The open riser stair in our newly completed Housebrand house has a carpet inlay on each tread as well as a carpeted landing which requires some specific attention to all the connection details. First, at the top of the stairs, a custom wood nosing has been installed across the entire top of the last riser. This provides a clean edge for the upper floor carpet to terminate against without having to have the carpet wrap over the nosing. The nosing extends about an inch past a solid wood trim board which has been installed to cover what would normally be left as exposed drywall - which is not a very durable surface for a stair riser. Second, the carpet inlay itself is detailed like an upside down wood tray, with the carpet set flush into the tread and bound on all four sides by a 1.5 inch wood trim. This allows the visual continuity of the wood finish on the under side of each step when looking at the open riser stair from the side or from below. Finally, the landing is detailed similarly to the tile inlay at the front entry with a hardwood picture frame edge providing a clean way to transition to carpet on all four sides. Today's Slides:

For durability reasons, it is a good idea to detail a resilient flooring at your front door. One elegant solution is to create a tile inlay because it visually allows the hardwood to flow through to the entry while simultaneously providing the durability of a floor mat. An inlay simply means that the tile surface is set into the hardwood as opposed to having tile laid wall to wall. There are three critical details to take into account if you are considering a tile inlay in your home: the first is to "picture frame" the hardwood around the tile inlay, the second is to reinforce the joint between the hardwood and the tile using a metal edge and not rely on the strength of the tile grout and the third is to extend the tile all the way to the sill of the front door so to avoid any chance of direct foot to floor contact with the hardwood at the threshold. Today's Slides:

In today's episode, we are reviewing the floor plans of our recently completed Housebrand house that will be featured throughout our "on location" segments. This three storey, 3,000 square foot home features a sunken courtyard on the lower level and a main floor terrace off the living and dining rooms taking advantage of expansive views to the west. The plans are organized around a central service block that runs up all three floors. The service block houses the laundry and mechanical on the lower level, the kitchen pantry and guest bathroom on the main floor, and the master en-suite on the upper floor. The stairwell is unusual in that it forms an "L" shape around the outside of the service block. The living spaces on the main floor are organized around the kitchen which is located in the center of the plan and on the lower floor, a family entertainment space and guest bedroom suite face towards the west facing sunken courtyard. Today's Slides:

This week's design dilemma comes to us from Rob in Calgary, who wrote: "Hi John and Matthew, I recently developed my basement and added a TV room and kids play area downstairs, and would like to make the main floor more of an adult space, but would still like to have a TV and some storage for a few toys etc. Any ideas on how I can make this happen? Our home is the middle unit of a triplex so we only have natural light entering from the front (east) and back (west) walls of the main floor. The front of the home has a covered porch while an attached garage takes up 60% of the back wall. Subsequently the kitchen is quite dark and natural light is at a premium. We really like the feeling of the open living space, but have struggled to find a way to define the entrance, living and dining areas. We have installed dimmers on all the main floor pot lights and have added pendant lights in the kitchen. The biggest obstacle seems to be the support post in the middle of the room. It is very close to the kitchen bar stools and if we add a small wall to hide the post it may block too much natural light, or make the kitchen feel cramped. How can we transform our main floor into a functional living space without sacrificing too much natural light and what can we do about the support post?" - Rob in Calgary Today's Slides:

John and Matthew offer up their solution to Annie's site problem. View the renderings and plan below. Before After

John and Matthew present their solution to Shannon's Outdoor Space problem.

John and Matthew continue their look at Sherylee's home in Western Australia by looking at some of the submissions to our Facebook page and website. PART 1

Sherylee from Western Australia writes to John and Matthew asking for advice on her home. "We are looking to build a strawbale house (bungalow) in southern Western Australia - this is what we have come up with so far. We have 3 acres of land so will have good solar access. My main concerns are how the front and rear doors line up, and I have no idea how to layout the kitchen. These draft measurements are in meters, 1. Thoughts about the front door area? Should there be a dividing wall to separate the living area? Australians seem to love open plan (which I am not against either) but I wonder about heat loss in winter. 2. I was thinking of a freestanding bath and freestanding shower in the bathroom?? Thoughts on these? The bathroom will also open to the outside (porch/deck) area - we love the inside/outside room idea! 3. I'd really like an opinion on a roofline - at this stage we are thinking of just a single gable with wraparound porch - we need it to be simple to minimise bushfire risk but daylight into our south rooms might be compromised without clestory windows??? 4. As the environment is our main consideration, small is good - so the one bathroom is definitely our preference and if any other space savings can be noted, that would be great! Thanks so much, Sherylee"

John and Matthew conclude their look at Mike and Denise's Virginia house by looking at the upper floor and discussing both their solution as well as those proposed by visitors to slowhomestudio.com PART 1 PART 2

John and Matthew discuss suggestions from Slow Home Studio visitors as well as show their solution to the main floor. PART 1

Mike and Denise write John and Matthew looking for help with their home design problem: "Hi John and Matthew, Your book "Whats Wrong With This House" gave hope for the design problems that my wife and I are trying to solve with our 24' x 36' south facing hillside house in the mountains of Virginia. We are getting discouraged about making it fit our current needs. The house only has 1 real bedroom. The 2nd bedroom is a low ceiling loft space that was never intended to be a bedroom. We would like to remove the temporary walls that made it a bedroom and turn it back into a library-study open to the living room below. We could build a bedroom/bath/laundry addition on the west side of our house but question if we can also fix these never resolved problems: 1. No interior entry/transition space for the north door that is now the main entrance. It became the entrance so we wouldn't have to walk around the house and climb the exterior deck stairs. A new porch makes the entry very welcoming, but the door opens directly into the kitchen next to the laundry. 2. Furniture arrangement along the main floor south half is compromised by the woodstove hearth and loft stairs. A bigger dining table would be nice but the hearth already constricts traffic flow. We also wish for a more inviting living room furniture arrangement. Changes we are considering: 1. Remove main floor bathtub and existing laundry, leaving a powder room and area for kitchen pantry as well as entry/transition space. 2. West side addition for relocated main bath, laundry and 2nd bedroom. 3. Our new wood stove can safely be moved closer to the wall, reducing the hearth footprint. We wonder if the problems can be sufficiently solved without major structural changes of moving stairs and relocating the woodstove chimney to the LR west wall. All bath walls could be removed except the load bearing wall between wood stove and bathtub plus the 3' section between the tub and stairs (contains 2nd floor bath pipes). We have the house plans in a 3D CAD system and several pictures are attached: Main floor with and without furniture, Upper floor, Living room 3D, Kitchen 3D, Main floor concept with addition). Thanks, Mike and Denise"

John and Matthew continue their look at Pradeep's remodel by looking at suggestions from a Slow Home Studio viewer. VIEW PART 1

Pradeep from India has a question about the remodel of high-rise home. "Hello John and Mathew, I watch your YouTube videos and am a fan of yours from India. I am hoping you can solve a dilemma of mine. I booked a 4-bedroom apartment, the construction of which will finish in a year. Now that I have become more familiar with the dimensions, I am really worried about how cramped it will be, and am trying to make changes. The most important constraint is that the builder cannot change exteriors, such as window positions, or structural columns. The apartment is a duplex on the top two floors. The original layout is a 4-bedroom +study with an open kitchen. The stairs is in the center of the house. The terrace is a private terrace, which is something we are excited about. We are a family of three- soon to be four, and my mother also stays with me. I want to change the interior layout so that rooms are more spacious. We can get rid of 1 bedroom so as to make room for a small formal living room that will give privacy to the rest of the house, plus a family room. The stairs as is is wasting too much space in the middle of the house. I want to change it so that it takes up less space, there is some visual communication between top & lower floors, and space underneath can be used for storage cabinets (optional), or change the rest of the layout around it. The bathrooms and bedrooms look very small. The kitchen could use more work surfaces. I tried to modify the layout- I have attached the original layout, the position of beams as I remember them, and my modified layout as well. Columns are in solid black. Yellow rectangles in my drawing is for shelves/almirahs. The master bedroom & bathroom is bigger. I made the kitchen also slightly bigger, changed the dining to a banquette table, with a 'coffee counter' nearby. I would like your expert opinion on the changes, and how the final layout can be improved. Kindly let me know if you are willing to consider this. Thanks a lot, Pradeep"

John and Matthew present their solution to Catherine's living space problem based on the feedback on our Facebook page and website. View Part 1

Catherine from Squamish, BC writes to John and Matthew with her design problem. "Hi John and Matthew. After attending your seminar a few years back and working through the Slow Home problems online I've finally got my own Slow Home issues to play with! My husband and I purchased a home in Squamish, BC - what we plan to make our retirement home. It's got all the Slow Home appeal - walking and cycling distance to shops, services and the weekend farmers market. It's a home built in the 80's that has never been remodelled in an established neighbourhood. The other thing it has is angles, angles and more angles. The design seems to be centered around a huge fireplace in the middle of the living space which creates angle chaos through the rest of the house. Any thoughts? I've got the tracing paper you sent and have been straightening out walls. I'm attaching some snaps and my first design idea. I'm just not certain how it will affect the flow to straighten everything out. Hope to hear from you! Take Care in Calgary. Catherine and Greg (formerly of Bridgeland)"

Dayle from Calgary writes "Hi John and Matthew, I would really appreciate some design advice on our main floor living room and kitchen. We love our bright infill home in Richmond Park but there are some obvious design flaws. I attended your Furniture Layout course but I am still struggling with how to make the fireplace a focal point in our living room. I feel that it is positioned right in the main circulation space. I have thought about purchasing a sectional to open up the room but I'm not sure if that would allow for enough seating when we entertain and I worry that it would lead to too much empty space in front of the fireplace. We are also planning to renovate our kitchen this year so we would be open to any suggestions. Not having the proper working triangle has been a struggle. ( Although, I don't think the kitchen is wide enough to solve that problem.) We also have 2 deep corner units that are not our favorite option. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and advice! Please let me know if you would like any more information. (We have a Cad file of our floor plan if you like using that.) Thanks Dayle"

John and Matthew discuss their solutions to Mike in Toronto's basement.

John and Matthew answer a question from Mike in Toronto about the development of his basement. "Hi John and Matthew, I'm currently in the process of developing my basement, but I am having some issues and am hoping you can provide some direction. I am having trouble with the layout as I am not sure how to deal with bulkheads for heat supply and cold air returns. Any bulkheads would be along the North wall. I hope to have about 7ft high finished height to the ceiling,(and of course less under the bulkheads). I would like to incorporate a 3pce bath, laundry, utility/furnace room and rec room (and only if possible a second kitchen). The door at the front North side leads into the cold storage room. I am getting good light at the front of the house, but a friend suggested putting all laundry and bath at the front (or near bottom of stairs) so guests can use the bath rather than walking all the way to the back and laundry would be close by also. But having a rec room at the back would be dark. I am having a hard time deciding whether to put the rec room at the front or back of the house. As well how to fit in a shower, toilet and sink without getting into a low head room situation. I understand that leaving the back open would allow for any future addition. I have a flush mounted steel beam running down the center of the house so any duct work at the front or back of the house has to drop under the beam. the joists run north and south. I would also like to freshen up the front entrance, stairs and front porch roof, since the porch roof needs to be replaced anyway. I followed the segment on stairs with no railings but I can't seem to come up with a decent design. I also like the modern flat roof ideas but am not sure if it is feasible here. Thanks, Mike"

John and Matthew answer a question from Roger and Zora in Georgia who asked the following: "Hi there, We love your website & your philosophy of design. We purchased our dream property last year, a 16 acre farm in the Blue Ridge mountains. The log cabin, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired. After considering adding on a master bedroom with an outdoor kitchen & cold storage located closer to the garden below, as well as enclosing part of the screened porch as a passive solar room, we decided that the kitchen was the priority. kitchen, living, dining are all in one great room. We added a mud room for more storage & as a buffer to the weather. The kitchen dates back to the construction of the house in the mid-80s. The pine cabinets have glass fronts & the doors are poorly constructed. We were thinking of painting the cabinets & getting new fronts to help brighten the interior which is so dominated by dark wood walls! Any suggestions would be so appreciated!" - Roger & Zora Today's Slides:

John and Matthew reveal their redesign ideas for Mike in Pennsylvania's kitchen. Here's Mike's original message to us: "Hi there! I bought my first home about 2 years ago. I got a really good deal on it, and I adore the neighborhood. Its a very small home on a very long/narrow lot. Unfortunately, it lacks a kitchen. The room labeled as a kitchen contains only a refrigerator and an oven. There are no cabinets (upper or lower). The kitchen sink is awkwardly located in an adjacent space. I am mentally and financially prepared for a full gut to this space and look forward to a redesigned, bright, and modern kitchen area. Luckily, none of the interior walls are load bearing. There is a brick chimney buried in one wall that will need to remain (hopefully expose). There is a home tight to the left/north side of the house, and a home who's rear end is near my right (south) side of the home, just outside the kitchen window. The backyard is very nice and bright. I would like to open up the rear (east) end of the home with windows and possibly skylights (the bump-out off the rear is only a single story) What I struggle with is a decent layout that makes a good useful kitchen. The closet and sink room can go, as can the wall to the dining room. Other amenities can include a small powder room and a coat closet. As you can see, space is tight, and even though I am trained in design- I really struggle with making the best use of this awkward space. Thanks for your help! -Mike" Today's Slides: