Los Angeles–With almost half (49 percent) of U.S. businesses being operated from home, the house is increasingly becoming the American office, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report from 2006, which is also the latest one available. And there are many more home businesses that have started since the downturn began last year, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) revealed at a seminar recently.   

Both these factors are making live/work housing increasingly popular, a topic ULI explored at the seminar.

“There are so many scenarios with live/work housing,” Karin Liljegren, director of live/work housing for Killefer Flammang Architects, tells MHN. “It could be someone starting up a business, someone with an existing small businesses that do not want to grow, people who’ve been laid off and have decided to do something on their own, people who telecommute and finally people who work in offices but also continue to work at home on laptops and blackberries.”

The changing work style of the current generation, according to Liljegren, calls for great flexibility because increasing numbers of people are involved in several occupational pursuits as opposed to the one-job, one-employer paradigm of the 60s,70s and 80s.

“The ideal design solution at the outset of development is one which can address a wide variety of   lifestyles,” she says, who has spearheaded the design of more than 2,500 live/work units in such landmarks as the Roosevelt Lofts, The Lofts at Hollywood and Vine and the Old Bank District.

Liljegren believes the demand for live/work housing is a perfect storm. “Our society is becoming more individualistic and because of the economy, people are working fewer hours or have been laid off and so they are forced to look at what else they could do,” she says.

While this market has mainly been in the 24-44 age category, with the advent of the downturn we expect older empty nesters who are still working to become increasingly interested in this mode of living, says Alex Moradi, managing partner of the ICO Group of Companies and developer of Pacific Electric Lofts in downtown Los Angeles.

“The live/work trend will see greater growth in urban rather than suburban areas,” Moradi adds, for two reasons: access to public transportation and the proximity of entertainment and cultural activities, plus recreation at their doorstep. Since these folks are tech savvy, they also are attracted to  the onsite business facilities that enable them to operate in that context,” he says.

As for design, there are three basic requisites for live/work projects–open floor plans, flexible use of space and enabling spatial definition for each component of the unit– stated, which has designed about 20 % of the new units downtown in the past decade.

Noting that the majority of live/work housing downtown has been produced through adaptive reuse (AR) of existing buildings, Hamid Behdad, known as the “czar of adaptive reuse,” says, “This is just the beginning.”

Published: July 21, 2009

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, Multi Housing News

Contact Inspired Interiors (773.728.0419) for a complimentary design consultation to create a work/life space in your home. 

When it comes to redesigning the home, a recent Amana brand survey revealed that consumers would most like to redesign and bring some style to their kitchens. In fact, of the bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom, the kitchen is the No. 1 room (34 percent) consumers would most like to see get a design facelift.

In partnership with Apartment Therapy’s www.thekitchn.com, the Amana survey asked nearly 1,000 consumers about their thoughts on design and the home to get a sense of how and where personality is expressed through home decor. Overall, 65 percent of those surveyed believe their home represents their sense of design, with the majority of these consumers identifying the kitchen as the hub of their home. In fact, 43 percent indicated the kitchen was the room they could not live without, and nearly a third chose the room as the best for entertaining. While all of this data seems to point to the kitchen as the new living room, only 17 percent believe their kitchens best represent their sense of style.

“Many consumers believe it’s difficult to add fresh style and personality to the kitchen without a complete remodel,” said Thom Filicia, interior designer and Amana brand ambassador. “Forget the cheesy food-themed artwork and the oversized wall-fork; there are simple, inexpensive ways to bring warmth, color and personal style into our favorite room in the home. Consider comfort items like decorative throw pillows, quality window treatments or interesting artwork; and integrate controlled lighting to create an inviting atmosphere. Finally, lose the ‘matchy-matchiness’ when it comes to appliances by coordinating a stainless-steel stove and dishwasher with a super fabulous plaid refrigerator and a fun color on the wall that ties it all together.”

The survey further revealed that 89 percent of consumers are willing to integrate new color into the house, with 35 percent of that willing to bring the splash of color to the kitchen itself. With an array of refrigerators that incorporate color, texture and pattern, Amana brand has a refrigerator to meet an assortment of decor needs.

“The Amana brand is focused on providing consumers the ability to express their personal style in the kitchen at an affordable price,” said Carlos Johnson, Amana brand manager. “Whether you want to add a pop of color in the kitchen with a new red refrigerator or update your appliances to a stainless steel suite, Amana offers choice to the style-driven consumer.”

In regard to design inspiration, consumers turn to many outlets, from friends and family to blogs and magazines. Overwhelmingly, 61 percent of those surveyed who are under the age of 30 turn to word of mouth first for design inspiration, relying on tips from blogs or family and friends. Tips and inspiration can come from sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as thekitchn.com and Amana’s StyleFile.

For ideas on how to add “fresh style” and “personality” to your kitchen, contact Inspired Interiors at 773.728.0419 for a complimentary design consultation.

Source: K+BB Kitchen and Bath Business – July 20, 2009

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Does Duplexes

Currently 32 families are either living in a Make It Right home or have one under construction.

Nicholas Tamarin — Interior Design, 7/13/2009

Continuing to live up to it’s name, Make It Right, the charitable architecture foundation founded by actor Brad Pitt following Hurricane Katrina, has just announced it will be erecting duplexes for it’s next round of rebuilding in New Orleans’ storm-ravaged Lower 9th Ward.

“Before the storm, there were a number of duplexes and doubles in the neighborhood,” says Make It Right executive director, Tom Darden. “Families who want to come back to the Lower 9th have been asking us to build them so extended families can live together.

The foundation enlisted 14 local, national, and international firms to each come up their own duplex design. Six of the firms, including Interior Design Hall of Famers Pugh + Scarpa, were part of the first round of firms that volunteered to design single-family homes for the site. The eight first-time Make It Right firms include Frank Gehry’s Gehry Partners from Los Angeles and the Japanese-based Atelier Hitoshi Abe.

The first two Make It Right duplexes are expected to break ground by mid-August. Currently 32 families are either living in a Make It Right home or have one under construction.

---

Architect: Atelier Hitoshi Abe
Location: Japan

Architect: Bild Design
Location: New Orleans

Architect: Billes
Location: New Orleans

Architect: BNIM
Location: Houston

Architect: Buildingstudio/Coleman Coker
Location: New Orleans

Architect: Constructs
Location: Ghana

Architect: Elemental
Location: Chile

Architect: Gehry Partners
Location: Los Angeles

Architect: Graft
Location: Germany

Architect: Kappe Architects/Planners
Location: Los Angeles

Architect: MVRDV
Location: Netherlands

Architect: Pugh + Scarpa
Location: Los Angeles

Architect: Waggoner & Ball
Location: New Orleans

Architect: William McDonough + Partners
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Source:  Designwire Daily