Today is our final “In Detail” episode and we are looking at parking in single family houses! All of our examples are from the Chicago area. We need you to go through the Chicago “Slow Home Project” data base and look for examples of single family houses that you think have both good and bad parking spaces and then post them to the site along with your comments. We look forward to the discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on good and bad parking conditions in single family houses.

To see the examples from the tutorial in more detail, click on the thumbnails below.

1. This is a good parking condition. The double attached garage does not dominate the house, it takes only one third of the frontage and does not restrict light to any of the principal rooms.

2. This is also a good parking condition. The garage could almost be considered a “side attached” garage with all the service space for the house directly behind the parking.

3. This is a proportionately long and narrow house and because of this, the garage is barely acceptable. There is only one principal room that faces the front and this garage is on the verge of dominating the house.

4. This is poor parking condition where the three car garage dominates the house creates a large and really unusable side yard.

5. This is also a bad parking condition where over fifty percent of the house is taken up by parking and the living space is forced to wrap around the garage.

6. This parking condition is acceptable as the garage is pulled forward allowing the principal rooms to have light and it also could be detailed to create a nice entry condition.

7. This rear attached garage does not help this house as the dining room has very little light and the house has no back yard.

8. This rear attached garage condition is better, as a courtyard has been created to help reduce the impact of the garage on the back of the house.

Make sure to watch tomorrow for a special “live” Slow Home episode where we will be reviewing all the “Design Challenge” submissions and announcing the winner of our book prize!

Welcome to September Slow Homers! Today is Wednesday, September 1, 2010 and today we have a “Chicago Design Challenge”! We need you to re-design the main floor plan of the “Grant”, a 2,430 sq ft single family home in Chicago and email us your scheme before 9am (MDT) tomorrow morning – Thursday, September 2, 2010.

Email your floor plans to john@theslowhome.com (don’t post them on the site!) – we will be awarding a book prize to the best scheme – which will be announced in a special “Live” Slow Home episode airing this Friday!

Last time we did a “Design Challenge” was in Miami and we received 39 entries so we are hoping to beat our record this time! Please send us your plans! We look forward to seeing them!

This house has several major problems including:

1. An front entry with no adjacent coat closet.
2. A back entry that is shared with laundry and no storage.
3. A side yard den that is only accessed through a back hall.
4. A poor kitchen design with a fridge outside the work triangle, no island and not enough counter space.
5. A separate and redundant formal living and dining space.
6. A family room with no focus or sense of how to place furniture.

Please leave the stairs and the exterior doors and windows and put back the following:

1. A front entry with a coat closet.
2. A back entry with a closet and a bench.
3. A laundry room.
4. A guest bathroom.
5. A well sized kitchen with a proper work triangle.
6. A decent living and dining area – both with focal points and logical places for furniture – you decide if you want to include both formal and informal living spaces.
7. A study that is conveniently located and has natural light.

Day 225 – PDF
Day 225 – Existing
Day 225 – Demo
Day 225 – Full Symbol Library

Good luck everyone! See you tomorrow for our final “In Detail” episode where we will look at parking in single family houses.

Today is Tuesday. August 30, 2010 and we need everyone to participate in our “Which House Should I Buy?” segment!

Our clients are Ned and Stacy – a soon to be retired couple who want to re-locate from their large, single family house to a more modest tow bedroom home in an adult community. The couple have opposing schedules with Ned being a night owl and Stacy being an early riser, so their new home needs to address this lifestyle. In addition, they would like a second bedroom for when their kids come to visit.

They like the community of Shorewood Glenn, which is about an hour west of Chicago.

The first house they are considering is the “Charleston”, which is a 2,015 sq ft and has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a den.

The second house is the “Plymouth”, which is 2,238 sq ft and also has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths an a den.

Which house do you think Ned and Stacy should buy? Leave your comments on the site and let’s have a discussion! When you are ready, click on the player below to see which house John and Matthew think is the better real estate choice.

Join us tomorrow for another Design Project where we will be transforming a badly designed single family house in Chicago into a Slow Home!

It’s Monday, August 30, 2010 and today we are doing a “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode. This is our last week for the Slow Home Project! Today, we need you to study the floor plans of the “Hampton”, a 2,063 sq ft 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in suburban Chicago and let us know what you think are the worst design elements in this home. Use the “Slow Home Test” to score this plan and then post your results as well as a comment and let’s have a discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s analysis of this floor plan.

Make sure to watch tomorrow where we will be doing a “Which House Should I Buy?” segment where we will be comparing two single family homes from the Chicago area to determine which would be the better real estate purchase!

It’s Friday, August 27, 2010 and today we are reviewing the floor plans that were submitted on Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who submitted a scheme this week! We had a lot of last minute entries, so hopefully we have captured all of the best ones to review!

To see what the floor plan of this townhome in Chicago looked like before the Slow Home renovation, click on the link below.

With the stairs fixed in place, a design trend emerged. All of the plans we have chosen to look at today have consolidated the “closed”, “service” or “mechanical” spaces into a “block” that is located in the top right corner of the plan. This allows the rest of the spaces to be open concept. We have highlighted this “block” on all the plans in yellow. Some people had the “block” align exactly with the stairs, others had it step slightly forward or slightly back.

1. This plan is by Manolo. He had the clearest scheme this week. The kitchen is a great peninsula design with lots of counter and storage.The study is also the perfect proportion for the size of this unit and is ideally located in the “block”.

2. This plan is by Nicole – her “block” integrates a study desk, but not an entire study space – very clever. We recommend that the hallway is shortened by adding some storage at the end and moving the doors to the guest bath and laundry further forward.

3. Steve in Van was the only person to include the back wall of the kitchen within his “block”. With this type of scheme, we would recommend that he forgoes the typical dining table and integrates the dining into the island either as an attached, lower table (think Poliform) or an oversized island with counter chairs. All in all, this is quite a creative solution.

4. Catherine Taney had the simplest scheme this week. Her “block” was slightly more narrow than the width of the stair case which allows a little more room in the living area for circulation behind the furniture.

We are also posting five other schemes that treated this idea of a “block” in interesting ways. Overall, good work everyone!

We need you to vote for who you think should win the Award for Best Townhouse Design in Chicago! Have a look at the links to the nominees below and then cast your vote. We would also love for you to leave us a comment telling everyone who you voted for and why.

Aqua Parkhomes – Typical
Wrightwood Crossing – Unit 101
500 Hyacinth Place – Type C

And it wouldn’t be Friday without revealing the name of the “Slow Homer of the Week”. Click on the link below to find out who it is.

Make sure to join us on Monday for our last week in Chicago and our last week on the Slow Home Project! Can you believe it? Our nine cities in nine months is coming to an end!

Today is Thursday, August 26, 2010 and we are doing an “In Detail” review of kitchen design in townhouses. All of the examples we are using today are from the Chicago area.

Townhouses tend to be long and narrow in plan, and as such the placement of the kitchen is a really critical design decision. As we have seen in many of the cities in the Slow Home Project, in townhouses, problems can arise when the kitchen is either too big, cut off from other living spaces or in the way of of the a major circulation route.

We need you to look through the floor plans from the Chicago area and find examples of both good and bad kitchen designs, post them to the site and leave us a comment. We look forward to the discussion!

When you are ready, you can watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on kitchen design in townhouses by clicking on the player below.

To see the examples from today’s tutorial in more detail, click on the links below.

1. This is a well designed “L” shaped town house kitchen. It is backed into the corner and has a good relationship to the other principal spaces.

2. This is a good example of a galley kitchen. There is about 3 foot six inches between the counters and the appliance triangle is nice and compact. It would be even better if the pass through was an eating bar with stools.

3. This is a good peninsula kitchen. The kitchen is well laid out, but it is too bad the adjacent guest bathroom opens directly into the kitchen.

4. This is a badly designed “L” shaped kitchen with an island that is oriented the in the wrong direction. There is really not enough room for a table and the guest bathroom is immediately adjacent to the kitchen.

5. This is poorly designed “U” shaped kitchen with too much floor space and a view from the dining table directly into the kitchen work triangle.

6. This is really bad kitchen design with a 45 degree angled counter that wastes space and pinches the sink, a poorly placed island and a fridge location that is too far from the other appliances.

7. This “L” shaped kitchen has no place for a breakfast table – even though the plan indicates that it would fit – and the guest bath and laundry – which is too large – are right in the kitchen space itself.

8. This kitchen is poorly located in plan and the work area is in the middle of all the circulation for the house.

9. This kitchen floor plan again states that there is room for a “breakfast” area, but the space is really too small. Notice that the counter on one side is only twelve inches deep but needs to be 24 inches minimum to be functional.

Make sure you join us tomorrow for our review of the Design Projects from Wednesday, our vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Townhouse Design in Chicago and the winner of Slow Homer of the Week!

Welcome to the Slow Home site this Wednesday, August 25, 2010 and today we are doing a Design Project!

We need you to re-design the main floor plan of the “Atwood 1″ which is a 1,721 sq ft townhome in Morton Grove, about 20 minutes NW of downtown Chicago.

There are several problems with this floor plan that need to be addressed:

1. The kitchen is poorly designed and has too much floor space.
2. There are not enough windows at the back of the unit.
3. The guest bathroom and laundry are poorly designed and not in the best locations in plan.
4. The entry could be made a lot better.

You can remove all of the interior walls, but the stairs need to stay as they are. Put back a new kitchen, living and dining space as well as a guest
bath and laundry area. You should also include a coat closet at the entry. You will get “bonus” points if you are able to include a modest study space
and come up with an outdoor room concept for the rear deck.

Day 218 – PDF
Day 218 – Existing
Day 218 – Demo
Day 218 – Full Symbol Library

To see how John has designed this space, click on the player below.

See John's Final Design

We look forward to seeing your designs! Post them to the site with your design rationale and we will reviewing all the best designs on the site on Friday!

Also, make sure to join us tomorrow, we are doing an “In Detail” segment on kitchen design in townhouses from the Chicago area.

If you are in the Denver area this weekend, don’t forget to check out the “Arapahoe Acres” mid century modern house tour. John and Matthew visited Arapahoe Acres earlier this summer and highly recommend going on the tour of this historical design community. To watch the video on Arapahoe Acres, click on the player at the bottom of the post.

It’s Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 and today we are doing a “Which House Should I Buy?” segment. We need you to study the floor plans and website of these two town house projects and let us know which you think would be the better real estate choice for our clients Raoul and Marte.

Raoul and Marte are a young couple who are moving to Chicago from Cleveland and specifically need a home that can accommodate an office space for Marte who is writer and works from home. They also would like a guest bedroom for when Raoul’s parents who come to visit them and stay approximately one week out of the year.

They like the “Parkside of Old Town” development in the community of Cabrini Green, which is a revitalized older neighborhood NW of downtown Chicago.

The first unit they are considering is the “Cedar”, which is 1,700 sq ft and has 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a den. The second unit is the “Maple” and is larger at 1,900 sq ft, has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths but no den.

Which house should Raoul and Marte buy? Leave a comment with your choice and let’s have a discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to see which of the two options John and Matthew would recommend.

See you tomorrow for our Design Project where we will be renovating a poorly designed town house plan from Chicago and turning it into a Slow Home!

Today is Monday, August 23, 2010 and we are starting our second week in Chicago – this week focusing on town house design!

For today’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode, we need you to study the floor plan and website of the “Camden 7142“, a 1,728 sq ft townhome in the Chicago Ridge community. Developed by the Lennar Corporation, this unit has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a double attached garage.

We do not think this unit is very well designed – in fact, we think it has a lot of significant problems. We need you to use the “Slow Home Test” to score this unit and then post a comment to the site telling us what you think is the worst design element of this plan!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s review of the “Camden 7142″.

Join us tomorrow for our “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we are comparing two different townhomes to see which would be the better real estate purchase!

It’s Friday, August 20, 2010 and there is a lot going on in Chicago!

First of all, thanks to Mid America Mom for pointing out our site to yochicago.com – we got a comment back from Joseph Askins, editor at yochicago.com who wanted to clarify some facts about the apartment/loft buildings we reviewed this week. His comment to us reads:

“MAM pointed me toward this site earlier this week after finding our website (YoChicago.com), and I’ve been watching with great interest as everyone chimes in on our city’s floor plans.

I did want to chime in with a couple of corrections/clarifications about 235 Van Buren, since it’s a building we’re quite familiar with, both through our own editorial coverage and through our current advertising partnership with the development.

First, 235 is hardly a “proposed” building at this point — closings began in the building in June 2009. It’s very much a finished building.

Second (and this has been addressed briefly already, but is worth reiterating), partial height walls like the one between the kitchen and bedroom are indeed mandated by code for bedrooms without other sources of natural light, and are quite common throughout the city. A lot of people associate them with true timber or concrete lofts, but you can find them in many new-construction developments, especially ones that feature “soft loft” design elements. (I wouldn’t call 235’s condos “soft lofts,” but many of the units do feature exposed concrete on the ceilings and some walls.)”

Joseph, thanks for these comments and clarifications and also thanks for the write up about Slow Home on yochicago.com about the “In Detail” episode on bathroom design from yesterday!

You can read the write up at

http://yochicago.com/slow-home-breaks-down-our-bathrooms/16432/

Now, onto our Design Project submissions this week – we had a lot of “late night” posts! Thanks for taking the time to submit a scheme everyone!

This week, we would like to draw your attention to three outstanding designs and four runners up. To see what the floor plan of this apartment/loft looked like before it was re-worked by our Slow Homers, click on the link below.

1. Frances GF has the best design project this week! Her layout is simple, yet spacious and the entry space combined with laundry works well and is of a proportion that is appropriate for the size of the unit. We would suggest a vestibule entry to the bathroom and bedroom area, but were really impressed with the layout of the bathroom which works as both guest bath and master ensuite in a really elegant way.

2. Brad W has the best scaled kitchen layout of all the schemes – it is the perfect size and proportion for the square footage of this unit. We would suggest a minor revision to the bath layout – but other than that – the plan is great. Again, like Frances, we are impressed with the way the entry and laundry has been handles – makes a lot of sense to us!

3. Manolo – a long time Slow Home Project contributor (and occasional Design Project participant) has nailed this week’s assignment! Again, what is with all the exceptional entry designs this week? Our top three all combined the laundry with the entry but did so in a really efficient and elegant way! The bath feels spacious, yet simple and the closet wall is a effective use of storage. The living and dining furniture layout is also really well done.

We are also posting the schemes of our four runners up this week, along with our comments about their designs. Thanks to everyone who submitted a plan – only two more Design Project weeks to go!

We need you to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Apartment/ Loft Project in Chicago. Study the floor plans and websites of our nominees below and then cast your votes! We would also like you to post a comment to the site about who you picked to win and why. We look forward to the discussion!

Solstice on the Park – Unit 1803
The Lofts at 1800 – Timber – Units 207-307
565 Quincy – Tower Unit 8

And finally, to reveal the winner of the Slow Homer of the Week, click on the link below:

It’s Thursday, August 19, 2010 on the Slow Home site and we have lot’s to do today! For today’s “In Detail” episode, we are reviewing bathroom spaces in apartment/ loft projects and all of our examples were from the Chicago area.

We need you to look through the Slow Home Project plans from Chicago and post examples of what you feel are both good and bad bathroom designs from the apartment/loft units, as well as your comments as to why. When you are ready, you can click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on both good and bad bathroom design in Chicago’s apartment/ loft projects!

We have to say that in general the bathroom design in Chicago is pretty good – the main issues seem to be in three areas:

1. Poor location in plan – the bathroom is not located in both a private and an accessible location (right next to the kitchen for example would be considered accessible but not private).

2. Too much floor space – the bathroom is too big relative to the size of the unit.

3. Too many bathrooms – do we need a guest bathroom in a small, one bedroom unit?

To zoom in on the examples from the tutorial, click on the images below.

1. This is a well designed bathroom layout. Both the master bath and main bath are well laid out. Note the vestibule location of the the main bathroom in plan – this is both private and accessible.

2. The main bathroom is well designed but in a bad location in plan – it is too far from the second bedroom and basically in the entry. The master bath is poorly laid out with the toilet in line with the door and no space to stand in front of the sink.

3. This bathroom is badly located in plan – it is well laid out but open to the kitchen so it is not private.

4. Both bathrooms in this plan are well laid out, but the main bath is again in a poor location in line with the kitchen.

5. This bathroom is poorly laid out and the 45 degree angles and addition of the laundry make it impossible to create a functional arrangement.

6. These bathrooms have too much square footage for an apartment/ loft. Note the main bath is almost the same size as the second bedroom.

7. This bathroom is well located in plan – note the private but accessible condition – but has too much floor space.

8. This unit does not need a guest bathroom – it is a 2 bedroom unit and should be designed so one bathroom acts as both the guest bath and main bath.

9. This one bedroom unit is seriously compromised by the addition of a guest bathroom. Note how the door to the bath almost hits the opposite wall and the kitchen is tiny to accommodate the unnecessary bathroom.

10. This bathroom is only accessible if you walk through the master bedroom and closet. This would be awkward for guests to use and this condition should be avoided.

11. This is a rambling bath layout that is more a circulation route rather than a functional or efficient design.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Apartment/ Loft Project in Chicago! Also, we will be posting the best Design Projects from Wednesday and announcing the Slow Homer of the Week!

Today is Wednesday, August 17, 2010 and its time for another Design Project! We need everyone to re-work the floor plan of the one bedroom, one bathroom rental unit, now being converted into a condominium for sale. The project is located in “Ontario Place” and was built in 1983. The floor plan, while of marginal quality for a rental unit, is not acceptable as a condominium.

The following design elements need to be addressed:

1. The kitchen needs to be open to the main living/ dining space.
2. The bathroom needs to work as en ensuite and guest bath.
3. A stacker washer and dryer needs to be added.
4. The bedroom and entry need proper closets – a linen closet should be included.

You can move the location of the front door, but the main bearing wall should remain intact. In addition, you will get a “bonus” point if you can slip in a study desk – not an entire study space, but just a desk.

Day 211 – PDF
Day 211 – Existing
Day 211 – Demo
Day 211 – Full Symbol Library

See John's Final Design

Good luck! We look forward to seeing your designs and we will post the best and most interesting schemes with comments on Friday!

Tomorrow, we are doing an “In Detail” episode looking at bathroom design in apartment/ lofts in Chicago – there are some really interesting bathroom conditions in this city – so make sure to watch tomorrow!

It’s Tuesday, August 16, 2010 and we are working our way through Chicago, our last city on the Slow Home Project!

For today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we need you to help us decide which of two apartment/ loft properties is the the better real estate choice for Charles and Barbara.

Charles and Barbara are a professional couple who want to relocate from their suburban home after their son leaves for college in about three years. They would like to buy a two bedroom downtown apartment and are interested in a new build project. Because of their timeline, they are considering the “Lincoln Park 2520” project, which is pre-sales and has not started construction. This means that they would only need to put down a deposit to purchase the unit and the balance would not be due until the building is completed – which works great with their timing.

We have a feeling that today’s exercise will be a little more challenging with no clear cut answer! The units they are considering are “B2″ which is 1,452 sq ft and 2 bedrooms with 2.5 baths and “B3″ which is 1,569 sq ft with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a study.

We need you to study the plans carefully and choose which one you think is the better option for Charles and Barbara. Leave a comment with you decision and why. We are also interested to know if you think there is anything additional that would need to be considered given that this is a pre-sale condition where the building is not yet under construction.

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch which of the units John and Matthew have chosen and why.

See you tomorrow for our design project when we will be re-working a badly designed apartment/ loft plan from Chicago and turning it into a Slow Home!

Welcome to our final stop on the Slow Home Project: Chicago! It’s hard to believe that in three short weeks, the Slow Home Project will be complete and we will have analyzed 5,000 floor plans in nine North American cities over the past nine months! We want to thank everyone who has participated and followed along with us on this journey and we want to encourage anyone who has been watching from the sidelines to step up and either evaluate a floor plan or post a comment over the next three weeks. We need your continued support as we move to the finish line!

For today’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode we are analyzing a 936 sq ft apartment unit in the “Van Buren“, a proposed residential tower in central Chicago.

We need you to use the Slow Home Test and evaluate this unit and then post your scores and comments about what you think is the largest problem with it. We look forward to the discussion!

When you are ready, you can click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s analysis of the “Van Buren”.

Join us tomorrow for our “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we will be comparing two different apartment/ loft projects in Chicago to see which would be the better real estate choice.

Today is Friday, August 13, 2010 and we are reviewing the Design Projects that were submitted on Wednesday – thanks to everyone for taking the time to post a scheme!

Overall, the designs were excellent – but as always, there are a few that really stood out to us this week!

To see what the floor plan looked like before the re-designs, click on the link below.

1. Our winning design this week comes from Nicole! Her plan is so efficient, with the laundry, entry closet, study and guest bath forming a block close to the entry. This allow the rest of the space to open up and feel very roomy. Great work!

2. Tara has also submitted a great design – we think her layout is also very simple and light – but, we would like to know from other Slow Homers if there is a way you think she could re-work the hallway area to the laundry to make it more space efficient. Thoughts?

3. Jim Baer is an expert at zoning a floor plan. His scheme is worth a closer look because he has created a very open front to back kitchen/ dining/ living space with a great closet/ guest bath block. Tucking the study into the width of the stair way is brilliant and will really make this plan feel organized yet spacious.

4. Mid America Mom thinks outside the box, and in her plan she has added long term flexibility to the main floor study by creating a dual full bath/ guest bath adjacent to this space. This could act as a guest bedroom or a main floor bedroom for an aging relative – something that will be in high demand as the population ages.

5. Although we preferred Brad W’s scheme with the exposed toilet on the exterior deck, we also like with third design! His living room space is really the best we have seen this week – the proportion and furniture layout is nearing perfection.

6. And finally, Terri has a great entry space and the “U” shaped kitchen is really the best use of space given where she has placed it in plan – her living room grouping – with the sofa facing towards the view is really effective. Good work!

We are also posting two other great layouts with some comments and suggestions.

Well, the verdict is in and we have no eligible projects to nominate for the Slow Home Award for Best Single Family House in Atlanta. Atlanta has the dubious distinction, along with Miami, Philadelphia and Toronto, of having no single family house projects worthy to be nominated for a Slow Home Award.

However, we are pleased to be releasing the video of the Slow Home Award Winner – as voted by you – for the Best Apartment/ Loft Project in Denver! As you remember, this was awarded to the “Sugarcube” Residences which is located in the LODO historic district in downtown Denver. Enjoy the video and let us know what you think by posting a comment!

And finally, to reveal the name of the Slow Homer of the Week – click on the link below!

Denver

Awarded To:

Sugar Cube Residences

Urban Villages

June 2010

It’s Thursday, August 12, 2010 and today on the Slow Home site, we are doing an “In Detail” episode looking at bedroom design in single family houses. All of the examples we have pulled are from the Atlanta area.

In a Slow Home, bedrooms must have a logical place for the bed, good circulation, well designed closets as well as natural light and ventilation. It is important to look at all the bedrooms in a home when evaluating the overall design quality of bedrooms for the Slow Home Test.

We need you to find examples of both good and bad bedroom design from the Atlanta area, ten post them to the site along with your comments so we can have a discussion!

When you are ready, you can click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on both good and bad bedroom design.

To see the examples in more detail, click on the links below.

1. This is a good example of bedroom design. Note how all the bedrooms face either the front or back yards and note the closet size and proportion. This layout is simple and light.

2. This is a bad master bedroom layout – this is a super-sized space with an additional jumbo sized “sitting room” that is oriented to the side yard with a tiny window. The access to the closet through the “sitting room” is also really bad design.

3. This is a terrible master bedroom design – notice the 45 degree angled hallway that connects the master bedroom with an additional sitting area – why all the sitting areas next to the master bedrooms in Atlanta?

4. In this house, the ensuite location in plan results in the master bedroom only having a side yard orientation. This is really poor given the size of the home. Also notice the tiny “sitting room” at the bottom of the master bedroom – how would this space be used?

5. Again, in this example, a poorly laid out plan results in the closet and ensuite taking up good potential window space oriented to the back yard – this results in the second bedroom having a side yard condition.

6. This master bedroom is “L” shaped and will always be awkward to furnish.

7. In this plan, bedroom 3 is a very strange shape – where would you put the bed? Also, look at how the master bedroom itself has no windows! You have to walk past by the faux columns and get into the “sitting room” in order to be near any windows in this room!

8. This is also poor planning because the “loft” space takes up all of the valuable space at the front of the house, forcing the second bedroom into a side yard condition. If the “loft” and bedroom had been switched, this could have been avoided! (An even better solution would be to eliminate the useless loft all together.)

See you tomorrow for our Friday review of the Design Projects from Wednesday as well as our announcement of who is the Slow Homer of the Week…..and do you think there will be a vote for Best Single Family Home in Atlanta? Are there any worthy projects? Check back tomorrow to see!

It’s Wednesday on the Slow Home site and that means its time for another Design Project! We need you to re-work the second floor plan of this three
storey, single family home located in “Habershal at West Highlands” – which is about 12 minutes by car north-west of downtown Atlanta.

The plan is us the “Veranda B” and it has an under-drive rear garage, so the balcony at the back of the house is one floor above grade. There are some
problems with the design of this floor that we need you to fix.

1. The laundry is poorly located in plan as it takes up potential valuable window space at the back of the house.
2. There is a poorly defined entry with no closet.
3. The kitchen divides the floor plan into three very uninteresting spaces – the dining room has a poor and enclosed side yard condition.
4. The powder room could be better located in plan.
5. There is a redundancy in living spaces with a formal living room and a family room.

So, we need you to re-design this floor plan – but keep the stairs where they are. If you can, try to get one living space, one dining space, the
kitchen, a laundry, the powder room, kitchen and a study without any wasted space. It will be a challenge!

We look forward to your schemes! We will be reviewing and posting the best plans in our Friday post.

Day 204 – PDF
Day 204 -Existing
Day 204 – Demo
Day 204 – Full Symbol Library

See John’s Completed Design

Make sure to join us tomorrow for our “In Detail” episode where we will be reviewing bedroom spaces in single family homes in Atlanta. You’ll be surprised at some of the strange designs for master suites that we have come across in this city!

Today on the Slow Home site we are doing a “Which House Should I Buy?” exercise. We need you to study the floor plans of these 2 single family houses from Atlanta and tell us which one you think is the better real estate choice.

Our clients today are Lynette and Damon and their three daughters aged 7, 5 and 3. They need a 4 bedroom home and have decided they want to live in the “Dupont Commons” community.

The first floor plan is called “Adam’s Crossing” with an attached rear yard garage. It has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

The second floor plan is called the “Williamson” and it is also a 4 bedroom and 3.5 bathroom house, but it has a front drive garage.

Which house should Lynette and Damon buy and why? We look forward to your comments!

When you are ready, click on the player below to see John and Matthew’s analysis of the floor plans and which house they would recommend.

Join us tomorrow for our Design Project exercise where we will be transforming the floor plan of a badly designed single family house from Atlanta into a Slow Home!

Happy Monday, August 9, 2010! Today on the Slow Home site, we are doing a “What’s Wrong With This House?” exercise! We need you to analyze the floor plan of the “Edgewater”, a 2,035 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom single family house located in the “Lakeside Preserve” development in South Fulton, which is a suburb of Atlanta.

Use the “Slow Home Test” to score this floor plan out of 20 and then post your score and your comments about what you think is wrong with this house to the blog. We look forward to your comments!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial about what they think are the main things that are wrong with this house design.

See you tomorrow for our “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we will be comparing 2 single family houses from the Atlanta area to see which would be the best real estate purchase!

Well, it looks like the women have taken control of the Design Project and have produced the best and most innovative plans this week! But,is this a new development or have the women always been running the show around here? That is today’s topic of discussion! Let’s have a look at the best of the best.

1. Frances has submitted 2 plans this week. Her first plan, a beautiful, open concept scheme included a well detailed wall of millwork all along the party wall…..but this scheme was not to be!

2. Frances amended her plan in quick fashion because Steve from Vancouver pointed out that the windows at the front of our subject building were actually French Doors, so this renovation should not have the kitchen cabinetry at the front of the unit (more on Steve later….). Like a real architect, faced with an unforeseen site condition, Frances whipped out “Plan B” and presented our winning scheme of the week! The lesson to be learned is be flexible and don’t get to attached to any plan……!

3. Terri noted that she was not affected by the French Door discovery! Her plan has great scale, a very well designed indoor living space and even managed to sneak in an entry coat closet – well done!

4. Tara came up with an interesting concept of combining dining room storage, a study desk and a TV unit into a millwork “floating object” in the middle of the space. This is a very cool idea and could be detailed entirely as millwork (no drywall) so it had a “furniture” type of look.

5. Mid America Mom cannot be left out of any Slow Home celebration of women’s design contributions to this site! Her plan is very space efficient but still provides really large indoor living and dining spaces. Good work!

And yes, some of the men’s plans had great ideas too – so we are posting them below with our comments – with a few more women’s plans as well of course!

To reveal who is the Slow Homer of the Week, click on the link below.

Also, don’t forget to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Townhouse design in Atlanta – click on the links below to study the floor plans and cast your vote. Also, we look forward to your comments on the site about who you voted for and why!

Inman Green – Townhome 106 & 206

M West II – M1

454 Hamilton – Units 14-17

See you on Monday for our final week in Atlanta, Georgia – we will be looking at single family homes all of next week!

It’s Thursday, August 5, 2010 and today we are doing an “In Detail” segment focusing on entry design in townhouses. All the examples we have pulled are from the Atlanta area.

Entry spaces are a real design problem in townhouses. Most townhouses have very poorly designed entries that is usually results because developers do not provide enough room on the ground floor for both the garage and a decent sized entry space.

As you remember from the What’s Wrong With This House? book, in a Slow Home, an entry is a space, not just a door, has a coat closet and can accommodate several people at the same time. You also have to consider the entry space from the front door as well as how you enter the house from the garage.

We need you to post floor plans of both good and bad entry spaces that you have come across in the Atlanta area as well as your comments about what makes a good and bad entry. We look forward to today’s discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on what makes a good and bad entry space.

To see the examples from the tutorial in more detail, click on the links below.

1. This is a good main floor entry in a town house. The access to the front door is in a shared space with the access to the single car garage, there is a coat closet, enough room to greet guests and it is efficient that it is also combined with the powder room.

2. This is a good second floor entry space. Note the coat closet and how it is consolidated with the circulation and stair space as well as the powder room.

3. This is a poor main floor entry with a double garage – the garage takes up all the room on the ground floor and only leaves enough width for a single door. The back entry from the garage has no storage.

4. This is also a poor ground floor entry. The door from the garage collides with the front door swing, plus there is an additional door from the garage to the house into the “flex room” but still has no storage.

5. This is a badly designed second floor entry – there is actually no space – it is just a door – with the door opening directly into the living room.

6. This is also a very poor second floor entry – the designer has tried to create a space by installing some “faux” columns – but has basically just created an awkward element – and again, there is no storage.

7. Finally, this is a shame because there is enough room for a well designed entry space in this plan, but the angled stair, door collisions and ill defined access to the “bonus” room do not fulfill the Slow Home entry criteria. If only the designer here followed the principals on our site!

Join us tomorrow, for our Friday wrap up with our posting of the best Design Projects from Wednesday, our vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for the best townhouse designs in Atlanta and our announcement of the Slow Homer of the week!

It’s Wednesday on the the Slow Home site and that means it’s time for another Design Project! This week we need your help to re-design the main floor of the “Chadsworth II” townhouse in the “Overlook at Claremont” development in North Druid Hills – about 15 minutes north east of Atlanta.

The “Chadworth II” is 2,221 sq ft on three floors and has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. There are some significant design flaws on the main floor which need to be addressed – so, here are the guidelines for this exercise:

1. The kitchen, living and dining spaces need to be re-located and re-designed – the living room really needs a focal point.
2. The windows to the front and back are precious and should be utilized for the principal living spaces – not for the inside of a pantry as in the current design!
3. Although not well designed – let’s leave the stairs as they are. Let’s imagine that this is outside of the project budget.
4. Although they are in an odd location in-plan – let’s also leave the powder room and back closet – again, think budget constraints.
5. There will be bonus points if anyone can figure out a way to get a coat closet at the front entry without changing the stairs! Remember there is a level change between the front door and the kitchen level that has to be addressed.

Day 197 – PDF
Day 197 – Existing
Day 197 – Demo
Day 197 – Full Symbol Library

See John's Final Design

Good luck everyone and we look forward to seeing your finished designs – we will be posting the results on Friday!

See you tomorrow for our “In Detail” episode looking at entry spaces in town homes!

Welcome to the Slow Home site for this Tuesday, August 3, 2010! In today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we are comparing 3 townhouse properties for our clients David, Margaret and their teenage son, Sean. David and Margaret both work in North Atlanta and they are looking for a modestly sized 2 bedroom townhouse in a walkable neighborhood. Sean will be living with them for 2 more years until he goes to college, which means they will be empty nesters soon and they do not want to buy a larger single family
home.

They have narrowed their search down to three units in the “Gramercy Townhouse” project in “Perimeter Place” which is a 44 acre mixed use development in North Atlanta.

All three plans are 1,380 sq ft and have 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The garage level and upper levels of all three plans are identical, so the focus for today’s discussion is the main floor layout.

We need you to analyze these floor plans and leave a comment as to which townhouse you think is the best choice for David, Margaret and Sean. Let’s have a discussion!

When you are ready, you can click on the player below to see which unit John and Matthew have chosen and why.

See you tomorrow for our Design Project where we need you to re-design the floor plan of a townhouse and transform it into a Slow Home!

It’s a holiday for most of us in Canada! For those of you not taking the day off and visiting the site today, we need you to analyze this 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse from Atlanta and let us know what you think are the 2 worst things about this design! Today’s project is the “Benbrook” located in the “Park Trail” development in Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta. We look forward to seeing your Slow Home Test scores and comments about this project!

When you are ready, you can click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on “What’s Wrong With This House?”

Join us tomorrow for our “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we are comparing 3 different properties in Atlanta to see which would be the better real estate purchase.

It’s the end of the week on the Slow Home site, and like every Friday, we have lot’s to do today!

First, we need you to vote for who think should win the Slow Home Awards for Best Apartment/ Loft project in Atlanta. We have posted images and links to the websites of the three short listed nominees. Take a moment to study the plans and cast your vote for who you think deserves this award. Also, take a moment to post a comment as to who you voted for and why!

Castleberry Point – Unit A

Grinnell Lofts – Plan 304

Marble Lofts – Glasswing

As for the Design Project, we really appreciated all the submissions this week! It was great to see that it is possible to covert a “What’s Wrong With This House?” floor plan into a Slow Home!

The original floor plan scored a lousy 7 out of 20 on the Sow Home Test. To see the original floor plan, click on the link below.

Although, it is not possible to add any points for Environmental Performance, Outdoor Living or Siting, it is possible to improve the other categories to reach a maximum revised score of 14 out of 20. We are happy to report that Nicole and Jim Baer’s revised plans both scored 14 points so they are our winners this week!

1. This is Nicole’s plan. We love the proportion of her kitchen, the inclusion of a built in study desk (we wish we could give bonus points!) the idea of millwork behind the dining table and the layout of the living room. Also note the proportion of the entry, which is appropriate given the scale of the unit. Great work Nicole!

2. This project is from Jim Baer. We love the consolidated laundry and entry closet idea, the master bedroom furniture layout is exceptional (note the bed location oriented to the view) and the kitchen (which also includes a study desk – did you and Nicole work together on this?) has a very efficient and appropriately scaled layout. We’d definitely buy this unit!

We are also posting six other submissions that made excellent improvements to the design quality of the floor plan along with our comments how we would make them even better. Good work everyone!

We are also very happy to be releasing the video of the Slow Home Award Winner in the Single Family House category from Denver! As decided by your votes, the winner was the Washpark Green project. Click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s interview with architect Peter Carnicelli of insitu Design and builder Sean Smith of Sean Smith & Co. We also look forward to your comments about this video!

And finally, to reveal the Slow Homer of the Week for July 29, 2010, click on the player below. See you Monday for our look at townhouse design in Atlanta!

For today’s “In Detail” segment we are looking at indoor living spaces in apartment/ loft units. All of the examples we have pulled are from the Atlanta area.

As you will recall from the “What’s Wrong With This House?” book, in a Slow Home, the indoor living space easily accommodates a furniture grouping, is organized around a focal point like a window, TV, fireplace or view and has a good connection to the outdoors.

Too often, apartment/ loft projects have oddly proportioned indoor living spaces that make them difficult to furnish and often cause the furniture to conflict with doorways and other major circulation routes.

We need you to go through the apartment/ loft floor plans from the Atlanta area and post examples of what you feel are both good and bad indoor living spaces along with your comments. We look forward to the discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew review some examples of both good and bad indoor living spaces in Atlanta apartment/ lofts.

To see the examples from the tutorial in detail, click on the images below.

1. This is an example of a well designed indoor living space. Note how the structural column is well placed, there is clear circulation around the
furniture and good access to the exterior terrace.

2. This is also a well designed indoor living space – it is also a corner condition like the previous example. Corners are easy to furnish and it is
easy to create a focus with a furniture grouping.

3. This is a poorly designed indoor living space. It is a combined living/dining space with not enough room for either function. The location of the door to the deck is also a problem.

4. The 45 degree angle on the exterior wall of this indoor living space causes problems for the furniture layout. The angled sofa is not acceptable as a furniture layout and all the access to the bedrooms is through the living space.

5. This indoor living space is an odd shape, the space continues without separation into the entry hallway and has a lack of focus. There is a conflict with the deck door and the furniture grouping is not well placed. Overall, a very poor design with many problems.

6. This living space is long and narrow and has no logical place for the TV to be placed. Currently, the furniture is focused towards the island, which is odd. If the furniture was reversed and the TV placed on the outside wall, there is not enough room for circulation between a sofa and the island.

7. This living room is long and narrow, has an awkward angle at the end of the unit and has almost no access to sunlight. It is also a problem that the circulation to the bedroom is between the TV and the sofa.

8. This is a problematic living space taken to the extreme. This floor plan rambles and the proportion is not wide enough to fit a proper furniture grouping. This loft conversion project would need to be entirely re-designed to get the indoor living point on the Slow Home Test.

Make sure to join us tomorrow because we will be posting the best Design Projects that were submitted on Wednesday as well as voting on who you think should win the award for best apartment/ loft project in Atlanta, and of course, announcing the Slow Homer of the Week!

Thanks to viewer input from Molly K, we are going to re-work the floor plan from Monday’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode for today’s Design Project! This floor plan scored a lousy 7 out of 20 on the Slow Home Test and we need your help to re-work it and get the points up as high as possible.

In fact, this week, we are going to be adding a twist to the Design Project because we will be using the Slow Home Test to score your finished Design Projects and then post the ones who have made the greatest improvements!

As you remember, the project was the “Pierce” in the “Lofts @ 5300” in North Atlanta. It is 1,230 sq ft with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Fix the organization! You will need to relocate the kitchen, living and dining spaces as well as come up with a better furniture layout.
2. Correct the problem with the closet in the second bedroom that opens to the main bath.
3. Make minor adjustments to improve the entry and laundry area.
4. Re-design the access door and window unit to the balcony to improve circulation and furniture placement.

Good luck!

Day 190 – PDF
Day 190 – Existing
Day 190 – Demo
Day 190 – Full Symbol Library

When you are ready, click on the player below to see how John has designed this space.

See John's final design

Make sure to join us tomorrow for our “In Detail” look at Indoor Living spaces in apartment/ loft projects. Also, please watch this latest video installment from the “Atlanta Regional Commission” to give you more background about the Atlanta area.

For today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we need you to decide which apartment/ loft unit would be the better real estate choice for our client, Ruth. Ruth is a single professional who is relocating to Atlanta from New York and would like to purchase a modestly sized, one bedroom apartment/ loft unit that allows her to entertain with dinner parties for her friends.

Ruth wants to buy in the “Castleberry Point” development because she loves the location and the fact that it is an adaptive re-use project. She has narrowed her choices down to 2 units in the development.

Option 1 is “Unit A” and it is 876 sq feet.

Option 2 is “Unit O” and it is 839 sq feet.

We need you to review the floor plans for these units, score them using the “Slow Home Test” and post your comments to the site as to which unit you think Ruth should purchase and why.

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch which unit John and Matthew have chosen for Ruth!

Also, we are posting another video from the “Atlanta Regional Commission” with some interesting information about this city and its planning initiatives.

See you tomorrow for our Design Project where we will be transforming a poorly designed apartment/ loft unit into a Slow Home!

Welcome to the Slow Home site this Monday, July 26, 2010. Today, we have moved on from Vancouver to our 8th city on the “Slow Home Project” – Atlanta, Georgia!

What do you think we will see in Atlanta? Will it be at the top of our nine city survey of housing design quality or at the bottom? If there are any Slow Home viewers watching from Atlanta, we would love for you to post comments to our site giving us any background information about this city as we study the housing here!

This week, we are focusing on apartment/ loft projects. For our “What’s Wrong With This House?” project, we need you to analyze the “Pierce”, which is a 1,230 sq ft, 2 bedroom unit in “The Lofts @ 5300″ located in Chamblee, North Atlanta. Study the floor plan and post your Slow Home Test score as
well as what you think are the 2 worst things about this unit to the blog and let’s have a discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial and analysis of the “Pierce”.

To provide a little bit more background information on this city, we will be posting a series of informational videos from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Here is the first in the series.

Make sure to join us tomorrow for our “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we will be comparing two apartment/ loft projects in Atlanta to see which would be the better real estate purchase.

Happy Friday everyone – it has been a busy week – our last in Vancouver! Thanks to everyone for your continued efforts on the “Slow Home Project” – if you have not visited our “Google Map”, please take a moment to check it out and see the quality of new home design in Vancouver and the other six cities we have analyzed to date.

For the Design Project review this week, we have selected 5 exceptional designs to discuss in more detail.

1. This plan is from Nicole. We think this is a fantastic design and the best for the week! Two really good ideas emerged – the first is the larger mudroom/ guest bath are that connects both the garage and front entry and the second is the alcove style study opposite the living area. This is a great plan – good work!

2. This plan is from Molly K and it is such a refreshing idea to see the side yard window being used for light in the mudroom. This really makes use of that existing window in a great way – the rest of the plan is very simple in layout, but well proportioned. The living room furniture grouping is the best of the week.

3. Brad W opened our eyes this week and made us think of all the additional floor plan possibilities that open up when you convert a double car garage to a single car garage. It is a bit of a shock when it is drawn out and you realize what you can actually do with that space!

4. It’s the return of the “floating object” and this concept really makes efficient use of the storage potential and circulation in this plan. Terri also has given us a really well thought out kitchen layout.

5. Mid America Mom has gone beyond the project brief to give us a very flexible layout where the inclusion of a full bath allows the study to also act as a guest room or in-law suite if required. Very thoughtful idea!

We are also posting four other plans that show great potential and with a few “tweaks” they would become exceptional Slow Homes. Click on the links below to see these schemes.

To see who the Slow Homer of the Week is for July 23, 2010, click on the link below.

Also, we need your vote for who you think should be given the Slow Home Award for Best Single Family House in Vancouver! Study the floor plans of the projects that we have nominated and cast your vote. Leave a comment on the site telling us who you voted for and why!

The Shore House
Smallworks – Laneway Loft House
Garrison Crossing – Lot 8

We look forward to starting our next city on Monday – we are off to Atlanta to look at apartment/ loft projects!

In today’s “in Detail” segment we are focusing on dining spaces in single family houses. All of our examples are from the Vancouver area. As you will remember from the “What’s Wrong With This House?” book, in a Slow Home, a dining area is a principal space that is proportioned to fit a table and is intended for daily use.

Too often dining spaces are left over spaces in plan and have not been designed properly to fit a table, have little or no natural light and conflict with circulation.

We need you to post examples from the Vancouver area of what you think are both good and bad dining spaces in single family houses and leave a comment as to why. We look forward to your submissions and discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on dining spaces and see both good and bad examples in single family houses.

To see our tutorial examples in more detail, click on the links below.

1. This is an example of a house that has well designed formal and informal dining spaces. Note the natural light and that they are properly located outside the zone of circulation.

2. In this plan, the nook space is well designed but the main dining space is poor as it is in the middle of the plan and has no natural light.

3. This nook space is essentially a mudroom – it is in the middle of a major circulation route and will be full of clutter.

4. This nook space will always feel like it is “inside” the kitchen and is less than ideal – not the view from the table down into the workspace of the kitchen.

5. This house has only one dining space, but it is well done – it has a good location next to the kitchen without being “inside” of it and good natural light.

6. This single dining space is too big – it is the same proportion as the adjacent living space and will result in wasted space around the table.

7. In this dining space – where would the table go? It is not clear where the intended location would be – also there is a view from the garage through the dining room.

8. This dining room is too large – it is in the center of the plan and is divided by a circulation zone – again, where would you put the table and what are you supposed to do in the remaining space?

See you tomorrow for our Friday wrap up, review of the Design Project submissions from yesterday, our vote for who should win Best Single Family House in Vancouver and the announcement of the Slow Homer of the Week!

Today is Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and its time for a Design Project! We need everyone’s help to re-work the floor plan of the “Garibaldi” which is a 2,170 sq ft, two storey home located in the “Stoneleigh at Silver Ridge” development in Maple Ridge, British Columbia – which is about 48 miles from downtown Vancouver.

The plan has a marginally acceptable open concept layout, but there is definitely some room for improvement. We need you to improve the following things:

1. The entry from the garage to the house is too small and there is not enough storage.
2. The dining space has too much left over space around it and looks directly into the garage.
3. The kitchen layout and location in plan could be greatly improved.
4. There is a lot of excess circulation space around the stairwell.
5. The side yard study condition is not ideal.

We think that the front entry is good and the general location of the living room is good so we are suggesting you leave them as they are and focus your design skills on the other areas. However, feel free to re-locate the fireplace if you want.

In your re-design, please note the column location in the living room. You will get bonus points if you are able to leave it intact as it is. However, you have the ability to move it, but you must put some sort of solid structural element in this general area.

We look forward to seeing your designs! We will review the projects that you submit on our Friday edition of Slow Home.

Day 183 – PDF
Day 183 – Existing
Day 183 – Demo
Day 183 – Full Symbol Library

When you are ready, you can click on the player below and watch John’s tutorial on how he has transformed this space into a Slow Home.

See John's completed design

See you tomorrow for our “In Detail” episode where we will be reviewing dining spaces in single family houses.

In today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we are comparing two single family house plans from the Vancouver area to see which would be the better real estate purchase for our two clients, Pia and Rhonda.

Pia and Rhonda have an internet based craft business and work out of their home, so a main floor study space is essential to them. They have narrowed their choices down to two final candidates.

The first option is the “Rutherford” which is 1,491 sq ft and has 3 bedrooms plus a den.

The second option is the “Wellington” which is slightly larger at 1,581 sq ft and also has 3 bedrooms plus a den.

Both homes are located in the “Seasons at Milner Heights” development in Langley, B.C., which is about 45 minutes to the east of downtown Vancouver.

Which house do you think is the better choice for Pia and Rhonda? We need you to study the floor plans and use the Slow Home Test to see which plan you think the better choice. Post your results and your comments to the site and let’s have a discussion!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s analysis of these two properties.

To see how John and Matthew scored these plans using the Slow Home Test, click on the links below.

Tomorrow is our Design Project day, where we will need everyone to try their hand at re-designing a poorly designed single family house floor plan and transforming it into a Slow Home!

It’s Monday, July 19, 2010 on the Slow Home site and today we are doing a “What’s Wrong With This House?” exercise. The floor plan we have chosen is the “Arbutus” which is a 2,700 sq ft home with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a double attached front drive garage. It is located on the “Birchwood Estates” development in Coquitlam, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver.

We need you to study the floor plans of this house and use the Slow Home Test to see how well (or how badly) it is designed. Post your Slow Home Test score to the site as well as your comments as to what you think is the worst thing about this plan.

When you are ready, click on the player below to see how John and Matthew have scored this project!

To see John and Matthew’s Slow Home Test score for the “Arbutus”, click on the link below.

This is our last week in beautiful Vancouver, but do you think that we will find any “Slow” single family house projects in this city of 2.5 million people? We are still holding out hope that we will find at least one! We need everyone to look as hard as they can!

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for another “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we will be comparing two single family homes from the Vancouver area to see which would be the best real estate purchase!

Miami

Awarded To:

Jack Kelly & Joyce Belloise, Producers

Imagining A New Florida

June 2010

We have lots to do this Friday!

First of all, we want to thank everyone who submitted a Design Project scheme from last Wednesday. Again, the quality of the work keeps getting better and better. This week, we thought we would comment on who we felt had the 4 best schemes as well as highlight what we thought were the 5 most interesting ideas on how to improve the space of this townhouse design.

To see what the townhouse plan looked like before everyone re-designed it, click on the link below.

Here are the 4 best overall schemes this week:

1. This is one of 3 plans submitted by Jim Baer and we felt it was the best scheme submitted this week. He added a guest bath at the entry which defined the entry and also provided some definition around the stairs. The best idea in this plan is the millwork wall the includes the back counter of the kitchen, a study desk and some dining room storage. Overall, an innovative and elegant solution!

2. This plan is from Frances and her idea to use a folding wall system to really connect the interior to the exterior transforms the whole nature of the project. The plan is simple, elegant and sophisticated. Also, thank you Frances for posting the image of the sliding wall system so we can better visualize your concept.

3. Molly K’s plan has the best spatial proportion of any of the schemes submitted – everyone should study her plan and see how nicely the kitchen, living and dining spaces are all scaled!

4. Nicole’s kitchen layout is outstanding – her placement of the appliances is extremely efficient and she has really thought through all the details of how the kitchen would function. It is worth it for everyone to have a look to see how well the appliance triangle is designed!

The following 5 projects deserve recognition for some really innovative ideas:

1. Murray’s plan uses the fireplace as an object to define the entry space and the dining area without adding walls of closing in any rooms. It adds definition while keeping the overall plan appear open.

2. Mid America Mom has created a focal point for the living room by placing a TV on the back of the entry wall – this creates a nice relationship for someone sitting on the sofa – allowing them to watch TV and look at the view at the same time.

3. Grace has placed the kitchen in the center of the plan – a great idea because it defines the three spaces of dining, living and study really well without the need to add walls or other elements.

4. Franco has placed a guest bath right at the entry – which defines the entry, adds an additional functional element, organizes the kitchen and creates a clear circulation zone from the entry to the stair.

5. Tara has used a millwork bookshelf and a see through fireplace to give definition to the entry and the living/ dining area. These features define space without enclosure.

Now, to reveal who is the Slow Homer of the Week for July 15, 2010, click on the link below.

We also need you to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Townhouse Design in Vancouver. Study the links of the nominees below and cast your vote – we also want you to post a comment as to who you think should win and why!

And finally, we are pleased to be releasing the video of the Slow Home Award Winner for Editor’s Choice from Miami! John and Matthew interviewed Joyce Belloise and Jack Kelly, the producers of the eye opening new documentary “Imagining A New Florida” which examines the impact and future of Florida’s rapid growth both before and after the collapse of the housing market. Enjoy this segment and we look forward to your comments on this video as well!

Sage – Typical Townhome
The Hub – Townhouse A
Pomaria – Plan TH-B

See you on Monday, where we will be reviewing single family homes in Vancouver – our final week in this west coast Canadian city!

Denver

Awarded To:

Wash Park Green

in situ DESIGN

June 2010

Bathroom design in townhouse projects is the subject of our “In Detail” episode today. All of our examples have been taken from the Vancouver area. As you will remember from the “What’s Wrong With This House?” book, in a Slow Home, bathrooms are well designed if they are appropriately scaled for the size of the residence, they need to have ample storage and continuous counters and they should avoid awkward elements, non-standard layouts or super-sized features.

In townhouses, bathroom design is critical as it is often difficult to fit an ensuite, a main bath and a guest bath into the common long and narrow townhouse footprints without some compromises of design quality. Many times, the guest bath is the most difficult to design and often ends up being located poorly in the plans – like next to the kitchen or dining room for example – or becomes either too large or too small.

We need you to look through townhouses from the Vancouver area and post examples of what you feel are both good and bad bathroom designs as well as your comments. We look forward to your posts and discussion!

When you are ready, you can watch the player below to see John and Matthew’s tutorial on bathroom design in townhouses.

Click on the thumbnails below to study the plans from the tutorial in more detail.

1. This is an example of good bathroom design in a townhouse. All three bathrooms are well designed. The guest bath is in a great location – it is both private but accessible on the main floor.

2. This is also an example of good bathroom design in a townhouse. This unit does not have a guest bath – this is also a very acceptable option. In this case, the main bath acts as both the guest bath and the family bath.

3. This is an example of where there is not enough space in the main bath to fit a shower. The corner shower may seem like a space saver, but limits the functionality of the bathroom and will be awkward to use on a daily basis.

4. This guest bath is in a poor location because it opens right into the kitchen and dining spaces. This is common in townhouses and this condition should be avoided. The family bath is also combined with the laundry area, taking up a lot of floor space that could be better allocated to storage or another function.

5. This guest bath is on the stair landing and is too small to be functional – many townhouses try to jam in a guest bath even if it ends up being similar in size to an airplane bathroom.

6. This guest bath has an awkward 45 degree angle at the door and opens directly to the kitchen – a double strike against this design! In the main and ensuite bathrooms, the toilets are directly in front of the door and the other fixtures are poorly placed.

7. This is a poorly designed guest bath as it is opens directly to the kitchen, and despite its large floor space, has a really awkward sink placement requiring an outswing door. Not a good design!

Join us tomorrow for our review of the Design Projects from Wednesday, our vote on who should win the Slow Home Award for Best Townhouse Project in Vancouver and the winner of Slow Homer of the Week!

It’s Wednesday on the Slow Home site and that means its your turn to try your hand at re-working an existing floor plan and changing it into a Slow Home!

The townhouse we have chosen today is “Unit L” in the “Carrington”, a 30 unit infill development in Oakridge – just outside of downtown Vancouver. The plan has 1,100 sq ft and 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Although the layout is not too bad, there are several things that could be improved in this plan, including:

1. A better connection from the interior to the exterior space of the back porch.
2. A better defined entry.
3. A new kitchen layout.
4. A reorganization of the living space, furniture layout and fireplace.

Keep the stairs and the front entry closet in its current location but feel free to change the door and window configuration that faces the back terrace. For an extra bit of challenge, see if you can slip in either a guest bathroom or a study!

Day 176 – PDF
Day 176 – Existing
Day 176 – Demo
Day 176 – Full Symbol Library

We look forward to seeing your posted plans and we will review them on Friday!

See John's Final Design

Join us tomorrow where we will be looking “In Detail” at bathroom space design in townhouses!

For today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we need you to decide which would be the better real estate purchase for Oscar and Helen, their 5 year old son and their new born twin girls. This family of 5 currently lives in a 1,400 sq ft, 2 bedroom home and would like to move to a townhouse that has more space.

They have narrowed the search down to 2 units in the “Sunset Grove” development in Surrey, BC – in the Greater Vancouver region.

Option One is the “Olive, which is 1,604 sq ft and has 3 bedrooms and a double attached garage.

Option Two is the “Willow” and it is a 1,620 sq ft 3 bedroom unit also with a double attached garage.

We need you to analyze these floor plans and leave a comment as to which you think would be the better purchase for Oscar and Helen and why! We look forward to your comments!

When you are ready, click on the player below to reveal which Unit John and Matthew have chosen.

We also have a special segment for everyone today! We are pleased to be releasing the Slow Home video about the historical Denver community of “Arapahoe Acres”. John and Matthew visited this very well preserved Mid Century Modern enclave while on their most recent Slow Home trip to Denver. We think that all Slow Homers will find this fascinating, so enjoy the video and let us know what you think!

Make sure to watch tomorrow where we will be doing a new Design Project – reworking a town house plan from Vancouver!

It’s Monday, July 12, 2010 on the Slow Home site and today we are analyzing townhouse projects in Vancouver. In today’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” exercise, we need you to review the floor plans for “Unit D” in the Navigator’s Cove project in Richmond, BC. This unit is 1,300 sq ft and has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms as well as an attached 2 car tandem garage.

Use the Slow Home Test to analyze the floor plans and then post your score to the site as well as the 2 worst things that you think are wrong with this unit.

When you are ready, you can click on the player below to see how John and Matthew have scored this unit.

To see John and Matthew’s Slow Home Test score for this project, click on the link below.

Make sure to visit the site tomorrow because we will be doing another “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we will be choosing between two different town house properties to see which is the better real estate choice!

We are very pleased that the Slow Home Award winner for Best Apartment/ Loft Project in Toronto was featured in the National Post yesterday, July 09, 2010! As you will remember, the winning project was “Layout 16″ from the “Seventy5 Portland” project designed by Core Architects and developed by Freed Developments.

To read the article in the National Post, click on the link below.

National Post – Seventy5 earns award from Slow Home movement

We are also very pleased to be releasing the Slow Home video featuring “Seventy5 Portland” project and an interview with Charles Gane of Core Architects. We enjoyed having the opportunity to tour the project when we were in Toronto and we hope you enjoy the video and we look forward to your comments!

We love Friday’s on the Slow Home site because it is our chance to review the Design Projects that were posted on Wednesday! This week, we will be posting the projects that we think did the best job at re-working this small apartment/ loft space from Vancouver.

To see what the plan looked like before it was given the Slow Home treatment from our viewers – click on the link below.

1. This plan is from Terri. We think she did the best job on the project this week! Her layout was innovative by placing the bathroom in the back of the unit – something we had not previously considered. We would recommend moving the entry closet to align with the fridge cabinet to open up the space by the front door and make the plan even better – and she gets bonus points for creating a study space in an appropriate location.

2. This plan is by Mid American Mom – good work as well! Again, the bathroom is in the back of the unit and combined with storage – this makes good use of the darkest part of the plan. We would recommend some adjustment to the kitchen detailing to make everything fit well.

3. Brad W has also submitted a great plan – we are happy he took the extra time to bump the closet into the dining space because that really works well to create both and entry and a dining room in a minimal way. The kitchen layout is also the best we have seen today!

4. Jessica had a good idea with her plan – and, we are offering an alternate layout that changes the location of the bathroom door and creates a laundry/ storage space opposite the kitchen instead of the study desk. What do you think?

Here are some other plans that we feel deserve some recognition and we are also offering some suggestions to improve them even more:

5. Tiffany had a good idea for the study – but this space is proportionately too large for the scale of the unit and the dining banquette is in the darkest part of the floor plan. In this case, a dining table would be great instead of the study space.

6. Hilda had a good kitchen layout, but the distance between the counter and island is too tight – remember to have at least 42 inches (40 in a pinch). Also, it is important to remember what the cook will be looking at as they are standing at the stove – in this case the view is obscured. We would try to stretch the kitchen a little bit and re-locate the cook top.

7. Rene P is a first time contributor and we are happy to have this plan! Just be careful with the hallways you create – the laundry is in a logical spot but try not to create long hallways when space is at such a premium.

8. Andrew has a great layout – but we wish this was a corner unit as there will be no natural light for most of the unit – remember that access to sunlight and ventilation trumps all other design decisions! Can you ask the developer if we can punch a window through the side of the building!

9. Finally Franco gave us a great plan, but we caution against placing the study desk in the darkest part of the unit and adjacent to the the bathroom door – we would like to know you think there is anywhere else you think this could go?

Overall, great work everyone and we have had lots to talk about!

To reveal the Slow Homer of the Week – click on the link below.

Also, don’t forget to vote for who you think should win the Slow Home Award for Best Apartment/ Loft in Vancouver. Follow the links below and cast your vote! Leave us a comment as to who you voted for and why. Have a great weekend – next week we are looking at townhouse design!

For today’s “In Detail” segment we are analyzing study spaces in apartment/loft projects. All of our examples have been pulled from the Vancouver area. Many times, study spaces in apartment/ loft projects are falsely labeled. Be wary of rooms that are labeled as “study”, “den”, “tech center” or “office” because more often than not, they are actually dark closets and not appropriately designed as places to work!

In a Slow Home, a study has to have natural light, a logical place for a desk and have a good relationship to other principal rooms. More information about what makes a good study space in a Slow Home can be found in our “What’s Wrong With This House?” book – available for sale on the right hand side of our web site.

For today’s discussion, we need you to look through the apartment/ loft projects in the Vancouver area and find examples of what you think are both good and bad study spaces in apartment/ lofts, post them to the site along with your comments. We look forward to your feedback!

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s tutorial on study spaces and see both good and bad examples. Click on the examples below to learn more about these good and bad study spaces.

1. This is a good study space – if only they could all be like this! Take note of the natural light, the logical place for the desk and the clear relationship to the other principal rooms.

2. This is not really a study – the furniture layout places the desk in the corner of the dining room – making the buyer think there is a study when really it is shared space.

3. Be careful when the word “flex” is used on sales brochures – “flex” really means “not a great space for anything in particular”. Here, there is room for a desk, but the sliding doors to the bedroom reduce available wall space and the adjacent living room is small and too tight for furniture.

4. This is the classic falsely labeled “den”. This den is nothing more than a dark closet at the entry, not a place to work. This is the developer’s way of raising the listing price without adding any functional livability to the unit – buyer beware!

5. Again, be wary of words like “tech nook” – this is nothing more than a closet with the doors removed. Who wants to work in a hallway?

6. Here is another marketing trick to avoid – the study has its own room and has a window, but the window is not to the outside, but faces an interior hall. Again, this room will be dark, stuffy and unpleasant to work.

7.This example is when the idea of a “den” gets out of control – this is now just a larger storage closet with room for a sofa – there has been no improvement to the quality of the space – just more square footage added.

8. This is the extreme of a falsely labeled “study” space at the high end of the apartment/loft market. This unit is large and expensive, but there is still no natural light in this den – and it is still poorly located right next to the entry – it is just a super-sized version of our 4th example.

Make sure to visit the site tomorrow – we will be posting our review of your plans from the Design Project from yesterday as well as voting for the best apartment/ loft projects in Vancouver – and of course announcing the Slow Homer of the Week!

It’s Wednesday on the Slow Home site and that means its your turn to transform the floor plan of a badly designed apartment/ loft project into a Slow Home!

Today’s plan is “Unit C” in the “Inter Urban” condominium project in New Westminster – which is within the Greater Vancouver region. The unit is 741 square feet and has 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom.

There are several design problems with this unit, including:

1. The storage closet and laundry area is not functional and too large.
2. The entry and dining spaces could be better.
3. There is a lot of wasted space in front of the bathroom.
4. The bathroom door opens directly onto the main living space.

We need you to re-work this floor plan and post it to the site along with your comments about your personal design strategy – we will be reviewing all the submissions and posting the best ones on Friday!

Your plans needs to include the following:

1. A re-designed kitchen area.
2. A better front entry space with a closet.
3. A simple, but re-located bathroom.
4. A better designed laundry area.
5. A well designed dining space.

You will get bonus points if you are able to include a study space – its a very tight squeeze so be creative!

Day 169 – PDF
Day 169 – Existing
Day 169 – Demo
Day 169 – Full Symbol Library

When you are ready, click on the player below to see John’s tutorial and his design strategy for this apartment/ loft plan!

See John's Final Design

Make sure to watch tomorrow for our “In Detail” episode where we will be focusing on study spaces in apartment/ loft projects!

For today’s “Which House Should I Buy?” episode, we need you to decide which of the two apartment/ loft projects short-listed would be the best real estate purchase for Wu Chen, a young and single physician who plans to marry in three years.

He works in a local hospital that is very close by to the “Mantra“, condominiums just outside of downtown Vancouver – close to Granville Island. The first option is “Unit A” which is a 669 sq ft, 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit.

The second option is “Unit B” which is 678 sq ft and has one bedroom and one bathroom plus a den – so there are some differences between the two units despite their similar sizes.

Have a look at the floor plans and then make your choice as to which of the two units you would recommend that Wu Chen purchase and tell us why by leaving a comment on the site. We look forward to seeing what you think!

When you are ready, you can watch John and Matthew’s review of these two units and which one they would choose by clicking on the player below!

See you tomorrow for our Wednesday edition of the Design Project where we will need your help to transform a fast apartment/ loft plan into a Slow Home!

We hope everyone had a great Long Weekend! Today we are happy to be starting our 7th City on the Slow Home Project – Vancouver!

For today’s “What’s Wrong With This House?” episode, we are reviewing the “Plan 7″from the “Mark Condominium Project” – which is located in the Yaletown district of Vancouver. It is 580 sq ft and has 1 bedroom and 1 bath. We need you to study the plans and post your Slow Home Test score to the site as well as the 2 things that you think are the worst design elements of this plan.

When you are ready, click on the player below to watch John and Matthew’s analysis of this floor plan.

Join us tomorrow for another “Which House Should I Buy?” episode where we are comparing 2 different apartment/ loft projects from the Vancouver area to see which would be the best real estate choice!

Happy Friday to everyone! This is a big holiday weekend for everyone in North America with Canada Day being on July 1 and the American July 4th holiday falling on Sunday. We hope that everyone gets the chance for some relaxation over the next few days and comes back to the Slow Home site refreshed for Monday when we start our 7th city – Vancouver!

Today, we need to look at the Design Projects that were submitted on Wednesday. This project proved to be a real challenge as there was lots of space to work with – and the fixed location of the stair required some creative space planning.

Click on the link below to see the “before” plan that everyone had to work with. The task at hand was to transform this poorly designed fast house into a Slow Home.

We have chosen 6 projects that we feel had the best schemes and would like to discuss them in more detail.

1. This plan is from Jim Baer – he did a modest renovation – eliminating all the awkward angles – and shows a high level of skill in space planning. Combining the back entry with the guest bathroom seems to be the most effective way to deal with this particular floor plan. The “formal” living space has a great scale and proportion.

2. This plan is from Murray. I would suggest combining the garage entry with the guest bathroom and shifting the front entry closet over to open the space up a little more at the front of the house. Moving the kitchen to the far left makes a lot of sense in this scheme and we like the idea of the millwork feature wall the that carries into the study desk area – very nice!

3. Tara created a long and freestanding kitchen in the center of the plan – this is a great concept and we imagine the potential for a lot of great detailing on the back of that kitchen wall (a book case, art gallery etc.). The lounge area at the front of the house needs a focus – maybe the bookshelves should run behind the club chairs.

4. We love Terri’s hand drawn plan – her front piano room has a great proportion – we noticed she moved the front door over to make this room more functional. Her scheme with an island kitchen in the original location is well done – if the fridge was moved a bit the appliance triangle would be perfect.

5. Tiffany has a great plan, but the kitchen really wants to be a “U” shape. This would clarify the circulation and provides better work surfaces and storage. The guest bath and front study may need to be reconfigured as the study proportion is getting too tight.

6. Finally, Jessica has a plan that really wants to have a “U” kitchen as well! To be effective, there needs to be clear circulation to the formal dining room and a “U” shaped kitchen eliminates the circulation problem of walking through the kitchen to get to the family room. The open concept study at the front of the house is a good small space alternative to a closed in room.

To reveal who we have chosen as the Slow Homer of the Week, click on the link below.

Have a great Holiday weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone on Monday in Vancouver!