10 Tactics for Building and Renovating on a Narrow Site
From lighting dark areas to giving windowless rooms views, we have skinny sites covered
Narrow sites present unique challenges – accessing natural light is one, optimising traffic flow throughout the interior is another, but it doesn’t end there. Many narrow sites – especially terraces in the middle of a row – are limited to views at the front and rear, which results in a ‘gun-barrel’ effect, where the interior takes on a tunnel-like feel. The spatial constraints of these often dark, skinny sites can make renovating difficult, but with a detail-oriented designer or architect and an experienced builder you can transform challenges into opportunities and create a beautiful and highly functional home. Here’s how…
2. Embrace internal courtyards
It sounds counterintuitive to sacrifice already limited interior space to create an exterior area. However, internal courtyards can work wonders on narrow sites, particularly if you are not permitted to add width by building right up to the boundary of your lot.
Many a narrow hallway measures just 900 millimetres wide – similar to the width you’ll find between your house and boundary – so it makes sense to take ownership of this area and not let it sit idle. You could reclaim it as a functional breakout zone that links inside and out, a zen nook for quiet relaxation, or even a slim entertaining space with a barbecue, alfresco kitchen and mini-fridge, or some simple seating.
It sounds counterintuitive to sacrifice already limited interior space to create an exterior area. However, internal courtyards can work wonders on narrow sites, particularly if you are not permitted to add width by building right up to the boundary of your lot.
Many a narrow hallway measures just 900 millimetres wide – similar to the width you’ll find between your house and boundary – so it makes sense to take ownership of this area and not let it sit idle. You could reclaim it as a functional breakout zone that links inside and out, a zen nook for quiet relaxation, or even a slim entertaining space with a barbecue, alfresco kitchen and mini-fridge, or some simple seating.
Internal courtyards can naturally brighten multiple levels of a house from the inside out. Many narrow sites are limited to two light sources – one at the front and one at the back – leading to the ‘gun barrel’ effect. So opening up the middle or side flank of your narrow lot by carving out an internal courtyard or light well will instantly break up your interior and give dark or windowless rooms in the middle of your floor plan a source of natural light.
Interior courtyards also act like a lung to ventilate your home, and with some savvy planting they can offer beautiful views or snippets of greenery.
10 Terrific Trees for Your Courtyard
Interior courtyards also act like a lung to ventilate your home, and with some savvy planting they can offer beautiful views or snippets of greenery.
10 Terrific Trees for Your Courtyard
3. Banish dead space
Skinny sites have a lengthy list of foes and wasted space is close to the top. Many hallways and corridors act like dead space: they usually do little more than lead from one room to another. So aim to centralise the layout of your plan as much as possible to avoid the need for thoroughfares, and opt for open-plan living areas instead.
This home in Madrid, Spain, by MYCC Oficina de Arquitectura is a compact 2.1 metres wide and measures just 21 square metres. Here, not a millimetre of dead space can be found either horizontally or vertically.
Take a virtual tour of this tiny home
Skinny sites have a lengthy list of foes and wasted space is close to the top. Many hallways and corridors act like dead space: they usually do little more than lead from one room to another. So aim to centralise the layout of your plan as much as possible to avoid the need for thoroughfares, and opt for open-plan living areas instead.
This home in Madrid, Spain, by MYCC Oficina de Arquitectura is a compact 2.1 metres wide and measures just 21 square metres. Here, not a millimetre of dead space can be found either horizontally or vertically.
Take a virtual tour of this tiny home
4. Spiral in
This terrace house in Chippendale, NSW, measures just 3.2 metres wide and was renovated in 2014 by Carlos Correa of Archistudio Design. Rather than taking up valuable room with a rectilinear, space-guzzling staircase, Correa conceived a spiral staircase inspired by the shape of a helix, which sweeps up three levels and is the sculptural hero of the house.
By positioning it in the centre of the site, Correa also negating the need for lengthy corridors and let individual rooms absorb the valuable floorspace instead.
Read more about this sculptural home
This terrace house in Chippendale, NSW, measures just 3.2 metres wide and was renovated in 2014 by Carlos Correa of Archistudio Design. Rather than taking up valuable room with a rectilinear, space-guzzling staircase, Correa conceived a spiral staircase inspired by the shape of a helix, which sweeps up three levels and is the sculptural hero of the house.
By positioning it in the centre of the site, Correa also negating the need for lengthy corridors and let individual rooms absorb the valuable floorspace instead.
Read more about this sculptural home
5. Think outside the square
It’s surprising how often we overlook curves as a solution to spatial constraints, and skinny sites are no exceptions. In the same way that circular tables take up less space than square or rectangular tables when seating up to six people, curves in your floorplan can work the same way.
When designing on a narrow site, you may find that traditional rectilinear rooms or details consume too much space or simply don’t flow well. If this is the case, it may be time to think outside the square – literally.
You could make a bold statement by rounding a corner or room with a curvaceous arc…
It’s surprising how often we overlook curves as a solution to spatial constraints, and skinny sites are no exceptions. In the same way that circular tables take up less space than square or rectangular tables when seating up to six people, curves in your floorplan can work the same way.
When designing on a narrow site, you may find that traditional rectilinear rooms or details consume too much space or simply don’t flow well. If this is the case, it may be time to think outside the square – literally.
You could make a bold statement by rounding a corner or room with a curvaceous arc…
…Or you could adopt curves on a more subtle scale and gently smooth the edges of your joinery. Either way, the power of curves should not be underestimated when optimising the flow and ease of movement within a narrow room or home.
Best of the Week: 30 Kitchens That are Ahead of the Curve
Best of the Week: 30 Kitchens That are Ahead of the Curve
6. Don’t be afraid of building in the middle
Our first instinct when confronted with a narrow site is usually to push all the fixtures and built-in elements to the peripheral walls. This usually helps divide up the floor space in a neat and logical way, but there’s no need to fear placing certain fixtures in the middle of a room.
Galley kitchens are particularly well-suited to narrow sites because the ideal distance between two parallel base units or benches is approximately 1,200 millimetres – more than 1,400 millimetres and you’ll struggle to reach the other bench with ease. However, if you have a little more room, an island benchtop could effectively divide your kitchen into a food-preparation area on one side and a space dedicated to traffic flow or socialising on the other.
Our first instinct when confronted with a narrow site is usually to push all the fixtures and built-in elements to the peripheral walls. This usually helps divide up the floor space in a neat and logical way, but there’s no need to fear placing certain fixtures in the middle of a room.
Galley kitchens are particularly well-suited to narrow sites because the ideal distance between two parallel base units or benches is approximately 1,200 millimetres – more than 1,400 millimetres and you’ll struggle to reach the other bench with ease. However, if you have a little more room, an island benchtop could effectively divide your kitchen into a food-preparation area on one side and a space dedicated to traffic flow or socialising on the other.
In this narrow bathroom, a tiled column in the middle of the room separates the bath and the shower, which is almost invisible until you spy the sleek rosette showerhead descending from the ceiling and the wall-to-wall strip drain bisecting the floor.
The sliver of space between the wall and column lends a sense of depth to the narrow bathroom, and prevents the thin space from being visually shortened, too.
Tip: The floor-to-ceiling mosaic tiles and the elongated mirror and window further accentuate the height of this bathroom, cleverly detracting from its narrow width.
The sliver of space between the wall and column lends a sense of depth to the narrow bathroom, and prevents the thin space from being visually shortened, too.
Tip: The floor-to-ceiling mosaic tiles and the elongated mirror and window further accentuate the height of this bathroom, cleverly detracting from its narrow width.
7. Do a double act
Built-in furniture and joinery can be a great space-saver in slender sites. If you’re lucky, your narrow site might make up for its lack of width with a generosity of depth.
It’s often possible to carve out an extra room or a little nook by building in furniture or slicing up the length of your lot instead of relying solely on the width. With some smart planning, you may be able to use your joinery to sneak in a powder room or that butlers’ pantry you’ve always wanted. And if not, built-in furniture such as this banquette will help you maximise valuable floor space to a greater degree than freestanding furniture.
Built-in furniture and joinery can be a great space-saver in slender sites. If you’re lucky, your narrow site might make up for its lack of width with a generosity of depth.
It’s often possible to carve out an extra room or a little nook by building in furniture or slicing up the length of your lot instead of relying solely on the width. With some smart planning, you may be able to use your joinery to sneak in a powder room or that butlers’ pantry you’ve always wanted. And if not, built-in furniture such as this banquette will help you maximise valuable floor space to a greater degree than freestanding furniture.
This master bedroom in Tamarama, NSW, by Alexandra Donohoe Church of Decus Interiors tucks a walk-through-wardrobe behind the main volume of the bedroom to great effect. The dark joinery acts as a bedhead on one side and a dressing area/walk-through-wardrobe on the other, cleverly separating the slim space behind without sacrificing any width.
See the rest of this curved beach house
See the rest of this curved beach house
8. Get detail savvy
Every millimetre counts in narrow homes, so think of how your joinery and fixtures will work within the space.
If you have to step back every time you open the hinged doors of your bathroom vanity, could they slide sideways instead of opening outwards? Pocket doors take up much less room than traditional options and can make or break the flow of a space, so pay attention to the fine details.
Every millimetre counts in narrow homes, so think of how your joinery and fixtures will work within the space.
If you have to step back every time you open the hinged doors of your bathroom vanity, could they slide sideways instead of opening outwards? Pocket doors take up much less room than traditional options and can make or break the flow of a space, so pay attention to the fine details.
9. Raise those ceilings
Most of us are familiar with the oppressive feeling that comes from being in a large public carpark when it seems as though the low ceiling is pressing down on you. In these cases it doesn’t matter that there’s ample width – the low roof makes the space feel heavy and overbearing.
The opposite, of course, can give a home the feeling of spaciousness. So if your site’s width is limited but not its height, aim to raise the ceiling to 2.7 metres to emphasise the vertical scale of your interior. Better yet, try installing floor-to-ceiling windows and increase the height of your doors – you’ll thank yourself in the long run when you marvel at your high ceilings and barely notice your rooms’ modest width.
Most of us are familiar with the oppressive feeling that comes from being in a large public carpark when it seems as though the low ceiling is pressing down on you. In these cases it doesn’t matter that there’s ample width – the low roof makes the space feel heavy and overbearing.
The opposite, of course, can give a home the feeling of spaciousness. So if your site’s width is limited but not its height, aim to raise the ceiling to 2.7 metres to emphasise the vertical scale of your interior. Better yet, try installing floor-to-ceiling windows and increase the height of your doors – you’ll thank yourself in the long run when you marvel at your high ceilings and barely notice your rooms’ modest width.
10. Let there be light
Light – preferably natural light – will be your new best friend if you’re living on a narrow site. Good lighting can singlehandedly transform a narrow space from one that feels dismal and cramped to one that has an ambience of airy expansiveness.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing is the most effective way to usher natural light into dark, narrow recesses. A wall of windows has the added benefit of letting your eye wander beyond the perimeter of a room, tricking us into believing it’s wider or larger than it really is.
Light – preferably natural light – will be your new best friend if you’re living on a narrow site. Good lighting can singlehandedly transform a narrow space from one that feels dismal and cramped to one that has an ambience of airy expansiveness.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing is the most effective way to usher natural light into dark, narrow recesses. A wall of windows has the added benefit of letting your eye wander beyond the perimeter of a room, tricking us into believing it’s wider or larger than it really is.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing is followed closely by skylights and light wells in the bag of tricks used to renovate on narrow sites. And if a room lacks direct access to natural light, consider installing tubular daylighting devices, or use smart styling props such as mirrors and choose gloss finishes to bounce diffused light through the space.
You can also style and decorate your narrow home to visually gain extra space… but that’s another story.
Read more about this narrow eat-in kitchen
You can also style and decorate your narrow home to visually gain extra space… but that’s another story.
Read more about this narrow eat-in kitchen
Your turn
Share your tricks for renovating on a skinny site in the Comments below. And if you found this story helpful, like it, save the images and join the conversation.
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Need more renovating advice? You’ll love 10 Open-Plan Room Blunders… and How to Avoid Them
Share your tricks for renovating on a skinny site in the Comments below. And if you found this story helpful, like it, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Need more renovating advice? You’ll love 10 Open-Plan Room Blunders… and How to Avoid Them
Different local councils have different rules and regulations governing how close to a boundary you can build. Some properties are permitted to take advantage of ‘zero lot boundaries’, which let you build part of your house right up to the edge of your lot. Others, however, require a 900-millimetre tolerance between your home and the boundary of your land.
Because every site and council is different, you may be able to gain valuable width by building up to the boundary but if not, don’t despair, there are other ways you can use thin strips of land between your home and perimeter.
Find an architect near you on Houzz to discuss what’s possible with your site and local council