DIY, recycled pallet house with IKEA-style assembly instructions. NYC "Swiss Army knife" apartment's walls open, fold & slide. Rosa and Robert Garneau’s Chelsea apartment is small- just 550 square feet of usable space with a bedroom just 8 feet wide-, but they can both work from home, find privacy (even for meetings while the other is sleeping) and fit all their belongings (sports equipment and lots of office gear) thanks to walls that don’t stand still. Nearly every “wall” in the Garneau’s Transformer Loft opens to reveal cabinets, a bed or even a home office.
And all of it was carefully designed for utility and precision by the couple (both architects self-employed by Studio Garneau). “It's all about the hardware," explains Robert whose father was a carpenter and who at one time worked in nautical design. "I mean I'm quite geeky in terms of hardware so I like playing around doing the research with what piece of hardware will do the job that I need to do... you know the hinges, the lid supports, the tracks.” The hydraulics on their Murphy bed are so perfectly balanced that it opens and closes with fingertips.
Kirsten Dirksen of *faircompanies. Kirsten Dirksen of *faircompanies. Modern hobbit house: a tiny cob home.