Design Process

Paul and I met up on Saturday to start on a more intensive brainstorm so he could start working on the plan. So far, the initial drawings from the other architect firm were for a duplex and since we're now going with a single unit, we're pretty much starting from scratch.

Originally there were two options of buildable area approved by the city, depending on where we choose the front, side and back yard to be. For the duplex, Option 1 was used because the squarish shape of 2 units combined. However, the building was placed about 28 feet away from the neighbor, and therefore also sit a little lower relatively to the street. Paul suggested using Option 2, which brings the building closer to the neighbor (avoiding a big gap compared to the houses on the block,) and it will be built a few feet higher on the ground. Another reason is that we'll have a much smaller yard on the south-side between 2 buildings, which is part of my requirement. The area between the neighbor and this house will be fenced for the dog to go out and do it's business. The view is on the North towards downtown, and most big windows will face that direction and most south facing windows will be frosted.

After crunching the numbers closely, we've decided to keep the house right around 1,500 square feet. With a set limitation, suddenly, the design has be more creative/challenging in order to fit the program of the space into the floor plan. I'm all for a modest size home from the get go because it suits our lifestyle and it is the right thing to do for the environment. I think with the open floor plan, 9-foot ceiling and a few big windows, the space will appear to be larger than what we would imagine.

After about 3 hours of sketches and brainstorming, Paul immediately came back with the plan the following day and I'm very impressed by how he managed to fit everything in and make it an interesting space.

Due to the drastic change of elevation (about 15 feet) between the front an back, in order to build the garage entrance on the back of the house, even though it is on basement level, it still needs a pretty steep driveway. Moreover, there's more digging which will cost more. By moving the driveway to front, and the entrance of the garage to the north side of the house, it's almost street level. Now the deck on the primary living level will also double as a porch in front of the garage.

One main feature we modified is the staircase. Since the width of the house has been reduced to 20 feet, we have to reposition the stairs I think Paul came up with an igneous solution which maintain its appeal.

As for the upper level, I requested for a closet for washer/dryer, but Paul gave me a whole laundry room with a sink in it! I love it! As for the space upstairs, the concept is to have sliding panels that separate the bedroom from the library/lounge area, but when open (when there's no guests), the whole upper level turns into a master suite loft. I think a dynamic use of space not only maximizing the usage for a smaller home, it makes the space more interactive and exciting.

As for the lower level, thanks to Paul for taking into consideration of my request of having a storm shelter. He even pointed out that the southwest corner of the house is the safest hiding place should there be a tornado. If there's anything I would change, the Studio is the only area that seems to be a little too small. This is a key thing for this house as it is going to be Eric's space and we need to definitely address it to add more square footage to it.

I think the design is very close. We're about 90% there. I very excited about the progress.