From: BUILDER 2009
Posted on: March 10, 2009 10:38:00 AM

9 Hot Design Ideas on a Budget

You don't need a big budget to win style points. Want proof? See the pictures.

By:: Jenny Sullivan

Find a Niche
The San Francisco Bay Area is known for funky homes that are loaded with character and charm. Architect Kevin Wilcock with David Baker + Partners didn’t miss a beat in the design of Blue Star Corner, an enclave of slender, three- and four-story infill townhomes, each standing on a footprint measuring a mere 15 feet by 30 feet. Developed by Holliday Development and built by Bjork Construction, two of the three plans offer a mezzanine level between the second and third floors, which--per code--cannot have a floor area exceeding 30 percent of the square footage of the floor below it. Wilcock complied by keeping the floor space on the mezzanine to a minimum. But that didn’t stop him from maxing out the rest of the volume space on that level.

His solution: an upholstered, mezzanine “chill pod” that sits up on a raised platform and can be used for reading, watching TV, or hosting overnight guests. “Technically, the chill pod doesn’t count as floor space because you can’t stand up in it,” he explains. Click here to read more about Blue Star Corner.

Jenny Sullivan is senior editor, design, at BUILDER magazine.

Learn more about markets featured in this article: San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX.

< Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Keywords

Subject: Cost-Effective Design, Design, Architecture, In-House Design
Location: San Francisco, CA, . . .
Person: David Kenoyer, Darrell Russell, Fu Tung Cheng, . . .
Organization: Dixon Kirby Homes, Meadowlark Builders, St. Joe Company, . . .

View more keywords

Comments

Please read our Content Guidelines before posting.

John McManus

Standard Pacific Strides Into the Black in Q1

Builder Pulse

John McManus is an award-winning editorial director for the Residential Construction Group at Hanley Wood in Washington, D.C. In addition to the BUILDER digital, print, and in-person editorial and programming portfolio, the group includes strategic content direction for AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE, APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY, CUSTOM HOME, EcoHome, MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE, and residential architect.

Standard Pacific released first-quarter earnings post market close last night that beat Wall Street analysts' posted predictions. After a near brush with death in 2008, and life-support from MatlinPatterson's real estate funds, Standard Pacific's strategic, operational, and tactical planning and execution are playing well in what continues to be an adverse market environment in most of its competitive arenas.