Houzz Tour: 380-Square-Foot Loft Doesn’t Waste an Inch of Space
This above-garage loft in Minneapolis serves as a guest house for mom, a rental unit and a temporary home for its owner
Brenna Malmberg
April 27, 2017
A homeowner approached Chris Strom with a challenge: to turn his old garage and its footprint into a guest house for his mom and a place to park his vehicle. The solution came in the form of a red two-story building on top of the original concrete foundation.
Photos by Alyssa Lee Photography
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 380 square feet (35.3 square meters)
Designer: Chris Strom
An existing garage about 7 feet away from the main house underwent a total transformation to create a guest space for the homeowner’s mom. She often visits, and her son wanted to give her a space that could be hers during stays. When she’s not occupying the loft, the owner rents the space out to Minneapolis visitors. And soon, he too will call the loft home while his main house undergoes a remodel.
Strom suggested that the homeowner go with a red exterior, letting it stand out against the beige-green color of the main home. At least 10 reds later, they decided on this deep, warm hue. “I told him to think of this as a Norwegian fishing village,” Strom says. “It’s like a grouping of buildings, so you can make this one a completely different color.”
Exterior paint: Caliente, Benjamin Moore
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 380 square feet (35.3 square meters)
Designer: Chris Strom
An existing garage about 7 feet away from the main house underwent a total transformation to create a guest space for the homeowner’s mom. She often visits, and her son wanted to give her a space that could be hers during stays. When she’s not occupying the loft, the owner rents the space out to Minneapolis visitors. And soon, he too will call the loft home while his main house undergoes a remodel.
Strom suggested that the homeowner go with a red exterior, letting it stand out against the beige-green color of the main home. At least 10 reds later, they decided on this deep, warm hue. “I told him to think of this as a Norwegian fishing village,” Strom says. “It’s like a grouping of buildings, so you can make this one a completely different color.”
Exterior paint: Caliente, Benjamin Moore
About three months of planning went into the final design. This site plan shows the locations of the house (outlined in black) and the garage-loft (shown in red).
Guests can take the stairs from the ground to the deck that leads right up to the large sliding glass doors opening into the loft. You don’t have to go through the main home to get to the loft.
They decided on a layout that put everything except for the bathroom in one large space. “There was no way we were going to find a way to fit in a separate bedroom with a door,” Strom says. “Everything had to be carefully dimensioned because we were stuck to the footprint of 380 square feet.”
The final design uses vaulted and unvaulted spaces to distinguish a kitchen, shown here on the left, from the living and bedroom spaces.
They decided on a layout that put everything except for the bathroom in one large space. “There was no way we were going to find a way to fit in a separate bedroom with a door,” Strom says. “Everything had to be carefully dimensioned because we were stuck to the footprint of 380 square feet.”
The final design uses vaulted and unvaulted spaces to distinguish a kitchen, shown here on the left, from the living and bedroom spaces.
The living and bedroom areas share the vaulted ceiling space. A tall custom cabinet serves as more than a room divider. On the living room side, it houses a lamp and a TV, and offers open shelf and drawer storage. The TV can swing out 3 feet, making it more visible from the sofa or the kitchen. A queen bed fits into the space on the other side. The compact sofa folds out to become another bed.
The size of the furniture factored into the building’s design. The homeowner picked out options, and Strom drew them into the design to ensure that everything fit. “With a project like this, inches matter,” he says.
Bedroom rug: RugsUSA.com; queen bed frame: Match, CB2; living room rug and gray linen drapes: Ikea; curtain tracks and hooks: Curtain Tracks Store; sleeper sofa: Henry, West Elm
The size of the furniture factored into the building’s design. The homeowner picked out options, and Strom drew them into the design to ensure that everything fit. “With a project like this, inches matter,” he says.
Bedroom rug: RugsUSA.com; queen bed frame: Match, CB2; living room rug and gray linen drapes: Ikea; curtain tracks and hooks: Curtain Tracks Store; sleeper sofa: Henry, West Elm
Guests can use an opening in the cabinet as a nightstand. A garment rod provides a small but useful storage feature.
In the kitchen area, bright blue cabinets add a splash of color to an otherwise white palette. The mostly white scheme makes the loft feel more spacious, Strom says. The blue reoccurs on the other side of the loft in a cabinet.
For privacy, guests can pull curtains across the sliding glass doors. The doors to the right hide a washer and dryer.
The loft’s heating, cooling, water heater and electric boiler are also tucked into this area. The electric boiler supplies the heat for the radiant-heat flooring system found throughout the loft.
Paint: Rocky Mountain Sky (cabinetry), White Dove (walls) and Simply White (ceiling), Benjamin Moore
For privacy, guests can pull curtains across the sliding glass doors. The doors to the right hide a washer and dryer.
The loft’s heating, cooling, water heater and electric boiler are also tucked into this area. The electric boiler supplies the heat for the radiant-heat flooring system found throughout the loft.
Paint: Rocky Mountain Sky (cabinetry), White Dove (walls) and Simply White (ceiling), Benjamin Moore
Strom didn’t want the kitchen to look like an appliance showroom, so he hid the dishwasher and fridge behind custom cabinets running from wall to wall. The dishwasher is the large cabinet in the middle; the fridge is on the far right.
The loft also has a two-burner electric cooktop on the countertop where the kettle is sitting.
A concrete pendant light hangs above the sink, echoing the countertop material.
Concrete countertop: Living Stone Concrete Design
The loft also has a two-burner electric cooktop on the countertop where the kettle is sitting.
A concrete pendant light hangs above the sink, echoing the countertop material.
Concrete countertop: Living Stone Concrete Design
Big horizontal awning windows let in light and air. “When you just crack an awning window, it lets in air but doesn’t blow things off the counter,” Storm says.
Open shelving, in the same blue as the base cabinets, houses a toaster oven, plates and cups.
Open shelving, in the same blue as the base cabinets, houses a toaster oven, plates and cups.
The bathroom includes a 20-inch vanity, a toilet and a 3-by-3½-foot shower (not shown).
This space, because it’s enclosed, allowed them to deviate from the style of the rest of the loft, giving the owner some of the gray color he likes.
They took the tile all the way up to the trim to make the space feel higher. “If we stopped halfway, it would have broken up the space,” Strom says. “Plus, it’s not a huge space, so the cost wasn’t a huge factor.”
Strom says his company does numerous small projects like this throughout the year, and he sees them becoming more and more popular in cities. He recommends working with an architect or a builder willing to embrace the challenges that come with designing in a small footprint. “The fact that it’s small doesn’t make it easier,” he says. “It takes multiple revisions to make sure you get it just right.”
Contractor: Jack Carter of Über Built
More on Houzz TV: You Won’t Believe Everything This Tiny Loft Can Do
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This space, because it’s enclosed, allowed them to deviate from the style of the rest of the loft, giving the owner some of the gray color he likes.
They took the tile all the way up to the trim to make the space feel higher. “If we stopped halfway, it would have broken up the space,” Strom says. “Plus, it’s not a huge space, so the cost wasn’t a huge factor.”
Strom says his company does numerous small projects like this throughout the year, and he sees them becoming more and more popular in cities. He recommends working with an architect or a builder willing to embrace the challenges that come with designing in a small footprint. “The fact that it’s small doesn’t make it easier,” he says. “It takes multiple revisions to make sure you get it just right.”
Contractor: Jack Carter of Über Built
More on Houzz TV: You Won’t Believe Everything This Tiny Loft Can Do
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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Awesome use of space and color. I have no doubt the room divider unit has some storage compartments, but this space could have also been divided using the Aventa (wardrobe/TV stand combo).
Check out the colors and finishes on the Contempo Space webpage.
Your pictures show good ways to maximize space indeed. However your article said: 380-Square-Foot Loft Doesn’t Waste an Inch of Space. Where are the center pieces in each room? Accent lighting? Wall art?
Great space.