With some careful planning and creativity, a poorly planned, 1,100 sq. ft. loft in the historic Besler Building – a former steam-engine factory in Emeryville, California – was transformed into an efficient, livable and beautiful modern loft. It was two years in the making, with their home transformed into a gritty construction site on weekends, but homeowners and designers Lynda and Peter Benoit, (Peter a senior architect with local firm Melander Architects) took the loft from dark and dingy to open and sun soaked, with a 16 by 17 by 10 ft. box at its heart housing a private bedroom within its wooden walls.
On the outside, this unusual Douglas Fir clad room is lined with shelves that offer plenty of storage and display space for the couple’s collections and mementos.
“Windows” were cut into the box to allow natural light to flow into the bedroom.
A staircase leads up the box to allow easy access to the upper storage.
Inside, the bedroom walls offer clothing storage. When you live in a compact home, the important thing to remember is it’s not so much about the square footage, it’s what you do with it that’s important. By creating smart vertical storage, this small house leaves lots of floor space open for furnishings and provides a purpose to otherwise unused wall space.
A full glass wall offers lots of natural light and enhances this small home’s sense of space, as do the 13 ft. ceilings.
about Peter Benoit…
via Dwell
photo credit: Drew Kelly
