When I was in Seattle last week, I had the privilege of meeting with Melinda Sechrist, Principal of Sechrist Design Firm in Downtown Seattle. I brought to our meeting my inspiration for the project and the floor plan I drafted for the Gregory's apartment. After going through my inspiration and the development of my concept we discussed how my concept could be better implemented in my design. One thing that was very important to me was the ability for natural light to be let into the residence. Melinda guided me to further these ideas and create a floor plan that was not only functional but truly reflected my concept. The main focus of my concept is to let natural light into the space but for there still to be a sense of protection within the home. Natural light allows warmth into a space and creates a healthy atmosphere. Some ideas Melinda and I developed were to have glass doors in the entry and to open up the main public living space to the kitchen. In my original design I have the kitchen and living room separated by a wall which did not let very much light into the living room since the only window on the south wall of the existing combine building was located in my kitchen. By swapping the location of the kitchen and living room on my floor plan and keeping a visual connection instead of a physical barrier allowed for a space that was more open and had natural light. To bring in even more natural light I am going to continue the Clere Story windows from the laundry room into the kitchen's west wall so that light from the windows in the pubic corridor can travel through.
Overall, I brought a lot of good ideas out of my meeting with Melinda Sechrist. She helped me learn how to think out of the box and not be stuck on one idea. It was very rewarding to get a professional input on my project.
