no more formal rooms

My blog title is already outdated, as another year has gone by, but I thought I'd show a couple of the projects which have come my way recently. Very different clients. One a young man whose house burned down. The other a mid-aged family with a couple of teen-age kids and an at home business (hair salon). Remarkably similar floor plan solutions, however. Both clients wanted to maximize their value by only constructing rooms which they would use. Seems like no one wants the burden of paying for those formal living and dining spaces that are only trotted out for special occasions. The public-private zoning of the house is taking a beating with our informal lifestyles. The younger client's plan shows the second floor and elevations. This is mainly a party house. It includes a full finished basement with a bar- theater area, and multiple fixture men's and women's facilities. Also a hobbyists garage with a lift. The office and laundry space is seen as part of the only private section of the house- the master suite. You go up a spiral staircase to do your work and run back down to go to sleep. Sort of a single person's solution, we're not worrying about keeping the spouse up here.

The family plan puts the office on the 1st floor- and the laundry in a mud- drop zone off the garage. The second floor is laid out for a future "man-zone" accessed by the stairs in the garage as well as the second floor hall way. So all the buds can come over for some brews and watch the game without disrupting the rest of the family.

Some surprising similarities for very different programs.