. By programming outdoor space, we add to the amount of square footage of living area we can enjoy.

The most obvious and ideal solution is to create a glassed-in porch on an existing slab or under an existing roof (bonus is it's on the south side of the house, in an area like ours). Many activities can spill over to this room. A great solution is to use a sun porch as a combination play room/reading nook/guest room. Yes, guest room. Most of the year, Seattle weather is ideal for sleeping, and the coldest of nights can be aided by an inexpensive space heater. A day bed is ideal for reading or homework during the day and guests at night. 

A day bed can function as a guest bed and reading couch. Next to a dining or card table, it also serves as seating for little ones. Hillsdale House Redding Day Bed and Trundle. 

One way to spend more time outside is to install a hot tub. Hot tubs can be intimidating because of the maintenance cost, but in climates like ours, this can be worth it, especially considering that they can be used all year long. A hot tub can be a great social draw and a way to get to know neighbors. 

A great outdoor space can be enhanced by a hot tub. Prodigy by the Olympic Hot Tub Company. Read about their commitment to Energy Efficiency.Greg Kossow, a carpenter based in Port Townsend, WA, recently published an article in Mother Earth News on How to Build a Hot Tub for less than $1,000.

If you don't have an existing space to make into a glassed in porch, enclose a space as much as possible to hold in heat, protect from weather, contain noise, and maximize privacy (be sure to comply with any relevant setbacks for your yard, if it's something permanent). Line the space with a grill, outdoor seating, outdoor furniture, and container plants. Place an outdoor fireplace in the middle. Also, a very simple and inexpensive touch is to add small white Christmas lights. There is something about those little white lights that dress up and define a space, and make any time you spend in your outdoor space feel special. Chili pepper lights also work for a more festive setup.

Create an outdoor room without an addition: start with a simple shelving unit like the Ikea Expedit. Fill in the shelves with ornamental plants and herbs in pots, baskets of garden supplies and outdoor toys, and large candles.(OK, I know I seem like a paid spokesperson for the Expedit since I feature it so much in the blog. It's just a very versatile and simple solution that I find works for many situations)

In my opinion, the biggest waste of space in our suburban neighborhoods is the front yard. Most of us don't spend much time there, except when we are working on it. You can get more out of your outdoor square footage by maximizing the outdoor room potential and programmed space in your backyard, and moving the garden to the front yard. Many think that vegetable gardens are not attractive, but they can be easily lined with a rockery, railroad ties, ornamental plants, or containers. If your front yard is small, pots or a rockery will keep passing dogs away from your edibles. 

 A cute hutch like this one from JCP Home (Lindale Buffet and Hutch) would be just as comfortable on a porch as a home for garden supplies.

If you have an outdoor covered porch, why not take advantage of the space for extra storage? You don't have to look like a hillbilly to do this. Choose attractive cabinets or wardrobes. Look for well built used furniture on Craigslist or used furniture stores. A buffet, credenza, hutch, or china cabinet can be painted bright colors and used to store gardening supplies, camping or other outdoor equipment, sporting goods, or as an outdoor wine cellar. Place ornamental plants on any surfaces and surround the furniture with container plants, so it looks at home in the outdoors.

Programming outdoor space has the added bonus of taking away the inefficient lawn, eliminating the need for watering, mowing and weed control. 

Next week: creating a home office in a small space.