Re: “A Small, Spacious House for a Skinny City Lot” in the July 2008 issue. Am I the only person who thinks that this house has a lousy layout and some really unpleasant features?
For starters just what are you expected to drive through a 7′ garage opening? Maybe a Smartfortwo. Even a Prius would be a tight squeeze. Any full sized vehicle would require the removal of the mirrors if it fit at all.
And a laundry in the garage requires a lot of trudging and hauling. A stackable unit in the master bedroom closet would be a lot more convenient. The drain pan required wouldn’t be a big problem.
And why put the master bedroom on the street? I’d reverse the top floor and put it in the much quieter rear of the house.
And what cook wants “a structural wall (that) blocks the rest of the house from the clutter and noise”? This is really weird. I don’t ever recall any house featured in Fine Homebuilding or any other magazine with the kitchen walled off from the dining room. The first thing most remodelers do is open up the kitchen to the dining and/or living room.
This house got the Peoples’ Choice Award? It wouldn’t get my vote. Thumbs down.
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It's popularity is based on it's "cute" curb appeal - a skillful mix of traditional elements arranged in a way to also appeal to young trendy couples.
I'm sure the garage was only included to meet municipal off street parking requirements. And yeah, I'm not really keen to go back to sorting my laundry on a garage slab either.
I'd add to your list of oddities the problems of overlook on the sides when more than one unit is built, the long entry hall, the amount of living area devoted to circulation, and the too tall double height space. But having said all that, I'd rather live there than in most suburban tract houses I've seen.
I didn't see the article.... most of what you read is just someone's opinion....
Regarding the small garage door - sounds like a good biker house... Re laundry in garage, real bikers don't need to wash their cloths much.... Re the kitchen setup - they don't cook much either...
;-)
How many bikers does it take to fix dinner?
Three. One to cook the possum and two to watch for traffic.
Priceless.
We have just started getting possums up here as the climate warms. But our bikers are too busy buying up failing lumber operations to use laundering their money to bother eating road kill.
Glad you enjoyed it. The personal identity and the type of animal can be easily changed to reflect any group and/or rural area, to suit the occasion.
I first heard it in Texas about armadillos and Aggies (students at Texas A&M).
They just passed a law in my state saying its now legal to eat road kill. Nothing spoils dinner like a citation from the Highway Patrol!
I do like FineHomebuilding magazine, but more and more lately, its just for the damn pictures. If I wanted good interior decorating ideas, I'd watch Martha Stewart. Sometimes I wonder why "building" is left in the name. Wiring an addition is a better read to me than "maximizing closet space".
And for a magazine that isn't bias with tool reviews, they seem hell bent on selling me a Bosch. Bosch is a good brand (I dont much like their cordless drills), but so is just about every other major name out there. I've used about every brand of tool known to man, and I can't honestly say that one brand is superior to another and that I wouldn't own any particular tool from any particular brand. It's all personal preference.
What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, I dont think I read that article.
Your point of view is much appreciated and respected and I don't necessarily disagree. However ... houses on narrow lots tend to be somewhat problematic ... it's their nature. Compromises are made. hindsite is 20/20. Many brownstones in NYC have no opportunity for windows on the sides. Yes, lots of space is wasted in circulation ... again the result of the long narrow layout ... but I'd rather live in this than a trailer house ... which is largely what we are dealing with in concept ... long narrow house designs.
I disagree w/ the kitchen wall comment. While it is the current trend to have the kitchen open up to whatever ... there are lots of examples of kitchens that are separate from the dining room ... millions of older homes are this way. I don't disagree with you and would probably not do it myself, but they did it.
You weren't there during the design, so you've no idea the limitations and decisions that may have been made. Ultimately some compromises are made as well as mistakes ... such is life and design.
A laundry chute would have been better than your suggestion to put the W/D in the master bedroom ... in my opinion.