🌱Planted December 3, 2025.
seedling 🌱
13 minutes read ⏱
Guiding ideas:
- Play with the volume and openness of the loft
- lean into the unique character of the building (brick, green windows, exposed beams, industrial history)
- Play with elements that can have mixed uses, such as:
- A desk that hides away under a murphy bed
- An extensive island that is a work surface, dining area, and general table space
- Stairs that are also storage
- Seating that is also storage
- A room that can be opened or subdivided using a partition (for office and/or guest spaces)
- We love to host and entertain and want a space that can accommodate a range of scenarios:
- Small & medium group dinners (4-8 people)
- Happy hour with ~10-15 people on the main floor
- Summer BBQ with 20 people on the rooftop
- A friend or couple visiting us for 2-7 days from out of town
- A younger sibling (teenager) visiting for 2 weeks
- a parent and 2 teenagers visiting for a long weekend
- adapting to us having 2 kids
- We want it to be easy to keep our space feeling uncluttered
- Utilize interstitial space to create small spaces/moments of delight
- It should be fun to move around and use the space
- Aesthetics we like are:
- Japanese & scandi minimalism
- Tulum-style organic materials and lush greenery
- Space age retrofuturism (think Space needle, the jetsons)
- mid-century
- art deco
- industrial
Major goals (priority ordered):
- P0 Master bedroom with 4 walls and a door* that closes and locks
- Door could be pocket, garage, etc. Doesn’t matter. Any door will do.
- P0 Easy to clean primary bathroom with walk-in shower & ample built-in storage
- P0 Substantially increase the amount of closed & built-in storage
- P0 Chef’s kitchen with expansive counter space (island extends into counter height dining)
- P0 Main floor powder room
- P0 At least two dedicated work spaces which can accommodate a laptop and larger connected display
- Being able to close/conceal when not in use is a plus
- At least one workspace should be suitable for video calls (nice backdrop, face lighting, enclosed for sound isolation)
- It’s okay if these are mixed purpose, such as a work area inside a bedroom
- P0 Add a space which can be an enclosed room containing a murphy bed for guests
- P0 Design the space to grow with our family and support 1-2 young kids
- P0 Enclosed space for the cat litter with a cat-sized door
- P1 ~Half of the rooftop being usable year-round
- covered from rain & wind
- heated during the cold
- still nice in summer when it’s sunny and warm out
- can be opened to feel like a single large space
- Unsure if this is possible due to floating decking and historical categorization of building
- P1 Expand the powder room to a .75 bath
- P2 sink outside the powder room near the front door
Minor goals:
- P0 Visually quieter dining area
- P0 Dedicated coffee station, ideally that can be closed/hidden when not in use (appliance garage?)
- P0 Hide washer/dryer behind a door
- P1 Entryway coat closet
- P1 More shoe storage in the entryway
- P1 An additional workspace suitable for taking video calls
- Can be closed to reduce noise leaking everywhere
- Could be the rooftop space 👀
- P1 Air conditioning
- P1 Radiant floor heating
- P2 TV out of the living room or not visible when not in use
- P2 improve noise dampening in the unit
- P2 Robot vacuum garage
Pie in the sky ideas:
- If we moved the staircase to the living room, we could extend the 2nd floor where the stairs currently are and make that space a bedroom
- If we moved the entry door, we could put another bathroom below the current one which simplifies plumbing and the awkward space layout
- Built-in cabinetry covering the wall from entry to brick would probably be a dramatic improvement. Should include a murphy bed
- We need to replace the flooring. Since we’ll tear it up anyway, we could plumb the island with water, gas, and electricity and do radiant floor heating
Inspiration photos
- I love the combination of green and warm earthy tones to make it feel alive in a space with no natural light
- The circular fluted glass windows with gold panes are stunning
- Having multiple soft and diffused light sources is very nice
- The utilization of space is excellent
- Built-in storage in the shower + hooks for towels are great
- faucet off the counter seems like it would be amazing for cleaning
- Missed opportunity to have additional under-sink storage
An architect’s 7 level 635sqft home
- I like the combination of light woods, concrete, and plants to blend urban industrialism with nature.
- Dislike that all the shelves are open; it’s visually overwhelming on multiple levels
- I like that this storage area is quite large and looks like. a feature wall when closed
- the concrete in front of the doors would make a nice bench with a cushion on it
- I like the use of elevation changes here to create different zones of the entryway. In Japan, homes traditionally have a “genkan” - a sunken area for removing and putting on shoes
- The big komatsu stone slab step is beautiful
- I like the huge built-in storage that also functions as a bench to take shoes on/off
split-level house in Tokyo
- I like the soft warm lighting that is diffused from behind a wall
- The down lighting highlights the beautiful texture of the stone
- The smooth stones as a flooring material are beautiful, peaceful, and a nice texture to walk on in small amounts
- I worry the cats might get the wrong idea, though…
- The finishes are sleek, minimal, and visually quiet
- The surfaces are all flat, so cleaning should be a breeze
- I dislike the light strip being visible, would’ve been much nicer to have it recessed
- It’s too dark
- I like the fridge doors & dishwasher being paneled to match the cabinetry and sit flush with it
- All the artificial lighting here is diffused
- the light strips on the right ceiling is behind the wall
- The floor lighting is diffused under the media stand/shelf
- the spot lights on the left are pointed up and bounced off the ceiling
- The sunken living room makes it feel more cozy and intimate for such a voluminous space
- at the far side, the elevation change is used to create opportunity for built-in storage
- The TV is very subtle as a result of the wall being black 👍
- I dislike how much visual noise there is from stairways and hand rails
- I like how much storage these vanities have, without feeling like ugly storage vanities
- the vanity protruding seems nice for makeup, skin care, etc.
- Having the faucet off the counter is very nice
A modern japanese mountain cabin
- I love that all the walls are wood instead of drywall
- I love how organic everything in this room feels. The lights, floor, wall, arched ceiling, chairs, and back wall
- A sink to wash your hands right when you come in is fantastic
- The uplighting on wood + a matching wood panel in front to hide the light source looks great
- I like the combo of warm/light gray stone + light wood
- I like the use of pocket doors for the bathroom and office space (office is on the main floor, left of bathroom)
- The tiny dedicated office space with a door and built-in desk is perfect
- The small loft space above the office seems like a wonderful place to curl up with a book, favorite record, or wind down with some yoga before bed
- Hiding the TV behind wall panels is great. Makes it easy to hide all the cables too
- I like that the wall is on top of the floor with no trim
- Uplighting hidden behind the headboard is really nice night lighting
- uplighting on wood slats looks great
Other misc inspiration
- I like that this staircase has built-in storage utilizing the full under-stair space
- I like that the loft is treated as a sculptural detail
- I like the use of smooth river stones visually, and their use here to fill the dead space is nice (no dead space would be better of course)
- I like the serene setting surrounded by greenery with low lighting
- Moving water in the home is a lovely feature. I enjoy the sound of moving water
- The modern japanese aesthetic is beautiful
- I’d like to explore floor seating or very low seating (such as togo chairs, knotty chairs, floor cushions)
- I find the layers of organic materials in light tones very soothing
- The round rug and rounded baskets soften a space otherwise full of hard right angles
- I like the curved wall and the rounded texture on it
- I love how many curves are introduced to soften what would otherwise be a very angular space
- I love the intimacy of the sunken walk-around living area; could we raise the area around the living room seating to create a similar effect?
- I like the fluted siding of the island and the natural stone flooring
- The restraint used in the materials palette is understated and beautiful
- I quite like the walk around living room setup
- I like that the surrounding floor is close to flush with the sofa back and could provide alternative & additional seating options
- maybe a pebble or river rock floor in the sunken area?
- The hidden lighting under the stairs and behind the ceiling provide nice ambient lighting and visual warmth to an otherwise stark space
- the illuminated stairs leading to the raised floor make the space feel meaningful/significant
- Office space is cozy with the dark overhead wood
- Office spaces can be very small and still retain the full functionality
- The glass doors let light through while still offering noise isolation during meetings
- Love all the built in storage that could be used for office supplies, device charging, etc.
- Pleasant backdrop for video calls that will never be cluttered