Studio Vision: Hide The Bed!
A: A great piece from the NY Times on Sunday about thinking outside the box to maximize the space in a studio apartment. The article was about a pair of Manhattan architects who bought a studio in Tudor City. Their plan? Maximize the space of a straight studio by hiding the bed! Such a simple concept that most buyers think to do in the form of a murphy bed. But not these two. For all you studio buyers out there, this one is worth it especially if your plan is to buy and renovate your new home from scratch!
NY Times: Updating The Trundle Bed
First job, find the right studio for the right price! Since your plan involves spending a good amount of money on renovations, you need to make sure the studio property you buy is priced right given the condition it is in! Don't let the selling broker fool you into paying top dollar for location, light, or views! Instead, understand that the renovation process is a big burden for any homeowner and that you will have to deal with blueprints, architects, co-op boards, contractors, and the side effects and time it takes for construction. All of this is the reason why major renovations to kitchens, bathrooms and flooring often pay the homeowner MORE THAN DOLLAR VALUE back at resale; especially when the job is done right!
Next, hide the bed! No, that doesn't mean a murphy bed as that is not hidden! A murphy bed, for all those that don't know, is a piece of furniture installed against a wall that houses the bed. When you need to use it, simply open the furniture door and pull the bed down. When you're done, lift the bed back up and close the furniture doors! But the problem is the amount of space lost with the actual piece of furniture that houses the bed itself. The pull down method is the problem. So what to do?
Build a raised platform and hide the bed underneath! Think 'slide-out' instead of 'pull-down'! Why didn't I think of that!
As you see in the illustration to the right, these two creative thinkers built a raised platform at the back end of the studio that can be used as either the living area or dining area of the property. It doesn't matter! What matters is that the bed is built to slide underneath, removing any obtrusive murphy beds from existing on one of the walls. By building this way, the studio maximizes space, can have both a living and dining/office area comfortably, and will most likely appeal to future buyers as this type of construction is certainly not the norm in a positive way.
All in all, the cost of the total renovation for the raised platform (which I assume included a new wood floor as well to go with it), new kitchen, and new office space cost $75,000. Not cheap by any means, and certainly a cost I think could be beaten with the right contractor!
How did they think of the idea of a sliding bed? They went out for a bite to eat, of course:
"We were frustrated thinking of all these different solutions, and we got hungry," Ms. Yanagishita said. "We went to have Korean food in a restaurant on 32nd Street. We were eating kimchi - pickled cabbage - and we noticed the raised platform we were sitting on."Good stuff for any studio owner seeking a more creative way to make more efficient use of the little space they have!
"Then all the little pieces came together like a Japanese puzzle box: things slide out, things fold in, things tuck away. It is clean, we hope, without any fussiness."
Posted by Cerise Ly
Tue Sep 4th, 2007 03:11 PM
uh, no one notices that the bed is exposed to the front door when it is pulled out? I don't know about Japanese puzzle boxes but I do know that Chinese puzzle boxes and the different pullouts would not satisfy the comparison. More obviously, the bed violates Chinese feng shui principles. I would put the bed in the corner opposite the front door. I just disagree with the result while appreciating the intention.
Posted by voracious reader
Thu Sep 6th, 2007 11:22 AM
First off, the architects didn't purchase the apartment. They were asked by the Sketch Pad columnist for their vision. As the owner of a studio, I was aware of this concept before beginning my search to purchase a studio. It's not a new idea. I rejected the idea because you would still need an open space for rolling out the bed. While they made good use of the space, they chose to have a dining space rather than a living space.
At apartmenttherapy.com there is a wonderful Tudor City treasure of a studio http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/4-jake-and-annes-tudor-city-treasure--020966. Let readers be the judge which is a better use of space for the money.
Posted by anonymous
Thu Sep 6th, 2007 11:26 AM
One of the dumbest ideas I've seen yet. A platform in a studio besides being a eyesore how impractical is that. I think the owner drank to much Sake when they came up with that idea. What's worse the hangover the next morning or the end result or waking up to the drunken decision
Posted by newbie
Thu Sep 6th, 2007 11:57 AM
It sounds like a cool idea but I still don't understand the difference btw this plan and using a murphy bed; both take up the same amount of space when you pull the bed out - I guess it depends on how much functional wall space you want.
Posted by richard hess
Wed Sep 2nd, 2009 05:05 PM
I could use that idea in my tiny San Francisco Cottage, but my concern is with the height of the structure hiding the bed. The platform wheels, platform/mattress support, and mattress will demand ~10-14" in clearance (min). The horizontal supports, above the mattress to maintain stability for the new floor, would demand an additional ~6" (min). Taking 14" + 6" = ~20" from the height of a room is NOT insignificant and also requires a minimum of 2-steps. Does anyone have a response?
Posted by richard hess
Wed Sep 2nd, 2009 05:06 PM
I could use that idea in my tiny San Francisco Cottage, but my concern is with the height of the structure hiding the bed. The platform wheels, platform/mattress support, and mattress will demand ~10-14" in clearance (min). The horizontal supports, above the mattress to maintain stability for the new floor, would demand an additional ~6" (min). Taking 14" + 6" = ~20" from the height of a room is NOT insignificant and also requires a minimum of 2-steps. Does anyone have a response?
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I think another reason fees are not being paid and free months not offered is that prices have come down. Apartments are moving but part of the reason is that prices came down to a point at which they will move.
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