Living well with less
From Sanctuary magazine issue 9. Buy or subscribe.
By Verity Campbell
Sanctuary normally profiles homes within Australia, but this apartment in New York City simply demanded our attention. We love its simplicity and elegance and the way it shows how it’s possible to live stylishly while keeping a small footprint, which is just what Sanctuary is about.
The designers of the Finger apartment are noroof architects, based in New York. Noroof partners Margarita McGrath and Scott Oliver had been practising architecture for several years when they bought their 1800s home in 2001, with fortuitous and far-reaching results. Initially they planned to renovate and extend their smallish 100 metre square house…as you do. But after September 11 their priorities and financial circumstances changed, and they revisited their aspirations.
Margarita and Scott decided to work with what they had and to let the existing character of the house shine through. The result is a beautiful, heritage-filled house with a very modest, 60 square metre footprint. The remaining 40 square metres they turned into a studio apartment, which they rent out. Not only had they improved their existing house, but they had turned one modest dwelling into two.
Four into sixty-five
Facing space constraints of their own, when Michael Finger – an Australian expat – and his wife Joanne were looking to renovate their 65 square metre apartment in Manhattan, they couldn’t go past noroof. The couple had a nine-year-old and a baby on the way, and they needed their new home to be functional and flexible enough to suit their changing needs. The couple gave noroof a brief to design them a home that would fulfil their space and storage requirements, have a roomy layout, and be a bright, joyful place in which to live.
Living-Dining
Most of us would consider a living or lounge room a prerequisite, as a place to hang out and unwind. And while we may not consider a separate dining room a necessity, we would at least expect a kitchen with enough room for a table and chairs and space to entertain. The living area would probably be in addition to the kitchen dining area, or linked by an open plan. Few would consider including dining facilities in the living room instead of the kitchen.
Noroof’s solution is a living/dining room, combining living room amenities with a fold-out dining table. The clever, custom-made dining table can be folded down to providing seating for five (on fold-out chairs) and folded away when not in use. A small storage cabinet supports the table and is wheeled away to the side wall when not required.
Another clever design touch in this room is the bookcase, which is exposed when the dining table folds down, and hidden when it’s folded up. Altogether, an inspired, three-in-one space-saving solution.
Bedroom nooks
Like many nine-year-old boys, Jonah Finger has a thing for pirates, so when noroof were looking for inspiration for his bedroom they knew a maritime theme would get a thumbs-up. They chose a foldaway Murphy bed to inspire a seafaring life and stowaway cupboards to hide his pirate’s booty.
Foldaway beds
In the Finger apartment, Jonah’s foldaway (aka Murphy) single bed doubles as a desk during the day. This is a great solution for a small space, utilising the room as both bedroom and study. Design solutions including foldaway beds have been popular in the US since the early 1900s and are becoming increasingly popular in Australia.
More info:
www.hideawaybeds.com.au
www.thecomfortshop.com.au
www.tiltawaybeds.com.au
www.murphybeds.com.au
