THE ROOM

This Suite is spacious (12’x13’). In addition, there are two walk-in closets and an attached bathroom. However, it was a challenge to make it an all-in-one suite to accommodate a couple. They had to fit their bed, desk, bookshelves and sofa all in this area. The room had to function as a living room, workspace and sleep area.

The existing arrangement was cramping everything together and did not provide any definition of space. The couple also loved to entertain but this arrangement did not serve this purpose well.

BEFORE

The couple understood that they had three uses in one room so they tried to break each area apart. The bed was used as a divider to separate the sofa from the desk. The idea of using a divider is right but they picked the wrong object. The bed is too big so instead of dividing the space, it is actually blocking the way.

When you try to mark a path from the desk to the closets and the sofa to the bathroom, you will see how confusing the path is. It is inconvenient when someone has to get from one corner of this room to another corner. The desk, the fax and printer are placed in a corner next to the bed. When one of the couple has to work late at night, the noise and light will be disturbing to the sleeping one. The sofa can only seat two people, and if there are guests, they have to sit on the bed and it’s not a comfortable angle and distance for conversation. The room felt small and cramped.

AFTER

This floor plan only gives a top view of the room. It looks as if everything is just pushed against the wall. However, the bookshelf where the TV sits on is about 3 feet high. When put at the end of the bed, it serves as a divider and creates a separate office area.

The bookshelf not only separates the space but its medium height provides continuity within the room. All the books, document and files can be stored in the right closet and the left closet is used as a wardrobe. The desk, bookshelf and closet create a working triangle. It puts everything within reach and makes working a pleasure. When guests come over, the couple can turn the desk chair around and even put out a few fold-up chairs in the middle of the room. They can all watch TV together or simply enjoy chatting in this conversation triangle. A drape or a fashionable bamboo blind can be hung from the ceiling to hide the bed if needed.
Now, this is an all-in-one room but yet has a clear definition of space.