Innovations for the New Year

Tradition has it that the activities of the first days of the year set the tone for the remainder of the year. As a result of much basking in sunshine, good mountain air, and indulging in culinary creations, my creative little gray cells have gone into high gear and catalyzed quite a stream of creative thought. So I thought I would share some inventions, both recently implemented and cued up for future construction projects…

1) Three way door. This was a solution created for a tight hallway space to replace two door functions with one single door. There are two closed door positions, at 45⁰ and 90⁰ to the open position. The door swings on pin hinges at the floor and ceiling. The striker plate and door jamb was modified to allow the door to swing through the 45⁰ stop. This was an elegant solution to be able to close off the master bedroom while allowing public access to the “powder room” (WC ), or to enclose the full master suite. There are many creative door options which can help save space and increase functionality.

2) Dining Room to Office Conversion. I once read a clever idea by Sarah Suzanka to make use of a formal dining room as a library. This inspired me to design dining room cabinets to double as filing cabinets, installing DSL, undercounter lights and…. a desktop extension which could slide into place between two flanking cabinets when the french door to the kitchen was closed, thus creating a computer table top for office use. Designing multi-function rooms increases the adaptive re-use of spaces. This dining room can now become a home office.

3) Media wall - A wall which is really two bookshelves back to back, with the exception of a few of the “cells” which are full depth and house the stereo system. Cabinet doors on both sides allow for access to both components and all that messy wiring. I’m also thinking one could mount a large screen LED monitor within one of these spaces, which could then swivel to face either room, perhaps providing an extra screen for an office, as well as a TV monitor for a living room. It rationalizes the investment in a higher quality of equipment, as it will see a higher use. This also makes good use of space.

4) Transparent “art” walls flanking a staircase - Stairwells are often flanked by regular sheetrock walls, making them dark and very plebian. My solution was to flank the wall with sheets of acrylic, which had been carved out with a mountain scenery motive. This was the cheap and cheerful solution which I ordered from a sign shop, vs the far pricier option of transparent wall panels. Either way, it provides the functions of safety, structure and daylighting – as well as providing a focal point of design.

5) Drying Room – Mentioned in a previous blog posting (solar air heating), this would be a room which is heated by preheated, dry, air. It would be situated next to the laundry room, to provide a space to hang clothes (or herbs, crafts) to dry. Of course the air intake is also matched with an exhaust fan. I’m also thinking of reviving the fine old tradition of a root cellar, to store the fall crop, and to brew apple cider.
This seems to be an auspicious start to the New Year. So here’s to innovation, to tinkering, to crafting, and creativity. Cheers.