In my Intro to Design I had to design a
pool house using a shipping container.
This project though detailed was alot of fun. The class was given a fictional client who
lived outside Charleston, SC that wanted a pool house designed. She wanted a low cost sustainable option and
a shipping container fit perfectly.
Space was an obvious challenge.
Though the square footage was a reasonable amount for a pool house, the
shipping container was only 7'7 wide inside.
Mrs. Smith (client) wanted a place for
dining, entertaining and a place to curl up a read a book. She also wanted to have good views of the
pool and would love to have a covered porch.
She has two children so functional and fun design is something to
consider.
When I started thinking about what I
wanted to do with this long rectangular box, I knew that I wanted to change the
height of the roof in some way to change the "boxy" shape. I also knew I wanted fun bright colors, lots
of windows and a rooftop patio.
After finally finishing my floor plan, I
began to pick out my fabrics. My
inspiration for the color palette was a really fun bright print designed by
Trina Turk for Schumacher. It had bright
orange, pink, and yellow. I decided on
an orange wall color and a neutral sofa. The picture below is my design board
that we were required to make for our presentation. It shows all the fun furniture choices and my
bright color palette. A couple of my
favorite pieces are my ottomans that separate to become 5 stools. My coffee table also has an adjustable height
and becomes a dining room table.
In addition to our design board I was
required to render my floor plan. Please
excuse my hand drawn patio radius.
To quickly walk you through my thoughts,
I wanted different zones or lounge areas.
The first zone is the large sectional sofa and the two ottomans that
break apart and can form 10 stools for additional seating. The second are is formed by the
"cloud" chair, coffee table and lounge chair. The final zone and my personal favorite is my
reading nook. It is a built in window
seat with storage below and a bookcase above that doubles as a privacy
screen. It may be hard to visualize, but
the bookcase sits on top of the base and the cushion is built around it. This is what makes it feel like a
"nook". In order to snuggle up
you have to go on the other side of the bookcase. I wanted it to feel like a retreat, but not
be too isolated from the rest of the room.
Another reason the reading nook is my favorite part of the shipping
container is the way nature is brought inside.
It is completely surrounded by windows on all three sides with views of
the fun garden that surround it. In
addition to all the windows, there are transoms above the windows and a
skylight to let in lots of light.
Rooftop floor plan - It features two lounge chairs, a low table
with eight pillow seats, two ottomans and a planter. The planter brings an aesthetic value as well
as providing a safety buffer for the skylight.
I had alot of fun with this project and
can't wait to see what we are doing next.
Interior shot showing the left side of my
model/floor plan.
Shows the raised roof with transoms and skylight as well as the reading nook garden.
Shows the raised roof with transoms and
skylight as well as the reading nook garden.
