1BR renovation advice
I live in a 1BR prewar coop. The bedroom is fairly generous (14’x18′) and has 3 windows. We’re weighing whether or not to divide the room based on our needs. There are basically 3 options: 1. Leave as-is, and use furniture/shelves to divide the space. 2. Put up a real partition to create a 14’x10’6″…
I live in a 1BR prewar coop. The bedroom is fairly generous (14’x18′) and has 3 windows. We’re weighing whether or not to divide the room based on our needs. There are basically 3 options:
1. Leave as-is, and use furniture/shelves to divide the space.
2. Put up a real partition to create a 14’x10’6″ bedroom with a 14′ x 7′ office/nursery/den opening off of this space with french doors.
3. Make 2 rooms with separate entrances – possible but more expense and will take up some BR space.
What would you do? How do you think these options affect resale? Thoughts appreciated!
Thanks for the advice – helpful to hear various perspectives. We’re mainly looking to have another office/den space where one person can work while the other sleeps…we don’t really need to two separate entrances, but would consider it if it would prove really valuable to buyers down the line. I tend to agree that it would chop up the space too much though….
We’re facing a similar predicament. We have a medium sized bedroom with a walk-in closet. We’re considering giving up the closet, and stealing 2 feet or so of the bedroom to create a small (windowless) room we can use as nursery. Basically it’s a way to buy ourselves a couple of years before we need a bigger apartment. But we’re hesitant to spend much money on a modification that we fear prospective buyers are likely to consider less attractive. I think in your situation I’d do a temporary divider — we don’t have that option because the closet by itself is really too small.
If it’s for your own needs put up a temporary wall. That’s done all the time in lofts in NYC. There are businesses that install them.
Leave it as is. My bedroom is 20*15 and if it had been chopped into two it would have seemed smaller. There are very few “grand bedrooms”.
First of all, what are your needs and preferences? Which of these options is of more use to you? I assume, you are going to stay in this apartment for a while.
Personally, I’d prefer option #2. 14×10 is enough of a bedroom for me and I certainly have a use for a separate den/office/sitting room off the bedroom. Plus, it’s easier to reverse than #3. I’d strongly vote against #3 – lots of hassle, and you’ll achieve little beyond what you’d achieve with #2.
As to resale, well, you wouldn’t fool anyone with a chopped up apartment. I think, if you are selling a two bedroom apartment, at least one of those bedrooms must be a real one. I’ve seen enough of those situations where someone had ruined a great apartment to create a crappy one.