here i'd like to share my experience on different layouts, hoping it can help you on thinking out of box while facing a difficult one.
case study 01
this floor plan was provided by a client, which was the best she could get. because it's a 45 year old walk-up building in new territory hk.
net area: 434 square feet
occupants: 2 people
requirements:
1) storages
2) occasional visitors to stay over night, hence a guest room
3) study area
4) open kitchen
first, i built a clearer floor plan according to given information, shown below.
second, it's very important to analyze the existing situation of this apartment.
in this drawing, we can tell that
1) there's no structural walls, hence all the walls could be knocked down; which leaves designer a best opportunity to re-think the space
2) the wall facing south has four big windows.
it's a great feature of this apartment to bring in a lot of daylight. it has a big potential to utilize the south and eastern windows to lit up the western area.
finally, i came up with a transformable plan so to satisfy the client's 4 ideas.
what i did:
1) change the orientation of existing bathroom door to create a complete wall facing living area
2) knock down two walls to of original bedroom 1 and 3
3) use the western wall for storage area
4) link open kitchen to dining area and study area
the glass sliding door is designed to bring in the southern sunlight and have a better connection to dining area.
a window side desk is chosen for the couple to work together with good lighting condition.
red shows the storage area.
living area can be created upon a raised-floor system with more storage.
with glazing sliding door, the living area can be easily changed into a confined bedroom when there are visitors.
-the end-