Need help designing our new space (renovated silk mill)!
Hi Houzzers,
I’m reaching out because we have a month to move into our new office space and we get to redesign it from scratch. The building is an old renovated silk mill with beautiful hardwood floors, plenty of space (777 sq ft) and tall 15ft ceilings. I’ve attached some photos as well as a basic floor plan that I quickly sketched up in a free program.
We’re a plant light company so incorporating plants is a must. I’ve attached an apartment featured Apartment Therapy that I think would be great to replicate. (Fun fact: she actually has one of our lights in her bedroom!)
Our budget is under $5000 (ideally $3500) and would have to seat 4 of us with room for 2 part-time interns, an assembly area, testing area, kitchen area, and space for inventory; but those are things we could probably figure out since they’ll be more industrial in nature. Figuring out a clean modern style with some beautiful office furniture and decorations would be a beautiful way to start off in our new digs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
-Paul
Comments (17)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Landscape Design Ideas - New Renovation
Comments (60)drtygrl, I don't think the Endless Summer hydrangeas come in tree form. I questioned the designer about the underplanting and she said the peonies come up and bloom before the hydrangeas leaf out, but I don't know if this is the case. This might imply the hydrangeas get cut back every winter as Endless Summer will bloom on new wood. With the tall perennials behind the lacecaps, they would be for viewing from the street, not the house. That's the way I interpreted it but I agree with you it wouldn't work if she thought we would see them from the house. (Well, we might see some of the flower tops to the extent the tower is up higher than the planting bed and if we trim the lacecaps lower.) I am totally fine with planting a nice display for the neighbors, although the perennial planting seems unplanned. inkognito, During the designer's second visit I discussed the view from the house several times. Even when invited she declined to walk through the house and look through the windows. That really left an impression, but not a positive one. After I said I want low plants in front of the front bay windows I am blown away she recommended rhododendrons that will grow very tall, although not quickly. Do you have any thoughts about plants that might work here? Azalea "Hilda Niblett" looks interesting as does Rhododendron "My Mary" although the Rhodie might be too tall and better against the front wall between the tower and front bay windows. I'll stay in touch and let you know how this develops. After this week I'll be traveling the next couple of weeks so not much will be happening after this week. Billy...See MoreDesign Critique and Cabinet Help for SW CT Kitchen Renovation
Comments (12)Definitely not in a rush and in the very early stages of putting all this together. We won't be moving in until around the end of July and aren't even closing for a few more weeks. Right now I am just trying to start the process so we don't fall behind after we close. I am mostly looking at different cabinet options and speaking with KDs and GCs to get a sense of what is possible while also getting the good feedback from the knowledgeable folks here. I think a tall pantry cabinet alongside the current fridge would be a good option instead of that run of base cabs but was also trying to keep some counter space adjacent to the fridge based on the post in the FAQs that discusses aisle widths, overhangs, etc. I suppose the island space opposite the fridge would match up with that criteria as well... The sink, range and fridge in the current kitchen are all in the same places as in the draft I am working with, the only addition being the island. I am basing much of this design on the kitchen I grew up with that had a very similar layout. That kitchen's layout was very similar to my initial draft except that it had a rangetop on the island on the same side as the window-sink. We always did the prep work on the fridge/sink side then moved around to the other side of the island to cook and used the island space to each side of the rangetop as needed then did cleanup where the window/sink would be. It looks like I'll be spending some time this weekend reviewing more literature and posts and speaking with a few more KDs. Thanks and keep the thoughts coming!...See MoreKitchen Design for Home Renovation. Need help.
Comments (11)Hi Buehl, First I want to thank you for commenting. I was actually most excited to get your feedback as I love the deigns you have suggested for others. (no disrespect to other designers as I am impressed by all suggestions on this site - it is such an invaluable tool for home owners). I apologize for the lack of measurements and pictures. We just purchased the house but don't get the keys until mid-January. The lady that owned the house had lived there for about 25 years and because it was so full of her stuff no internal pictures were posted online. I have the kitchen and dining room dimensions of the existing setup which I will add below. Unfortunately I only have approximations for the windows. The kitchen window (smaller 2' window) is above the existing sink. The dining room window (4ft) is only about 3ft off the ground so counters probably wouldn't fit or would just touch. In terms of the about us part: I'll answer your suggested questions below: Please answer the following questions: What are your goals? Would prefer and island and breakfast nook but we are flexible. What is your family composition? 2 Adults with one 20 month daughter and planning for another. How many kitchen workers are there? My wife is the cooking fanatic but I love to take care of breakfast. We would love to bake with the kid(s) in the future. Do you or anyone in your home cook? We enjoy home cooked food and want a fully functional kitchen. How do you see your kitchen used? -- Just for cooking/cleaning up? YES -- Children doing homework while you cook? Great if breakfast nook could double as study area. -- Party place? We do entertain family gatherings about once every month or two typically 8-20) -- Something else? We want the kitchen and family room to function as the main heart of the house. Do you entertain a lot? Mainly informal entertaining. Do you want your kitchen to be a "hang out" place? We want it to be the main hangout spot. Do you have a separate DR? Do you use it frequently? Infrequently? We want the kitchen to be the main eating area and may add a small formal dining area to one end of our large living room if we require it. Would you like to open up the kitchen to adjacent areas? Yes we would like it to flow to the family room. Do you plan to merge two rooms/areas. Yes, ideally we want to use the existing dining to make the kitchen bigger and incorporate the eating area there. Do you have a basement under the Kitchen space? Crawl space. Where are you flexible? Ideally no external structural changes as the house is a beautiful tudor style home that has been well kept on the outside. Internally we are flexible. -- Can windows or doorways change size? Internal doorways can be changed. -- Can windows or doorways be moved or eliminated? Yes as required. -- Can windows be raised/lowered? Ideally, no. -- Does the sink have to be centered under a window? No. -- Does it have to be under a window at all? (Sinks under windows are an old paradigm left over from the pre-Dishwasher days. Today, we spend far, far less time cleaning up; in fact, the majority of our time spent working in the Kitchen today is spent prepping.) No we are flexible. My wife had made a small video clip of our tour of the house. It is extremely poor quality but if it helps I'll add it below....See MoreKitchen Renovations Floor Dilemma: DESIGN ADVICE NEEDED! HELP!!
Comments (5)What a disappointment about the flooring. If it were me, if having the molding was the only thing keeping me from moving forward with cabinet install while things get sorted out, I wouldn't let that stop me. I would think there could be an acceptable trim that would solve that issue. You already have 2 kinds of flooring coming together, I would not add a third. If you pulled out the foyer tile and ran that into the kitchen, that could work, but not adding an additional, different tile to the mix. If you must add tile in place of the wood, I'd find one that works with your cabinets (maybe something close to the color of the wood floors, but not wood look tile). Or maybe slate? Run it into the entry. I agree about rethinking the waterfall counter. It really doesn't appear to be suited to your style home. But if you decide to move forward with it, could you live with a temporary counter on the island until the floors are sorted out, then have the island finished? Lots of people live with plywood counters for a while, for a variety of reasons....See MoreRelated Professionals
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoVery cool inspiration and space! Furnishing the full area with $5000 sounds challenging but fun.
In terms of layout, it looks like it would be natural to put a sitting area by the door. Love how your inspiration uses shelving and plants to separate it from the work space.
IKEA KALLAX shelving unit - $199Fun leather sofa in that very modern color.
IKEA STOCKHOLM sofa - $1999
West Elm Hamilton sofa - $2799
Maybe add a fun wicker chair or two to form a conversation space.
IKEA STOCKHOLM chair - $229
Add a nice soft white rug to make the seating area feel cozy.
esalerugs.com solid shag rug - $189
esalerugs.com Marrakesh rug - $229
For the work spaces, I'd look for some affordable industrial-looking desks with similar wood tones.
IKEA KULLABERG desk - $149
IKEA KULLABERG chair - $59You could use some more shelving units to divide spaces and have more storage and more places to put plants. Using plants in place of cubicle walls sounds really fun.
IKEA YPPERLIG shelving unit - $110
I spot some fun pendant lights in your inspiration that look a lot like these.
IKEA RANARP pendant light - $39
I bet you could also find some really cool salvage items. In your inspiration picture I spot some giant spools and vintage metal kitchen table. I see the latter all the time on my local classifieds.
I hope you will return to share more about your space. What an exciting space to decorate and work in!
Soltech Solutions LLC thanked pricklypearcactus- PRO6 years ago
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So we're picking up a couch today. Got it for practically free. I love it's style - hate it's color. Might stain and polyurethane the wood. We'll see. But definitely painting the leather.
So question is...which color. Which would look best, Forrest Green, Navy, or Caramel?
Classic Chesterfield Scroll Arm Sofa in Genuine Leather, Green · More Info
Winston PU Leather Button Tufted, Gold Nail Trim Y-shaped Feet Sofa, Navy Blue · More Info
Pasargad Home Genuine Brown Leather Chester Bay Tufted Sofa · More Info - PRO6 years ago
- PRO6 years ago
Also here is some of the CAD sketches of our office layout. We started staining and building the work tables today.
And the bookshelf with probably have box planters with draped pothos running down the shelves instead of the small little pots.
- PRO6 years ago
PRO6 years agoPlay with modern light DIY screens! Check out how I used it in my projects.
Literally built my self. Get compliments on them all the time!
Carpenter’s wait time and price were a joke.
If interested will give you details of the process (3 hours total time :-)
One is horizontal and the last one is vertical, separates dining and living.
Black defines dressing area from open space loooooong master
- 6 years ago
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