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Bedroom and door to the bathroom.

general idea of creating an additional living unit at the rear of a
property is similar.
With less than 10 feet of available width inside its masonry
side walls, a primary design challenge was to make the best of
the space’s narrow proportions. Rather than trying to conceal
that condition, the project’s design calls it out proudly with
Kitchen and living area. a wall of horizontal, half-inch pine slats that continue onto
the ceiling. This one design gesture does a lot: It provides a
unifying element for the design, conceals new infrastructure
and insulation in the ceiling, and draws the eyes upward toward
a pair of skylights that admit additional daylight and provide
some visual relief from the unit’s small dimensions. But it does
one more thing that is even more subtle: It encourages the mind
to add the height of the wall to the width of the ceiling—to, in
effect, unbend the slatted surface at its 90-degree hinge point—
so as to create a virtual dimension that is larger than the actual
confines of the space.
Design moves intended to make the most of the residence’s
limited space include a simple, open floor plan that allows
individual areas to visually borrow space from one another,
soft and neutral colors along the unit’s length, a space in front
of the living area’s flat-screen TV that doubles as a part of the
hallway leading to the bedroom, a charred-wood closet volume
separating the living area from the bedroom that maintains the
unity of the space by not interrupting the slatted wall and ceiling,
and a barn-style sliding door leading to the bathroom at the rear.
Bright colors bookend the design at either end—blue on
the kitchen’s back wall, and green on the wall separating the
bedroom from the bathroom. Strategies for minimizing the
project’s cost include the simple pine slats, plain birch plywood
panels on the opposing wall, and stock cabinets for the kitchen.
“The combination of different wood elements serves to both
unify and enrich the spaces, while the end walls are rendered in
color to enliven the composition,” Gurney said. “The project is
intended to provide a serene, cozy retreat within the context of a
gritty, urban alley.”

Exterior, with view of
the living area through RENEWED FOR LIFE 59
the door.