Architect's Toolbox: A Room Within a Room
Create a more intimate space with ceiling detail, columns or even a four-poster bed
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin and I am a certificate holder from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located... More »
Architects and designers sometimes create a room within a room to reduce the scale and provide a more intimate setting — nesting a space within a space, a little like Shaker nesting boxes and Russian matryoshka dolls.
The grandest example of all is St. Peter's baldachin at the Vatican. Here Bernini's sculptural room sits within the great space of the cathedral, breaking down the vastness of the space while providing the stage for religious activities. Open on all sides and covered, the baldachin's four columns and roof define a most intimate and sacred of spaces.
So the next time you get under the covers of your four-poster bed or engage in a conversation in an inglenook by the fire, remember that you're enjoying the type of space architects have been creating for centuries.
The grandest example of all is St. Peter's baldachin at the Vatican. Here Bernini's sculptural room sits within the great space of the cathedral, breaking down the vastness of the space while providing the stage for religious activities. Open on all sides and covered, the baldachin's four columns and roof define a most intimate and sacred of spaces.
So the next time you get under the covers of your four-poster bed or engage in a conversation in an inglenook by the fire, remember that you're enjoying the type of space architects have been creating for centuries.
The most common type of room within a room is the four-poster bed. This works especially well in a spacious room with tall ceiling. And the architectural treatment of the bed frame here suggests this is more a building within a building, not just a room within a room.
A four-poster bed can be a simple and contemporary design and still create an intimate space in a large room.
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| A contemporary interpretation of the idea has the bed in a room defined by sheer fabric hanging from a raised ceiling. |
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| Not limited to Western design, the posts and "ceilings" of traditional Chinese beds create that room-within-a-room quality. |
| A large living area can be enriched by a smaller room within. While the piano sits in the larger volume space, columns and a change in ceiling height create a more intimate conversation area. |
| Using a screen of columns at the side of a room creates an intimate place to read while maintaining connection to the larger room. |
Using the step up and seating structure for spatial separation — and the fireplace as a focal point — this inglenook is a room within the larger context of rooms around it.
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| Not just an approach for living rooms and bedrooms, the idea of a room within a room can be used in bathrooms to create a special place to shower or bathe. |
A room within a room isn't just for the inside. Some simple lattice screening and greenery makes for a wonderfully intimate and restful way station in the great outdoors.
More: Homes With Houses of Their Own
How to Create a Nest at Home
Creating Nests in Unexpected Places
More: Homes With Houses of Their Own
How to Create a Nest at Home
Creating Nests in Unexpected Places
Comments
Debbie Enjoyed the article and the rooms within. Nice job of bringing in the history. Thanks!
17 months ago · Like
Jennifer Johnson Cozy spaces!
17 months ago · Like
mmsalg All of these are amazing! Really inspirational for anyone looking for new ideas and a change. This is a great site to help you get these made http://www.custommade.com/get-it-made/new_post_a2
17 months ago · Like
CAROLE MEYER These room within a room ideas are great....it give the cozy back to a room that is really big............the blue Chinese bed is a knockout....wow, what a bit of blue paint can do!
17 months ago · Like
Bud Dietrich, AIA Agreed Carole, the Chinese bed is amazing. I've seen plenty in that are stained or painted red. But this one is the perfect color blue for its setting.
17 months ago · Like
Premier Decoration Agree, the asia blue bed is so perfect color, I am here and fimilia with red and brown. Now I have an idea. :)
17 months ago · Like
lccbronn on a current project the structural engineer put a lot of beams to support the first floor slab, for example in the kitchen. By cladding the beam with wood and using the wooden pillars, I can transform the unsightly beam into a feature! Great idea, thank you!
17 months ago · Like
asana0527 can u help me to find a bed like this?? i do not like the pottery barn style...i wanted similar to Z galleries X canopy bed that was discontinued...any ideas???
15 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Jan. 13, 2012.
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