Small now, but designed for expansion - house remodeling

Sunset, Nov, 1988

"It has potential for remodel and addition." People looking for a house are used to hearing this; for someone looking over blueprints of a new house, though, it may come as a surprise. But Seattle architectural firm Nissen/Nissen designed Michael Schramm's and Tetsuro Yano's tiny house (1,140 square feet of finished living space) to be expandable inside and out.

The drawings at right show how the house functions today, as well as glimpses of how it will change. Accessible only by an outside door off the lower garden, the bottom floor isn't yet finished.

On the top floor, the kitchen, dining, and living spaces open to one another; a large glass door leads from the living area onto a deck. This common space (which will remain the same as the rest of the house changes) is ample for two people.

First additions will come on the bouse's street-facing side: a garage, a garden wall, and a brick terrace. These will give the owners covered parking, separate the house entry from the street (it's now exposed), and provide privacy and generous entertaining space off the main living level. And, once remodeling is underway inside the house, the garage will offer good work and storage space.

Although the house is built on a slope, only the rear half of the lower level was dug out; this saved the cost of extensive excavation, The crawl space under the front half of the house has 5 -foot ceilings,

offering plenty of dry storage space.

When the two new bedrooms, playroom, and bath go in downstairs, the smaller upstairs bedroom will become a den and its closet a stairway. A new deck off the downstairs playroom will be partially shaded by the main-floor deck, which is cantilevered off the back of the house.