patrick74's Profile

I love stairs that creatively utilize the oft-neglected space underneath. Like these. Or my staircase.

Congrats guys! It's great to see the top prize go to a place rooted in functionality.

Wait, are we critiquing the design of their house or their lifestyle? I don't understand the huge debates that come up around houses with kids. The thing is, when you live with kids, there will always be toys and such out. That's what kids do. But a well-designed home for kids will have places to put them away easily, which is exactly what you do when you are photographing the space for a home feature (but that's the photgrapher and/or art director's job - they could prop it a bit more of they wanted to).

For a family home, if anything, my aesthetic is to have the "put-away" state a bit too sparse, so when you are living your life and things are actually out you're not tripping over the visual clutter. Plus, more importantly for safety's sake, you don't want anything accessible that doesn't need to be - young kids will pull it over, get paint on it, stick it in their mouth and choke, etc.

Love the place - it stopped me in my tracks when I got the mag. The finishes, particularly the wall, are amazing. And fyi, the stairs are encased by a glass wall so kids don't fall off.

Bummed I can't make it. We'll actually be in Chicago next week, but couldn't swing it earlier.

Any interest/possibility of an NYC gathering that nite? We seem pretty well represented.

We have storage cabinets and drawers under our stairs, and love it (as seen on our Small Cool entry: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2008-east/east-5-family-of-fours-two-bedroom-studio-047040 ). We actually took out a closet to put the stairs there, but ended up with more usable space due to the increased organization inside. Now, when I see places with solid walls under the stairs, all I can think of is the wasted space.

It's great to hear other parents and parents-to-be considering smaller space! It is indeed a constant battle to stem the tide of stuff that comes in with/for kids, but one that needs to be fought regardless of size. At some point the little ones will surely outgrow it, but we hope to have a few more years.

Dahlia, I couldn't agree with you more - bedrooms are for bed activities. Even when we had bigger bedrooms, we didn't hang out there at all, so we really don't miss much there.

And the high ceilings are indeed what keep it from feeling cramped, and a big part of what drew us to the space initially. It's a great value since no one charges by the cubic foot!

Super cool. Very tasteful use of color and a great, well-organized layout.