The Swinging Wall: Privacy Mode
Rotated here to enlarge the bedroom, the television compartment is visible. Depending on which way the wall is facing, the television can be viewed from either bedroom or living room. Made out of corrugate polycarbonate, plywood and MDF, this versatile wall is a brilliant construction but no easy feat. When assembling the pocket knife, Gideon and Tracy recall, "We could not get the wall through the front door so we had to winch it up from the roof and through the windows in two pieces."
The Swooping Wall: Cross-Section View
When James and Margaret bought their 565-square-foot studio apartment, they knew they had their work cut out for them. Both architects by profession, they sketched a new floorplan and gutted half the space. There were two key components which factored heavily into the couple's redesign which were first, the desire for a sense of openness and second, the ability to let natural light into every room of the apartment from a single light source. The most fundamental new-and-improved feature to their apartment is a wood wall they designed that strongly sections the space and serves as a strong visual design element. The bench in the dining area was artfully planned to be a part of the multi-purpose wall, containing storage space that extends through the interior of the bench and into the bedroom.
The Open Air Illusion: The Great Outdoors
Opposite the bear painting are Jane and Darko's bedroom closets, which are covered with a forest picture that the couple took in upstate New York. The Ikea closets became a serious DIY project when the couple had their forest photograph printed out as wallpaper and then used it to cover the cabinets as well as some of the wall. This large image really adds to the small space by drawing the viewer into very life-like, and life-size, scenery.
Sliding Nook: Extra Solutions
An unconventional bachelor pad, this postage stamp-sized home has two more great problem-solving features: a Murphy bed (folded up in the back) and an extensive custom-built shelving unit. Paul's space is extremely narrow and his main gripe is that when the bed is fully down, it is near impossible to get into the bathroom. The shelving, however, is a dream as it lines the entire length of the apartment and offers a ton of storage.
The Sliding Nook
A unique quirk to Paul's 275-square-foot apartment is a completely mobile L shape section of wall. This wall resides just beyond the dining room table and can be pulled out to divide the bedroom from the dining room and kitchen. When pulled out, the aluminum dining room table must move slightly forward. For the sake of ease, the table is on wheels to facilitate the transition between a more open and a more private apartment.
The Model of Apartment Therapy
To really round out the breadth of this book, founder Maxwell and his wife Sarah Kate offer a glimpse into their 265-square-foot apartment where Apartment Therapy was, in fact, born 12 years ago. Maxwell says of his home, "this apartment stands as a beacon of hope for all those who feel that their home is too small or too ugly ever to be reclaimed." In their bedroom, the king size bed fits perfectly between two custom-built storage units that also function as bedside tables. Lit from within, the units provide warmth and light to both open and brighten up the space.
The Model of Apartment Therapy
When Maxwell first moved in as a bachelor, the first order of business to conserve space was to take out all the doors in the apartment, including the one to the bathroom. Currently, half-inch thick, white felt pieces comprise mock doors that make the space dividable, separating the bedroom from the living room. Mounted to the ceiling by hospital tracks, the sliding felt doors have grips made from thick, raw leather to guarantee that they are easily moveable.
The Open Air Illusion: Setting the Mood
Jane and Darko own a 645-square-foot railroad apartment completely based around the concept of being in the woods. The couple explains their thematic living by saying, "we spend all day working in Manhattan, surrounded by concrete and metal and people-and we want to feel the opposite after the day is over." In their bedroom, a king size bed, appropriately decorated with faux log and forest-print pillows, fits snugly between two opposite walls. To really hammer home the decor, a painting of a bear head opens up the space by giving the feeling of being outdoors and in the wilderness.
The Book
"Creating this home doesn't require large amounts of money or space. It requires inspiration, connection to resources and motivation to do something about it." Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan from his latest book, Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Real Solutions, on sale now at amazon.com or enter to win one of 5 signed copies by Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan in our PointClickHome sweepstakes.
The Swooping Wall: Kitchen Area
Looking out onto the street from the dining room, you can fully sense just how separate the dining room and bedroom space feel from one another. An additional challenge for James and Margaret was to guarantee privacy in their ground-floor Manhattan apartment. They chose a special kind of curtain to combat this problem. Made from polyester, the curtains are printed on one side with a thin aluminum coating that reflects the sun and simultaneously blocks people's view from the street into their home.
