Natural Light and Closets

Often, when renovating a home built in the early part of the 20th century, we encounter two major issues.  No closets (anywhere!), and interior rooms with no exterior exposure, and therefore no windows!  These are two problems that we try our best to resolve during the re-design process.

The project we've been following recently is an excellent example.  The original floor plan of the second floor presented a warren of small rooms and spaces that wrap around two completely interior rooms.  As we saw in a previous post, the traffic pattern was sorted out sensibly, but the space was still left with an internal, windowless bathroom and laundry room.  The addition of transom windows above doors, and small windows high in the walls of the adjoining rooms will go along way in bringing natural light into the spaces.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about.


From a bedroom into the laundry room.



From the bedroom into a brand new bathroom.

From the breakfast area into a hall that leads to the dining room and pool bath.

From the dining room into adjoining hallway.

 

From a bedroom into a shared bathroom.

None of the bedrooms had closets, so spaces had to be carved from the rooms to create the necessary storage.

And this entire room will become the master closet!

Design is about more than just making things pretty.  Often it's just about finding solutions that make sense...and then making things pretty!!