SW Pre-school Office redesign, Everett, WA

Proposed - Furniture Layout,
Clearly seperating areas according to the function

Proposed Focal point - Poster of Black and white children's
pictures (elders guiding the children, symbolic of montessori) 
in the background with a water fountain

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Proposed: In order to bring in visual order, storage cabinets
of the same color and shelf heights were propsed with artifacts representing mentoring to be placed above it. A private notice board for the staff in a corner away from public access, A planter in liven up the dead space

Before



Proposed  - Corridor space, emphasis on de-cluttering,
signages explaining the importance of each area and action.
The flowing colors on the wall connects the entrance
to the respective rooms

 







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I redesigned the office space for Abhay's Pre-school at almost no added expense to their annual budget. Making use of everything they already had on campus I reorganized the space, by de-cluttering it and making it more functional and aesthetically appealing. Everybody in the school (Principal, staff, students included) are made to feel important by allocating a special place for their respective functions. Focal points ...are created to reinforce the idea of teacher and student bonding relationship. Design principles from Feng shui and Vaastu shastra are adapted to enhance positive flow of energy. Colour is used to emphasize a space in an open planning.

This whole redesigning process was meant to be an advertisement of a
live project for my website, where the Principal would just let me use
photographs of the school along with proposed sketches. But she was so
impressed looking at my plan and design proposal that she decided to

execute it. It will take her a couple of weeks to wrap it all up. Will soon post pictures of the same. The Principal and myself are very excited by all the positive feedback that we are getting from staff, parents and kids! Would say this is just a small step in the long journey for "IE Space Design LLC".









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Proposed - Waiting area for Children with writing board,
planter, fish tank, learning toys, notice board with the
school's motto, staff/class pictures. The short furniture devides/defines this space,
yet keeping it as a part of the room. Colors of furniture,
accessories and wall coordinates with the room.

James Residence, Front Yard Work, Bothell, WA

Purpose: Securing the front yard from the harsh winter.



Before

 Solution: The plant beds were freed from weeds. Landscape cloth was stapled with the mulch packed over it. This prevents the roots from getting damaged and the ground from excessive drying.
The entire front yard is scheduled to be redesigned in early spring.

Before



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James Residence, Side Yard Work, Bothell, WA

Our hard work and persistance is getting noticed by our friends and neighbors. Impressed by our approach to home improvement, IESpace Design gets its first request for an outdoor project.

This house belongs to our neighbors who are a busy working couple.

Requirement: The yard had to be cleared of weeds, external walls getting splashed by muddy rain water had to be prevented. The front yard had to be protected for the winter.

The entire yard was freed from weeds. After leveling the ground 8”x8” gray concrete pavers were laid providing adequate slope for draining water away from the building on the side yards.

Challenge: The width along the length of the side yard varied, because of which whole pavers could not be laid. Also the drain and cables running from the ground posed a challenge to lay contineous pavers.

Design Solution: The entire yard was weeded. After leveling 8”x8” gray concrete pavers were laid providing adequate slope for draining water away from the building on the side yards. As cutting pavers was not economical, river stones were used to pack and prevent lateral movement. 4”x8” red bands are given to break the monotonous look and add a rhythemic design factor along the side walks. Sand was used to pack the pavers together.

Gowda Residence, Backyard - Patio

Before- SW corner of the property sloped and
wet most of the year

Before - The corner adjacent to the pond and creek
holds a lot of potential

Proposed Patio

The sloped south-west corner of the property adjoining the pond and stream had a lot of potential in terms of the view.

Challenge: The slope towards the rear of the site made the area not usable.



 Design solution: Retaining wall is built to raise and even out the ground level with the rest of the backyard. The circular patio floor is raised with seating area all around. The floor pattern is made up of cobel stones layed out in a concentric pattern to echo the shape of the wall. The wall plastering is in stucco style. The raised patio now overlooks the pond and the creek. This scerene spot is ideal for meditation as well as for warming up around a fire place. The fire place is kept mobile to keep the place multifunctional. The area where the deck and patio meet is designed to house a grill and serve as a walkway to the storage space under the deck. A Buddha statue is scheduled to be placed in Spring of next year in the south-west corner of the patio.



After - Patio overlooking the pond and creek



After - Night view with a fire pit





Adding trellis around the Patio:

Proposed Trellis around existing Patio

The 10' tall multi-layered trellis emphasizes the patio making it a focal point of the back yard. It also serves as a support to the climbing roses scheduled to be added next spring. The patio will serve as a meditation area and a gathering space with a fire pit and adjacent grilling area.

Extending the deck and adding stairs



Before - Deck with no acess to
the NW corner of the property

  

  



 

After - Deck extended upto building

edge and Steps are provided to

access the future play area



After - Deck extended upto
building edge. Seating overlooks
future play area



After - In-built seating provided
overlooking the future play area.
The high back rest provides
privacy to the rear entrance 
from the adjacent road

After - Deck with a larger opening
to the patio. The large space will
house the future Bar Area

After - The future bar area
overlooking the creek

  

Before - Deck used only as a
transition area due to its size.
Small pockets between deck
and building/fence wasted.

Short falls of the existing deck: The 8’x4’deck was too small for furniture, hence used only as transition space to the patio. Restricts quick connectivity of rear entrance of house to north to north side yard (my son’s furniture play area). Needs for a sheltered seating space. Restricts the patio view from the house. Space between deck and west side of property line wasted. Need for privacy to rear entrance of the house from the street.



Design Solution: Deck extended on all sides. To the south steps are widened for better flow of space creating a pocket on the patio for a future large grill. To the west 3’ distance is offset from the fence as per by-laws (enough for a walkway to access storage space below deck. This takes the deck edge closer to the creek, without being blocked by the fence. To the north it is extended to match the building edge providing quick access to the play area with stairs abutting the wall. A built-in benches provided to overlook the play area. The back rest raised for children’s safety, also provides privacy to the rear entrance. A bar unit with stool and a collapsible roofing is scheduled to be added next spring. Storage area under the deck is screened away from patio and play area.



Reorganizing the front yard:

With a large variety of plants, the front yard looked very chaotic. The resources lacked organisation.

Design solution:
The variety of plants, stones, rocks I had at my disposal were listed out and categorized based on the size, season, flower and foliage colours, growth pattern etc. The front yard was given a definition with focal points, property edge definers, seasonal focal points, corner emphasize rs. The uneven slopes were filled up and mounds created wherever necessary. Large rocks which were impossible to move were highlighted with pebbles and worked to the advantage. The result....well, an eye catching corner house!

Adding Trees:

        

After - Pine trees used in combination
with 3' fence replaces the bulky mass which
would have been created by a 6' fence.

After - The tree combined with rock
and river pebbles emphasises the
entrance and gives it privacy



After - Pine trees give privacy to
the children's play area and
buffers the noise from the street

 Requirement: Definition of the front yard.

One evergreen tree is placed on either side of the front yard to emphasize the width of the property. Another tree is placed to give privacy to the main entrance door. Pine trees planned along the 3’ fence on east and partially north side not only provided a visual barrier, but also buffers sound from the roads.

Type B Fence on the South and West side:

Before - View from the pond.
House needs a fence
for privacy and security

Requirement: Privacy to the back and south-side yard.

Limitations: HOA regulations limited the design to match that of the builder.





Before - South side yard

After - 6' fence provides privacy from
the adjacent walkway yet maintaining
the pond view from the house.

After - The 7' high fence gives total
security to the future Play Area

Challenge: Possibility of losing the view of the pond and stream from the house and patio if a uniform 6’ fence is built all around.

Solution: A 6’ fence was built on the south side. This provides privacy from the adjacent trail, yet not blocking the pond view from the raised patio and house. The slope behind the north-west corner outside the property line steeps down,while the adjacent street is at a higher level. The 7’ fence extends up to the deck corner securing the future play area and givig total privacy from the street. The fence continues through the remaining lenght on the west side at 3' level to maintain the creek view from the patio and the house.





Type A Fence separating the side yards from the front:

 


Before - House without fence
invited tress passers to
the adjacent water bodies

 

Requirement: Due to the very location there was an urgent need for a fence around the property to keep the tress-passers away.



 Limitations: The HOA regulations required that the extent of the 6’ and 3’ fences follow the lines set out to the north side by the builder. The design had to replicate the existing partial fence.



3' fence on the SE side



 Challenge: Following the 6’ high fence would mean giving up on a large functional part of the side-yard. Following the 3’ high fence line would compromise on privacy.




 Solution: Design and color permits were taken from the HOA for both fence types. 3’ fence line was followed to maximize the utility of the side yard. Evergreen trees were planted  for visual privacy above. This also muffs the vehicular noise from the road side. To reinforce the privacy 5’ tall dense flowering bushes along the fence line is scheduled to be added next spring.

 

 


After - 3' fence on NE side