00:01This house was originally built by my great-grandfather and it's been in my
00:06family for four generations before it was subdivided into four separate flats.
00:15So my philosophy was centered on eliminating dead space, in particular avoiding the creation of
00:22corridors. This particular project was built in the area that the living room used to be,
00:29in the old house.
00:33This apartment is in West Sussex. It's a county in the southeast of England. It's
00:40made up of lots of towns and villages. When working with particularly small
00:44footprints, there's always going to be spatial trade-offs. Having said this, it's
00:50really important we understand the balance between functionality and luxury.
01:06This apartment is rented by a young consultant and her partner. They both work in the local area.
01:17It was important that the apartment provided full functionality which included a separate office area
01:24and even offer a second bedroom for guests to stay the night.
01:28It was designed to be spacious while still offering a sense of privacy, which was an interesting balancing act within
01:35such a small footprint.
01:40The apartment was originally a dated living room that was part of the main house, meant there was one big
01:47open space with no partitions, a fireplace in the middle of the room and a bay window leading to the
01:54garden.
01:56Partitions were constructed to create the bathroom, kitchen, living room and master sleeping area.
02:03And finally, a glass partition was used as soft separation for the office and secondary bedroom.
02:14The living area is directly next to the large bay windows that look out onto the garden.
02:21These large windows help flood the area with plenty of natural light.
02:25The living area originally had carpet, which was replaced with timber floors.
02:30This helped add a feeling of warmth within the apartment.
02:33It was important that this area was open plan, allowing for space to relax by the sofa and coffee table,
02:40whilst still maintaining sizeable circulation space around the furniture.
02:45The kitchen is positioned in front of the existing fireplace, opposite to the entrance.
02:52Its minimalist design was selected so that the kitchen wasn't overbearing within the living space.
02:57It features an under counter fridge freezer, a two burner induction hob with an integrated extraction unit,
03:05and a combined microwave oven to help maximise worktop space.
03:09The splash back is made up of large format porcelain tiles.
03:13The veins across these tiles flow naturally, giving the feeling of one continuous piece of stone,
03:19which really helps instil a feeling of quality.
03:24The breakfast bar, positioned by the small window, offers a spacious feeling and calming views while eating or working.
03:33On the adjacent wall, we utilised the space under the bed from the neighbouring room to create additional storage for
03:39the kitchen.
03:41We decided to disguise this opening with wall panelling that mimicked the design of the kitchen cabinetry.
03:51To address the lack of windows in the office area, we decided to use a glass partition to allow natural
03:57light into the space,
03:58whilst also creating an acoustic barrier when working from home.
04:03A two metre wide desk incorporates a socket in the bookshelf for convenient laptop charging.
04:10Integrated storage units were designed to maximise the large recesses in the existing walls.
04:17There is also a fold-out bed that can be used when hosting guests.
04:22The desk has been designed to stay level when lowering the bed.
04:25This saves time clearing up.
04:31A concealed door fitted within the cladded wall at the back of the office leads to the communal laundry.
04:37It can also be used as secondary access to the apartment.
04:41It was my father's interest in sailing that influenced me to study the way in which yachts utilise a small
04:48footprint.
04:50Typically in boats, the bed takes up the full width of the master bedroom.
04:54We tried to copy this principle and use it in the way that we designed our sleep box.
05:01Designing the master bedroom in this way allowed us to create a much larger living space,
05:06comparable to typical kitchen diners in more conventional homes.
05:10The master bedroom was designed to be as compact as possible,
05:14while still offering the luxury of a king size bed.
05:20The bed is raised to allow for storage underneath.
05:24The overhanging wardrobes above the bed provide further storage
05:28and forms a niche above the headboard for charging phones and storing books.
05:32An LED recessed into the top of the niche provides warm light, perfect for reading before bed.
05:41The curtain provides privacy and room to get changed whilst drawn,
05:45but also gives the flexibility to the tenant if they don't want to feel completely withdrawn from the living space.
05:54The bathroom is compact but feels quite spacious.
05:58A step was introduced to cater for plumbing requirements.
06:01We also decided to use a pocket door for the bathroom to minimise disturbance to the breakfast bar.
06:08The floors and walls have large grey porcelain tiles.
06:12The bathroom features a basin fixed to the floor to ceiling mirror.
06:17This really helps enhance the perception of space.
06:20A flush tile transition leads into the shower, which is separated by a frameless glass divider.
06:28At the end of the shower, there's also a heated towel rack.
06:32Additionally, there's a storage niche above the toilet, which backs onto the feature wall,
06:37which mimics the cladding design from the office area.
06:42I think it's really important that when working with small footprints that the design is considered and really well thought
06:49out.
06:51When done right, these apartments offer the younger generation the opportunity to live in a space that's tailored towards their
07:00functional requirements in a more desirable location and for a much more affordable price.
07:06I think it's this idea that really will help tackle the affordability issues affecting London, England and the wider world.
07:17Very good.
07:18Very good.
07:28gew electric guitar solo
07:28You
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