FABRICATION — JUAN C. HERNANDEZ

JOHN'S BEDROOM

John’s room was very small (still is), oddly shaped, and had no closet. He was 10 years old when we met him and his mother in Brooklyn. He was in desperate need for storage and a comfortable space to read and do his homework. We knew from the beginning that a loft bed with a desk and bookshelves underneath was the right approach.

What took us by surprise was the fact that the most effective solution seemed to be counter intuitive at first; the bed needed to go parallel to the window wall. Obviously, natural light is of utter importance, so we felt resistant to take a shot at putting the loft bed adjacent to the window. But after taking a closer look at the configuration of the window and adjusting the height of the bed with surgical precision, we realized that the impact to the intake of natural light into the room was minimal.

We were able to open up the floor space of John’s room while adding a lot of storage around the perimeter. Each step of the stairs also acts as a deep drawer for added storage. Although, in this particular case, we had to transform the bottom step into a vent grill, as the stairs ended up on top of the hot air supply. With some sheet metal wizardry and a detachable face on the bottom step, the air circulation of the space actually improved.