Need your help with very small beach apartment renovation.
My husband and I recently purchased a small studio apartment directly on the beach in the South of France. We would like to convert the 37 sqm (400 sq ft) studio to 1 bedroom of 47 sqm (505 sq ft) by enclosing the existing terrace.
To make this as challenging as possible, the front entrance is exactly in the center of a narrow and long room with the only window and light source being a long slider on the terrace end.
The building is heritage listed in France as a significant structure representing modern European architecture. I would therefore hope to have the apartment's design pay homage to the late 60's era without being too literal.
We will be spending a great deal of time there so I would like there to be sufficient storage both in the kitchen and bedroom closet. The apartment should also have space for a work desk and/or a dining table as well as a bookcase for a large book collection.
The apartment location is very near the Northern Italian kitchen manufacturing center and I hope to purchase a showroom kitchen through one of two online outlets. (This means that I can significantly upgrade the level of kitchen at between 50 and 70% less than the cost of going through a designer.) Given this, I have used the available kitchens on those sites as a starting point for the overall design.
What I haven't been able to do is decide on the type of flooring, the room layout, and the color palette for furnishings (all new) and paint colors.
This is a photo of the apartment as it is currently the from the entrance. It is approx. 500 cm (16.5 ft) wide and 960 cm (31.5 ft) long. There is a bathroom on the left and a small nook kitchen after that. On the right is a Murphy bed and closet. Everything is going to be removed, including the flooring as it doesn't match so the plumbing can be re-routed.
Another photo looking toward the front door.
Here is where the terrace has been enclosed.
The back of the building facing North away from the beach.
The beach directly in front of the apartment on the right.
The unusual entrance.
I've mocked up a preliminary design possibility using HomebyMe software.
There is a washer and dryer in the bathroom.
This is a 3D rendition.
This is a more realistic rendition looking toward the kitchen.
I would really appreciate any advice on small space design and whether or not a small dining table could be added and any lighting ideas as the building is concrete so there can be no down lights and it might be a bit dark in the back. If anyone could also recommend a better layout I would also appreciate it.
Comments (6)
Susan Lopez
6 days agolast modified: 4 days agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (6)You have some un-learning to do, but not much. First of all, the violets are a very serious problem. If you don't get rid of those, you'll never have a lawn. Round Up is the only solution I've seen on the forums in the past many years. You'll have to spray it once, then water the lawn lightly every day to try and sprout any new weeds that might be there. A week later, spray the RU again to kill the new stuff. Then you'll be ready to rake up all the dead stuff and start seeding. By the way, don't start this until August. August is the ONLY time of year to seed cool season grasses like fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. Weed control should be done independent of fertilizer - in other words, no weed-n-feed. Once you have a healthy turf and start taking proper care of it, you should not have any weeds. I wish I had known then (1980) what I know now about caring for lawns. I lived in Dayton and had a mixed bag of ugly grasses. I mowed too low and watered too much. Live and learn, you know. Liquid fertilizer is completely useless on a lawn. A lawn needs POUNDS PER 1,000 SQUARE FEET of fertilizer. Liquids apply fractions of an ounce of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet. I like organic fertilizers. Specifically I like alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) from the local feed store. Application rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Throw them out by hand, then moisten them (not a drench), and the next day you can drag something over top of the soil/sod to break up all the alfalfa worms that grew from the moistened pellets. This time of year you should be watering once every other week in your area. When you water, water a full inch as measured by cat food or tuna cans placed around the yard. Time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill the cans. That's how long you should water. If you get runoff, stop watering immediately, let the lawn rest 30 minutes, and resume watering. That will give the water time to soak in and hopefully leave the soil more receptive to continued watering. If that doesn't happen, write back. If you start the reseeding project in August, then you'll have time to evaluate your results before the winter cold hits. If you need to add more seed to make the turf more dense, you'll have some time....See MoreVery small kitchen, need help in designing the work triangle
Comments (6)Sounds like a very promising project, and I love your 2 little verandas. Depending on the views out those windows/need for privacy, it might be really nice for the view from one side to the other to specifically be wide open there (blast the usual apartment expectations). But, you need to offer a to-scale drawing of what you are thinking, plus some details about how you live, how many of you, and how you will use the kitchen (usually microwave frozen food, passionate bread baker, etc.) etc. Without that, some people just don't post, others post a lot of stuff that's just plain impossible or undesirable....See MoreMulti-family renovation - need help choosing apartment door color
Comments (2)Off white is likely to get pretty dirty, but I think it would look nice. Red is always a great front door color, but I would choose an historic color so that you don't choose a strange red. Black would work with your interior doors. I'd probably go with black if you are using the same door that you photographed....See MoreVery small house...Need help deciding where to put the remodel budget.
Comments (32)ok exact measurements. the house is not exactly a 20x30 square but its close enoguh. a few of the inner walls are thicker as they used to be exterior walls. the kitchen is 113inches by 141. It does fit a corner banquette with a round table and 3 chairs, and you can seat up to 2 on each leg of the banquette. Most comfortable with fewer than 6 people but up to 7 is possible. 8 if someone sits in the corner . Master is 130x116 (inches). Bedrooms are 80 inches wide and 136 and 116 inches long. Bathroom i was wrong on the measurements. It is 98x 57 (there is a cut out here so its not a perfect rectangle). The hall is 36 inches wide. The biggest benefit of using up that space to me is that people won't be as confined to a tiny hallway where it is awkward to pass anyone else. So I like the idea of taking part of the bathroom and part of the hallway to make another bathroom, and also to take down the walls int eh kitchen. So we would need to get some quotes for this but it seems relatively doable. We could wait on the closets for a while and it doesnt require moving any walls that we didnt already plan to move. Reality is it doesnt improve rental price THAT much to add a bathroom as far as I can tell, but there are only a few other rentals in the area to compare to. So addding the bath is partially for resale partially just because it irks me to have such a wasteful layout. Either way we do make back the cost of the bathroom quickly....See MoreSusan Lopez
4 days ago- Thanks @decoenthusiaste. Unfortunately, the bed doesn't fit in the closet space and we need the bedside tables for our CPAP machines so the closet around the bed option is also not workable. I've had to compromise the closet space (yet 215cm is not so small) for increased storage space in the kitchen next to the fridge for supplies, brooms, and a vacuum. I've been trying to find a solution for the computer storage, something like a cubby to push it into but that takes up table space. I've already asked the kitchen company if they can add a pull-out table like this to the top drawer of the closest cabinet so we can sit across from each other when the weather is not so great.
Susan Lopez
4 days agoThanks @modpod. I have considered various ways to add either light or ventilation to the bedroom through either a long transom window (that opens into the room) or through a pocket door made of frosted or textured glass. This would help with the heating and air conditioning as well. Deciding on the style has been difficult. These are options I've considered. If you have any others please let me know as decision time is looming.
Susan