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Jennifer Weiss Architecture SaveEmail 5. Entry Cabinets A small cabinet or console like this one, situated in a hallway or entry, can be a great place to drop your devices when you come home. If you’ve got modern wireless headphones with a chargeable battery, this is also a great place to charge those so they’re right by the door next time you head out. A small hole cut into the back of the cabinet can allow access to an outlet so you can tuck items away in open shelves or compartments with doors.
Pick drawers, not doors. The best part about drawers is that they display all your flatware and utensils at once, which allows for easy grabbing. You don’t have to get on your knees and peer into the back of the cabinet to see what’s available. Large drawers don’t skimp on storage space. Any set wider than 30 inches can stow
Make corners accessible. Blind corner cabinets won’t cut it. Yes, they provide ample storage space, but too often they turn into unofficial junk bins when you tire of getting on all fours to fetch the dish you need. Performing that bend-reach-lift motion also isn’t good for aging backs. Look for corner cabinet bases that effectively eliminate the need for rummaging and reaching. They aren’t all the same, though. You have options, be it a convenient three-drawer base (left) or a traditional Lazy Susan.
Ample clearance. Look for a home with plenty of clearance in halls and passages if you want to be able to accommodate a wheelchair or walker. In the kitchen, the Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines require at least 60 inches of clearance between opposing cabinets, walls or appliances for U-shaped kitchens; galley or “pass through” kitchens require at least 40 inches of clearance between opposing surfaces. Bonus: Easy-grab cabinet pulls. Wide, easy-to-grab cabinet and drawer pulls are something else to be on the lookout for. This style is easier to grasp than small knobs and pulls. However, if the kitchen is otherwise accessible and well-designed, swapping out knobs for handles is a pretty simple change to make.
Drawers and pullouts. Being able to pull out shelves to reach exactly what you need is a huge help, so look for a kitchen with plenty of drawers and pullouts. This is something you can add to a kitchen in the future, but since the cost of kitchen renovations adds up quickly, finding a home with a well-designed kitchen already in place is a huge plus.
Curtain call. All right, let’s have a little reality check: In a sea of closets that are bigger than many apartments, over 29,000 Houzzers added this realistically sized example to their ideabooks. A typical double-closet-turned-craft-emporium has a place for everything, including wrapping paper and ribbon racks, boxes with clear fronts, magazine bins and more. It looks wonderful exposed, but this clever homeowner replaced the closet doors with bold and pretty curtains from West Elm.
Sectional Door Materials Aluminum, glass and steel are popular material choices that dovetail well with an industrial aesthetic. Metals can be finished in a variety of ways, depending on the substrate — unfinished, clear, anodized, galvanized and painted — making it possible to marry them to almost any interior or exterior design style. Wood-clad units are also available and can help to soften the industrial character and create a warmer interior. Wood, however, requires a long-term maintenance commitment. Why not fiberglass? While it’s a cost-effective option, used near living spaces it feels uninviting and plasticized. Metal and wood are more appropriate choices for the kinds of applications found in the home. Contemporary Exterior by Randall Mars Architects Randall Mars Architects Save Email The darker mullions on this sectional door elevate and refine it and certainly befit the setting: stone, fine furnishings and a pool. In fact, it’s hard to tell that this is actually a garage door from this vantage point. It offers the chance to connect the pool house to the pool in a simple and direct way. Notice how the dark frame matches the structural frame and hardware inside, each ...
17. Collect thrifty party supplies. Avoid last-minute stress by keeping an entertaining cupboard well stocked with mason jars, florist’s buckets, table linens, candles and serving containers. Many times you don’t even need to buy these things — save pretty old jars to use as glasses, washed-out tin cans to use as flower containers and even old bedsheets to use as outdoor tablecloths.
This cutaway plan shows how a two-car garage is commonly configured. The single 16-foot-wide (4.9-meter-wide) garage door is large enough to allow two cars to fit. It is also a good idea to have a 3-foot-wide door to the exterior on the side of the garage. As for the door going into the house from the garage, you will want it to be at least 32 inches (81 centimeters) wide. Overall interior dimension: The dimension required by several cities in California is 10 by 20 feet (3 by 6 meters) per car, and this is the best minimum dimension for the average car. This will allow enough space for someone to open the doors and walk in front of and behind the car once it’s parked in the garage. Garage lengths of 24 feet (7.3 meters) allow cabinets or storage shelves to easily fit in front of parked cars. Hot-water heaters and mechanical systems are often placed in the garage. If this is done, it is best to create an alcove, as has been done here, or add more depth or width to the 20-foot minimum to accommodate that equipment.
Having floor outlets installed gives you the opportunity to place your side table lamps exactly where you want them without mucking up the space with unsightly cords.
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If you can’t seem to find even an inch more to squeeze out of your interior, try expanding your living space outside.
Add a raised hearth. In small homes having plenty of seating for guests is a constant battle. One suggestion is to add a raised hearth around the fireplace. Add a few cushions on top and voilà! You’ve got a few of the coziest seats in the house.
. Add a half door. Bringing in a cross breeze of fresh air and creating more connection to the outdoors increases the feeling of space.
Built-in bars don’t need to be limited to homes blessed with abundant square footage. A built-in bar can be the width of a single cabinet. Wagman installed this diminutive but mighty bar at the entrance to an apartment’s living room. Pocket doors come out of the wall to hide the unit when it’s not in use.
Save by factoring landscaping into your plans from the get-go. When deciding on exterior finishes, think about what sort of landscaping you plan to add before making final decisions. “We’re building a house now, and the client decided to save by not putting in a brick wainscot, as there were going to be big bushes in front hiding it,” says Fry. “So keep in mind final landscaping as another item.”
The design team again built a custom surround for the radiator under the window, but instead of cabinets, this surround features open shelves on both sides of the radiator.
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