Arcata Apartments - Golden Valley

[nordeast homer]

I met with the managers of this complex in November when they opened; I was surprised at how many people were already moved in and living there before the construction was complete. The deck a pool area will be pretty cool, but some of the materials they chose to use for flooring were not thought out very well, maintenance costs are going to be really expensive IF they choose to maintain them.

[twincitizen]

Buncha photos here: http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com/apar ... 598#photos

[Wedgeguy]

Am I the only one that has an issues with walking thru a bathroom to get to your closet!

[TommyT]

Am I the only one that has an issues with walking thru a bathroom to get to your closet!

No, I HATE it, and it's in many of the new buildings.

[seanrichardryan]

Yes. It's bizarre.

[RailBaronYarr]

What about walking through a closet to get to your bathroom? Asking for a friend..

[Archiapolis]

Would love to see a poll:
Bathroom then Closet
or
Closet then Bathroom

The developers and architects certainly would. Having worked at two of the multi-family firms in town, the "bathroom then closet" trend emerged recently but I've never heard anyone articulate where it came from or why it is better.

In my opinion: closet then bathroom.
Reasoning: you don't ALWAYS need to use the bathroom when you want a closet item so making a tenant walk through the bathroom to get to the closet makes no sense.

[Wedgeguy]

Neither is acceptable in my book. Even if you are a single person with a one bedroom. Who wants to walk thru a steamy bathroom to then get dressed for work and then have to walk back thru the humidity again. Just as bad to walk thru a messy closet to take a s%%t is nuts. Do developers think you never entertain!

[seanrichardryan]

-From a cleaning standpoint, it's odd. If vacuuming, you have to cross a tiled space to get to the closet.
-In a shared living space, the closet is inaccessible when someone is 'on the john' or performing any other private task.
-Folding and putting away clothes, a task often performed on the bed, is separated from the storage space.

[grant1simons2]

It's funny because a lot of new homes in the burbs are built like this as well. Maybe it's a tactic to try to make people feel like it's just like a new home?

[mister.shoes]

Is there a reason we have to choose one of the two linear paths? I'd MUCH prefer bathroom and closet independent of one another.

[FISHMANPET]

Solhavn 1 bedroom (at least some of them) have a closet between the bathroom and the bedroom, but the bathroom is also accessible from the main living area. Best of both worlds?

[RailBaronYarr]

My interest was because we're squeezing a bathroom into our house's biggest bedroom where there wasn't one. Due to the layout of the room and window placement (and my desire to not lose any or have to add siding in place of a window), we now have a walk-through closet. I guess I don't see much of a big deal if the bathroom is at the end of the path. It's our private bathroom, is mostly used for showering/brushing teeth, and as such using the closet is highly correlated with bathroom use. One of us can get dressed without entering a stinky bathroom. Sorta bonus, a closet with clothes dampens bathroom noise beyond just a door/wall. And of course we have another bath for the rare occasion guests come over. Anyway, like cast iron skillets, glad to see we all have such passionate views on things.

[FISHMANPET]

I'd say just do whatever you want, but gotta worry about ~resale value~

[RailBaronYarr]

Wholly unrelated to Arcata (mods feel free to make a closet position thread), but 1) we don't plan on moving for a looong time, and 2) I gotta believe a house with a private bathroom suite/walk-thru is better than just a big bedroom, right?

[FISHMANPET]

Have you ever watched HGTV? Home buyers are idiots.

[clf]

I hate any combo of closet/bath. Bathrooms tend to get dirty quickly and there is the humidity. I want my clean clothes actually clean. Plus on a personal note, I keep my cat box in the bathroom and I try to keep them out of my closet so there is less cat hair on my stuff.

[QuietBlue]

I don't understand why anyone would intentionally design a new house or apartment this way (though I guess I understand a retrofit type of situation where you're putting in a new bathroom where one didn't exist before). Is it some kind of space optimization thing?

[Archiapolis]

Neither is acceptable in my book. Even if you are a single person with a one bedroom. Who wants to walk thru a steamy bathroom to then get dressed for work and then have to walk back thru the humidity again. Just as bad to walk thru a messy closet to take a s%%t is nuts. Do developers think you never entertain!

In the bedroom-->closet-->bathroom scenario, the bedroom would be "on the glass" (outside envelope of the building) and the bathroom would be on the corridor.

In *some* cases (depending on dimensions) the bathroom can have "common access" from the entry area AND the access from the closet. When things get tight, this configuration isn't possible and the only access possible is through the closet. There are sacrifices in designing these due to ADA regulations, etc. Developers are telling architects that the more of a "walk-in" feel that they can get the better. Hence the bedroom-->bathroom-->closet design that appears to be the trend - it gives the closet more of a true "walk-in" feel.

[Archiapolis]

Is there a reason we have to choose one of the two linear paths? I'd MUCH prefer bathroom and closet independent of one another.

Most 1 bedrooms in the market rate are in the 680 - 775 sf range. +/- 35' deep (exterior wall to corridor) and 20 - 25' wide. The definition of "1 bedroom" is debatable (and perhaps worthy of it's own topic).

So, you've got 22ish feet to get a 11-12' living room, a wall and a 10-11' wide bedroom. If the bedroom is 10' wide, "the market" wants about a 12' dimension in the other direction. 35' - 12' = 23' for a "walk-in feeling" closet and a bathroom that is ADA compliant.

The space adjacent to the kitchen is usually the living space and you also need a coat closet and a washer/dryer.

I've been doing this awhile and I've seen many different ideas and layouts but there are only so many ways to do it.

Anyone who can design a 680 - 775 sf one bedroom with all of the parameters above (and meet code for circulation/clearances throughout) while ALSO separating a walk-in "master closet" from the bathroom, should apply to work for a multi-family firm.