“-Re” House together with “-Re” Adapt are two series part of a project in which I review, refine and redesign residential projects available on the Dutch housing market. “-Re” House touches projects that have been completed after the year 2000 and could have been done more efficiently to begin with, while “-Re” Adapt looks at how to better adapt older residential architecture that was designed in a different cultural and historical context.
This little gem gave me a “-Re” House floor plan design I fell in love with. I even started working on a 3D just for the fun of it. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen the first render quite a while a go… And as I decided it was time to publish it, I saw the year of completion. 1983… Darn, according to my own rules, that is not a “Re ” House”….
However, as I liked it far too much, I decided to make a “-Re” Adapt to go with it.
Original layout:
• Completed: 1983
Surface: 57m²
Building related: 7m²
External storage: 5m²
• If you’ve been here long enough, you’ll know that the first item to be changed is the access to the bathroom.
I do appreciate the idea and the luxury of an en-suite, however in this context I honestly think is more trouble than luxury.
The room does not have natural ventilation. You can try to convince me, but as somebody that lived a fair share of time in houses with bathrooms without natural ventilation, I stand my ground. No matter how good the ventilation system is, the actual ventilation will be done through the bedroom.
Again, as somebody that woke up for quite a while at 5 AM while trying not to wake up the other person in the room, as well as somebody that desperately tried to ignore the 5 AM alarm yelling for the other occupant of the room, I strongly believe in the importance of layouts that offer minimal disruptions in the morning. For the sake of sanity!
Lastly, but not the least, guests. Yes folks, they do tend to use the bathrooms too, and the largest majority of people prefer their bedrooms to remain private.
• Now, if I’m stuck in such a small space, I’d like to enjoy every little bit of it, so I’d very much prefer an open kitchen instead of a niche. I’d like to have the option to socialize, talk, dance, make jokes and even behave as a clown with an audience while cooking dinner.
New layout:
“-Re” Adapt (left)
• OK, so we’re stuck with the location of the vertical pipe line. We can however, work around it. Yes, I had to place the washing machine in the bathroom. Not happy about it, but that will have to do.
“-Re” House (right)
• On the other side, if I had the freedom to choose the location of the vertical pipe line, this is what I would do.
I’d give up the separate toilet/bathroom combo and create one bathroom. While I honestly appreciate the separation of the two (Trust me! Growing up at my parent’s house, I’ve done my fair share of banging on the bathroom door!) I feel that in such a small apartment (with most likely, a maximum of 2 occupants) one, all encompassing bathroom is more space efficient than the two separate spaces.
• I’d create a really nice living room space with many options: a TV area, a desk area, a reading section, a nice bar/table to socialize and an open kitchen easy to access and use. I personally would not go for a regular dining table, but for a kitchen island/table/bar.
• I’d use simple and clear lines, few items of furniture and strong accent colors.
In case you’re interested in any of the examples I have used to showcase the gallery wall, just follow the links below.
Help! / Meteoric Rainfall / Naturel / Girly Portrait / Start Each Day with a Grateful Heart / Floral One Line Drawing – Rose / Synthwave Space – Cloud City / God Is a Woman / Poppy Flowers Line Art / Woman Smoking / Moon Keeper / Space Cat / Be Still / Ligature / Magical Bath Tube / Wine Night / Fragile Rose Art / One Line Minimal Plant Leaves Drawing – Berry Art / Just Got a New Hair-cat / Illustration / Floral Planet / Lovers Minimal Line Drawing
Click here for more “-Re” House projects
Click here for more “-Re” Adapt projects