What is that standing tall between the play area and the
five-foot-wide garden? Yes, it is a fire escape staircase
that leads upstairs to a room at the first floor. We shall
delve into this room later in this article but for now, let’s
digest the staircase.
This staircase that leads to a room on its own can either
be maintained as a fire escape or you could convert it
into a home within a home (a dual-key concept home).
By doing so, the loft upstairs could be given to a member
of the family for more privacy or it could also be rented
out without having to interfere with your family’s day to
day routine.
Space is to be used Smartly
If you walk along the five-foot way
garden at the side of the house, you will
be led to the side entrance that initially
used to be part of the garden too. Now,
it has been tiled up to accommodate a
landing area to receive the kids arriving
at school. This landing area also opens up
to a bigger space further down, where
the administration office (initially maid’s
room) is on the left. Believe you me, in
today’s world, this is a smart move as
many homes need more ‘indoor’ space
to be converted into a gym, yoga area,
children’s play area or even to be used
as a utility area to dry clothes.
Every woman’s dream kitchen space
(and some men too)
Walking through this area would then
lead you to the extended kitchen at
the back. Do note that the initial layout
of the home only housed a very small
standard kitchen but now, with the
tasteful renovation that has been done,
the kitchen extends to most of the
backyard so hosting parties or cooking
for groups wouldn’t be much of an
issue. Also, for those who have always
dreamt of owning a home with a Master
Chef kitchen, here, you have the space
for that.
I know what you are thinking at this
point. If the built up is extended all the
way to the back, does that mean that
one foot out is the back lane? Actually,
it doesn’t. As mentioned earlier, the
owners were very creative with their
renovation. Instead of extending all the
way to the back, they left about 10 feet
of garden area that can be maintained
to host to a variety of plants and flowers
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