This modern home I got to design and build for my family.

Naturally I had a blast. It was conceived around a few simple concepts:

house 2 parents and 3 daughters (plus a few cats)
make it small but spacious
structure the house around a brick wall that extends from the exterior to the inside

To the street narrow windows provide privacy, as does a cedar slated wall towards the side porch.

Soon in the process I discovered that if we were to pin-wheel the three bedrooms upstairs around the wall, we could not only cluster their entrances around one spot, each room could also have windows on three sides and views of other parts of the building.

As a result the 3 bedrooms for the children feel spacious and open. In addition the sisters also get to see each other, knowing to be surrounded by their family.

The three bedrooms upstairs pin-wheeling around the wall.

Two large contemporary frosted glass sliding panels provide for privacy in the master bedroom area downstairs, while offering space and views to the living area during the day.

The first floor plan is laid out as a fully functioning apartment for when the children might only come back as guests.

All the windows are 8' feet tall and rise from the ground up providing large open views to the outside. They effectively increase the sense of space by adding the vast exterior square footage to the experience. The sliding panels to the master bedroom allow the dormant bedroom square feet to count as well, creating an overall feel of wide open spaciousness on minimal real estate.

~ Toby