You Can Do It All in 450 Square Feet
“A strategy of extreme density was required,” says Michael Chen of Normal Projects, who along with partner Kari Anderson handled the renovation of this Upper West Side apartment.
Teacher and resident Eric Schneider’s 450-square-foot space needed to be able to accommodate individual areas for cooking, storage, sleeping, entertaining, and, of course, working—without filling the diminutive abode with furniture, or eliciting claustrophobia by chopping it into tiny spaces.
The simple and elegant solution was to knock down most of the apartment’s walls, and concentrate all of the living space’s functionality—kitchen storage, closet, bar, bed, lighting, and office—into a single transformer-like cabinetry unit. The result is a livable and open space that functions like a much larger apartment and workspace.
Eric Schneider and Michael Chen take in the space-efficient renovation.
the blue-lacquered all-in-one cabinet in the fully closed position.
The origami-like desktop unfolds to reveal a perforated-steel divider that allows the passage of computer cables hidden inside the office compartment.
The interior of the Murphy bed compartment is lined with a stained cork panel and contains a smaller shelving unit for bedside reading, alarm clock, and reading lamp.
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