Major re-arranging help needed for 800ish sq.ft. Brooklyn Apt.

last year

We are outgrowing our apartment and need serious help reworking the space so we can fit for the next 5 years. We are open to a major reconfiguration but are out of ideas.

Present Needs/Issues:

WFH office/desk space: My husband wants to be able to isolate and work once our 3 y/o comes home around 5 pm. Presently, he is in the upstairs "hallway" and works from the dining table during the day. I'm thinking some kind of storage/desk combo that we can fold away. Or moving our bed into the bedroom and putting up a dividing bookcase for his space.
Pull out couch/place for grandma to sleep - she visits frequently and is uncomfortable in a hotel. Right now she sleeps on the pull-out couch in the bedroom with our toddler. The pull-out couch in there gets used nightly for story time as well as weekly for co-sleeping. This is not necessarily an issue, but a definite need.
Space for a potential second baby - first year with us in the bedroom then sharing a space with our daughter later. So whatever solution we come up with needs to be put in place with the idea of our daughter growing up and sharing. I realize this may not be achievable but it is something to consider for the future.

This is the current layout

Downstairs - kitchen and bathroom are on this floor not pictured. 14 ft. celings (lofting potential?)

Upstairs pictured below - HV/AC and storage behind the doors in the little hall as well as my husband's desk - this space has 8 ft. celings and no windows.

Featured Answer

Caitlin Parys
Original Author

last year

These are wonderful ideas! I really love the reworking of the kid space - Sorry for the confusion on the entryways - The entry for the current bedroom (queen size bed) is the wall at the foot of the bed, the little hallway is full of doors to closets/storage.

We are in decent shape for storage and I think the room devider/bookcases would address some of the concerns in the bedroom.

I also am thinking to add some storage to the living room where the TV is - it would gain alot of space for us - presently it's a messy bookcase.

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Comments (8)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
First you need to post to scale drawings of all the living spaces without furniture on grpah paper makes it a bit easier. Show every window, doorway where those lead and every measurement clearly marked. Where I live 14' is not to code for loft so you need to find out about that. You live in small space there is only so much you can get from a finite amount of space. I ssume your hubby works from home so yes he needs a quiet space but that might just have to be in your bedroom . Name all the space and I have no idea what you mean by moving your bed into the bedroom? Post the plans here in jpeg format in comments DO NOT start another post .We need to see all space . I see 2 spaces with sofas so what is that. 800sq ft is not large but can be done for 2 bedrooms and living space . Have you got all the permissions from your condo board about this work ?
Caitlin Parys thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
PRO
Madden, Slick & Bontempo, Inc
last year
Are you and your husband upstairs and the children are in the room downstairs?
Caitlin Parys thanked Madden, Slick & Bontempo, Inc
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Caitlin Parys
Original Author
last year
Yes - thats the current arrangement
shirlpp
last year
Or moving our bed into the bedroom and putting up a dividing bookcase for his space.

This is confusing. Isn't your bed in the bedroom according to what you're showing.
Caitlin Parys thanked shirlpp
PRO
Madden, Slick & Bontempo, Inc
last year
last modified: last year
I can't speak to adding a loft - that would probably require an architect or a very good design/build team. So I concentrated on reconfiguring the two bedrooms. Not sure if these ideas will work, but it was fun puzzling on them.

This would be the downstairs room. I think I addressed most of your concerns - beds for two children and a space for Grandma. The bookcases provide lots of storage and also give grandma a bit of privacy and keeps a couch for reading.

Small sleeper sofa

Bookcase as divider

Using that narrow niche as a space for Grandma's stuff.

This is my idea for the upstairs bedroom. I was a little confused about where the entrance to the room is but I think you could move your husband's desk into the bedroom and get him out of the hallway. I also did not know what was in the corner at the bottom of the room. Dresser? Closet? Which brings up the question of whether there are closets in the bedrooms or do you need storage too?

You could build a desk similar to this that wraps around the existing chase in the room and add shelves above it on both sides.

Shelf above bed for more storage. Lighting behind bed.

A bassinet like this might fit in where the bedside table is or maybe in the hallway?
Caitlin Parys thanked Madden, Slick & Bontempo, Inc
Sigrid
last year
My experience is that futon couchs are far more comfortable than pull-out sofas. Most pull-out sofa companies use the same mechanism. I've slept on my share of pull-out sofas. Every time the hostess told me how they'd picked a sofa with a comfortable bed. We said the same to our guests. They just aren't comfortable, especially not after they are a few years old (note: not a few decades, a few years).

Secretaries and drop-down desks are often a good bet. They come in a variety of styles and sizes.
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bpath
last year
Two years ago, People magazine showed Dylan Dreyer’s (of the Today Show) boys’ bedroom in NYC. Cute! I don’t know what they’ve done now that the boys are two years bigger.