Just Right

House size is a tricky thing. Some folks want a feeling of space that's expressed in volume—soaring foyers, three-car garages, and cavernous master suites come to mind. Others, to quote Goldilocks, want spaces that are “just right,” with rooms that work for their particular lifestyle.

Last month, BUILDER took a look at how the industry was responding to smaller lot sizes with innovative floor plans and site configurations (see “Tight Squeeze,” November, page 144). This month, the focus is on interior architecture, with examples of the kinds of details that make the most of limitations.

When it comes to tight spaces, some builders and designers have turned their attention to built-in components that take advantage of stair landings, attics, and mud-rooms. Others have seized upon window and stair placement as areas where precious space can be maximized. And clearly, everyone in the industry knows that the kitchen is one room that really has to make sense, no matter its size. The best builders and designers look at the house as a whole, keeping in mind the desires—and the needs—of today's busy families.

It's fairly common to hear attics, hallways, and stair landings described as “dead” spaces, but architect ROSS Chapin is having none of that. The Langley, Wash., designer, best known for his collaboration with The Cottage Co. in Seattle, bristles at the notion that any space in a house should be considered “dead.”

BD061201120L1.jpgCLICK HERE FOR IMAGE GALLERY

BD061201120L1.jpgCLICK HERE FOR IMAGE GALLERY

SHELF HELP: At Danielson Grove, a Cottage Co. project in Kirkland, Wash., architect Ross Chapin framed the entrance to the kitchen (top) with shelving that lets in plenty of light and keeps the kitchen open to adjoining rooms. In another plan (bottom), Chapin framed a stair landing with cubby-like open shelving.

KITCHENS SELL: At Pacific Heritage, a Pacific Communities project in Perris, Calif., architects from the KTGY Group paid special attention to details in Plan 2 (above) and Plan 4 (next). They know that kitchens are what often sell a home.

IN THE DETAILS: Designer Bill McGuinness, a designer and partner at Sun Homes in Pauling, N.Y., likes to feature a high-functioning mudroom (previous) in his plans, with a place for everything from folding laundry to stashing mittens. Builder Steve Kendrick, president of Structures Building in Mount Pleasant, S.C., includes inventive shelving, horizontal siding, and furniture detailing to set his kitchens apart (above).

DIVIDE AND CONQUER: M/I Homes architect Joe Stein maximizes space in one 33-foot-wide plan by using four levels on three floors to strike a balance between a master-down and a first-floor game room plan. Both rooms are readily accessible from the family room via a half-flight of stairs.

“I'm looking for the entire house to be vibrant, that every space not only has a function, but also takes part in the continuity of the whole,” says Chapin. “We take a lot of care in designing a smaller house that's a lot more thoughtful. While we're building homes that cost more per square foot, we're getting a far higher value per square foot. That's the key point.”

Take the homes he designed for Umatilla Hill, a pocket-lot neighborhood built by Kimball & Landis, in Port Washington, Wash. An eating area and kitchen in one plan, for example, are separated by an island that's been beefed up with cabinetry and niches on the dining room side. It's topped by a bar-height counter that hides whatever mess might be happening in the kitchen. The two rooms are defined, but not with a confining wall. At Danielson Grove, a 16-unit project he designed for The Cottage Co. in Kirkland, Wash., Chapin designed a plan that has the window-lit stair landing doing double duty; the window is surrounded with cubby-like open shelving. And window seats show up wherever the architect can find an appropriate spot. “Awindow seat can become a very special daybed on occasion,” says Chapin. “For a grandchild to come to a house and stay in a place like that means a lot. It's a memory maker.”

Two areas that designer Bill McGuinness finds popular with prospective buyers are home offices and mudrooms. McGuinness, a partner at Sun Homes, a residential design/build and development company in Pauling, N.Y., has found that “when people wanted a four-bedroom home, the fourth bedroom was almost always used as an office,” he says. “So we started including a custom-designed office instead. It's a small room, 7 by 10, but we put in a window and built-ins, which makes it a great workstation.” He locates the room near the living area, behind a single French door, so that families can feel connected.

Access is important with mudrooms, too. At The Willows at Crestwood, a Sun Homes project in Tuckahoe, N.Y., the ground-floor mudroom has doors that connect it to the garage, the backyard, the front of the house, and the kitchen. Unlike some mudrooms, it's more than just a cramped pass-through. McGuinness included plenty of cubbies (for kids' backpacks and gear), built-ins (to hide the Tide and other necessities), and a front-loading washer and dryer that's topped with a counter (for folding). One buyer even asked that one of the built-ins hide the litter box, which their cat can access from behind, through a cleverly designed cat door. Still, there are two things that McGuinness wishes he'd added to his already high-functioning mudroom. “I should have put a drain in the middle of the tile floor so that people could hose down their dogs,” he says. “And it would be great to have a powder room in there.”

If there's one room where making the most of tight spaces makes the most sense—and brings in the most dollars—it's the kitchen. Designers, especially those involved with production homes, know what buyers want when it comes to kitchens (see “Kitchens 101,” right).

First off, get the kitchen out in the open. The walled-off galley kitchen is a thing of the past, even in the smallest home. And pay attention to light and storage, says Mary Jo Peterson, a certified kitchen and bath designer in Brookfield, Conn. “People have a strong preference for the kitchen to have a connection with the outdoors, which can be difficult with homes on narrow lots, [which] tend to be deep from front to back,” says Peterson. “Even with the kitchen in the middle of the plan, though, there needs to be a sense of the outdoors.” The traditional window-above-the-sink arrangement doesn't always work with these tight plans. As an alternative, Peterson suggests clerestory windows above the cabinets as a way to bring in natural light.

“Buyers often say that they want a walk-in pantry, but this can ruin the functionality of an otherwise functional kitchen,” says Peterson. Better to go with cabinetry, where every inch of storage can be gleaned without giving over room to a traditional walk-in space.

Think hard about whether an island will really work in a small plan, Peterson suggests. “The world wants an island, but it's not always the best choice in a tiny kitchen. Sometimes, an angled peninsula is a better choice.”

And pay attention to the materials used in a kitchen that opens up into living space. “In smaller plans, you don't have the kitchen tucked into a corner,” says builder Steve Kendrick, president of Structures Building in Mount Pleasant, S.C. “Things need to look like pieces of furniture. Instead of the standard toekick, we often put decorative feet on the bottom of cabinets to make them look like freestanding pieces.”

Smaller lots have required architects to come up with ever more inventive plans, forcing them to think hard about things such as stair placement, formal living rooms, and the number of levels that a buyer will tolerate. Geoffrey Steinbeck, president of Bower & Bailey, a St. Louis–area builder, points to the use of switchback stairs and token living rooms as a way of conserving space. At Talbridge, Bower & Bailey's latest project in Clayton, Mo., the formal living room has been reduced to a parlor-sized space that Steinbeck says most buyers will use as an office or study. “We've almost done away with the throwaway living room and gone with gathering rooms,” he says. “That flat screen sits in the gathering room, not the living room.”

In Columbus, Ohio, M/I Homes architect Joe Stein has come up with a plan for a small, 33-foot-wide house with a front-loaded garage that uses four levels on three floors to strike a balance between a master-down and a first-floor game room plan. “Call it a master half-down, perhaps?” suggests Stein. Both the game room (down) and the master bedroom (up) are readily accessible from the family room via a half-flight of stairs. In this same plan, Stein located the fireplace in an interior corner of the family room. That means homeowners can “furnish to the outside corner, thus eliminating the need to float the furniture, which eats up floor space,” he explains. Another space-saving touch: The loft space upstairs allows room for a computer/homework area.

Sometimes working the plan means getting out to the site. “We did a house where there was a wonderful view of the North Cascades, but you could only see the mountains from a spot in the dining room,” says Chapin. “There wasn't room for a big window there, so during framing I mocked up where a seat would be and placed a window that was 16 inches high by about 2 feet that framed the view of the mountain [from that seat]. It's that kind of attention to detail that brings a little bit of lightness and laughter to a building.”

Two architects share their wisdom on kitchens that look—and act—bigger than they are.

David W. Kent and Charles Addington, principals at the Irvine, Calif.–based KTGY Group, know that kitchens are often what sell a home. Here's what they keep in mind when designing open plans.

CABINETS: Resist the urge to run cabinets to the ceiling; lowering them even a little helps expand the ceiling line. Whenever possible, use glass uppers, which will enlarge a kitchen's visual dimension. For continuity, use the same cabinets in any adjoining room.

APPLIANCES: Wherever possible, stack units (i.e., built-in oven with stovetop and microwave above). This helps keep the counter space looking clean and neat, and gives the whole room an upper-end look.

FLOORING: Extend the kitchen floor into whatever's adjacent, whether that's a nook, a patio, or a hallway. It will make the room feel bigger than it is. Coffer the ceiling over the same area to reinforce that feeling of spaciousness.

PANTRY: Get it out of the kitchen triangle. Consider putting a pantry underneath nearby stairs, in part of the nook, or as part of a desk area.

ISLAND: Make it work! Include furniture details and plenty of storage.

LIGHTING: Hanging, pendant lights interrupt the eye and chop up a kitchen. Instead, use recessed general purpose lighting in the ceiling and under-cabinet spots.

BACKSPLASHES: Keep them light. This will help create the illusion that they're floating.

Kathleen Stanley is a freelance writer based in Washington.