EX, DX, LX : The Tyranny of the Headboard

See the full gallery on Posterous

Over the years I have developed an increasing distaste for built-in closets. I much prefer an elegant piece of furniture which can be moved to allow for many different furnishing options in the space. I came to this conclusion after living in a modest house in Montgomery, Alabama. I had just moved to Alabama from St. Louis and was changing gears going from a downtown loft to a single family house.

The closets in the house were small, but the rooms were large. This was a three bedroom house of only 1,200 square feet, but it seemed much larger. There was no family room, no den, no five fixture bathrooms, no powder room, and no walk in closets. The living room wasn't designed for a TV to occupy an entire wall and there were no built-in cabinets. Windows were plentiful and the natural light they provided was much appreciated. Through the magic of curtains and blinds I was able to modulate the amount of light and ensure privacy when desired.

One peculiarity was that there was no bed wall in any of the bedrooms. The trade-off for all that natural light and ventilation was that my headboard would obscure one of the windows. Certainly this was an oversight in the design. Yet, there I was, faced with a choice. Which window would I have to put my bed against. I picked a window, and lo, nothing happened. I was still able to use the blinds, enjoyed cross ventilation, loved the natural light, and life went on.

The small closets and omission of unused and unwanted rooms yielded extra space to the living areas. There are so many clever and attractive storage solutions on the market today that I'd rather have the extra space and the flexibility it allows.

Once I was liberated from the tyranny of the headboard and ubiquity of closets I started noticing their contribution to bloating home design and ratcheting up costs. I visited a friend in Toronto and noticed his bed was against a window. When I asked about it he said it was fine as long as they closed the curtains at night during the winter. I visited another friend who was suffering from the same issue, the only difference was they had a proper bed wall. When I pointed out the error of their bedroom arrangement they kindly suggested that the house wasn't designed properly and they preferred to wake up in the morning facing the sun. Fair enough. It was comforting to know I wasn't the only transgressor.

The more attention I gave this topic the more of a disconnect I found between how homes were designed and how people used the spaces in their homes. In larger homes this was a non-issue, there was always plenty of room and a large enough budget to expand the building envelope and add windows or false shutters to balance the design. When spaces and budgets get tight, on the other hand, this need for more can ruin the design. Further, it misses the point of the small house. The idea is to remove what is unnecessary and simplify as much as practical, just enough and no more. Sure, you can add a little here and there, but if you don't need it or want it you shouldn't have to pay for it.

I applied this ethos to my designs and found that it intersected nicely with the EX, DX, LX principles. Build what you need, but design in such a way that allows for growth in multiple directions. The great benefit of this is that you are not locked in and if your needs change the house can adapt and grow as necessary.

This awakening has forever changed how I approach the design of houses, especially my own house. It has also led me to designing my own furniture as I've become dissatisfied with what is currently available on the market. I've become reacquainted with the wisdom of Mackintosh in that regard. Not everything needs to be solved with architecture.

Posted via email from Kenneth Hitchens