Who would buy a 500~550 sqft condo?

[Granny]

They have the nerve to call that a living and dining space? That's incredibly tight. The balcony must be included in the total square footage you provided.
It would be ideal if you can fit a slim mirrored closet a long the foyer, if there's room for it. The bedroom closet can be extended to the wall as well and the sliding door can open from the other end.

If you're really desperate for more storage space, you can relocate the bathroom door to the west side and extend the wall of the bathroom to
the bedroom, which will leave access to the w/d room only from the bathroom and you can place extra shelving in that square portion, if my instructions make any sense.

My thoughts on this one if I was to live here..

I would lose the the L shaped wall and sliding door at the bedroom and extend the kitchen counter up to the washroom wall. Then I would add 3 pendant lights over the counter.
This transforms this very tight 1 bedroom, into a very roomy bachelor with a 'wow' factor.. oh..and go with a Murphy bed..
Tada!
Great size balcony for a unit like this.

 

[Solaris]

the LR/DR is really tight ... the 13'2" dimension extends beyond the breakfast bar and there's also the lost circulation space so it's really around 10'7" x 9'2".

I noticed this phenomenon whenever there is breakfast bars (counter overhangs) in units, builders are always calculating room dimensions to the edge of the kitchen cabinet below, rather than to the edge of the counter (where bar stools would be) ... I think that is purposely done to mislead

 

[scangrade]

Long time lurker here...I'll jump in since I've bought a place that's not much bigger than 550. I bought it because this was as much as I could afford at the time during the craze back in 2006. It's almost 600 (not including the balcony) and because I like reading about all the analysis on floorplans, let me post mine here:



It's hard for me to imagine spaces on paper so what should I do about furniture placement? Is there really only one spot the tv can go?

Thanks UT!!

 

[Solaris]

that looks like a Minto (Midtown or Skyy?) floorplan ~

I have mixed feeling about this unit:

Likes:

• bright living+dining+den combination, lots of window in one continous space
• good size bedroom closet / foyer closet
• note: make sure you get mirrored sliders for the foyer closet, it would make that entrance hallway less apparent and make the space feel larger

Dislikes:

• interior bedrooms (with no windows) ... hate them a lot
• 10'3" x 12'9" for a living+dining ? that's unrealistic ... chances are you'll be using the den as a dining room, or alternatively if you chose not to add the 'optional island', the dining table can be placed in the kitchen as well, but that means you are left with an unfunctional linear kitchen with very little counter space

 

[scangrade]

Thanks for your comments Solaris.

Yes it is a minto skyy floorplan. For one thing that I hate (windowless bedroom) there is something else that I like (great location) that makes up for it, in my view.

I did get mirrored foyer doors so that'll help immensely to the feel of the place right when I walk in. I did not get the island and am planning on putting a small dining table against the bedroom wall.

 

[lister]

Why not? Does your building have good amenities?

Because I think it's rude to consider the shared amenities as mine when it's collectively ours and I'm not going to treat the amenities like my condo.

Hudson has a gym, steam rooms (unfortunately gender separate), patio with BBQ, event room, pool table room, media room and a large lobby with seating.

 

[cdr108]

It's hard for me to imagine spaces on paper so what should I do about furniture placement? Is there really only one spot the tv can go?

I did get mirrored foyer doors so that'll help immensely to the feel of the place right when I walk in. I did not get the island and am planning on putting a small dining table against the bedroom wall.

without knowing what kind of furniture you have, i took the liberty to do a mock up ...
i tried the best to make it to scale but it's probably off.

 

[CITY_LOVER]

All,

Please comment on this floorplan (597 sq ft, 1 bedroom + den):

http://www.lumierecondos.com/pdf/morning_light_597_FP.pdf

Given its location (Bay & College), what do you think its market value should be given the prices we now see in the city? (I'm just curious.)

Thanks,

R

 

[Solaris]

All,

Please comment on this floorplan (597 sq ft, 1 bedroom + den):

http://www.lumierecondos.com/pdf/morning_light_597_FP.pdf

Given its location (Bay & College), what do you think its market value should be given the prices we now see in the city? (I'm just curious.)

Thanks,

R

I'm not knowledgable enough to comment on resale values ... but personally I would never buy this unit in Lumiere for the simple fact that if faces south looking right into the side wall of Conservatory Group's Penrose Condominums right next door ~ for me, an (relatively) open sightlines is everything

With respect to the floor plan ...

My likes:

• very spacious living+dining+kitchen with lots of windows and light from the wide windows wall
• huge balcony that will extend your living space
• that walk-in closet is a jewel
• the den is a nice bonus space

My dislikes:

• how should I put this ... YUK ! interior bedroom !!
• major wasted sq.ft. with that long entry hallway ... in this case there's not even mirrored sliders available that can help mitigate the effect
• assuming there is no 'island' with the unit (it that suppose to be a dining room table?), linear kitchens are disfunctional and often provide insufficient counter space

 

[cdr108]

All,

Please comment on this floorplan (597 sq ft, 1 bedroom + den):

http://www.lumierecondos.com/pdf/morning_light_597_FP.pdf

Given its location (Bay & College), what do you think its market value should be given the prices we now see in the city? (I'm just curious.)

Thanks,

R

the layout isn't bad ... lots of closet space in the bedroom but the schematic is a bit misleading.

i'm not a fan of linear kitchens; however, there's adequate countertop space and storage since there's a (full-height ???) pantry.

is that an island or dining room table?
if it's an island, it's eating (sorry for the pun) up alot of space.
it's ~2.25' w x 4'0" d, and also 2'6" away from the kitchen appliances.

they must be using 'condo sized' furniture, but even then i've not seen some of these dimensions before.
the sofa, which is only 2ft d x 4ft w (never seen such a thing), is ~ 7.5 ft from the ext wall ... so that's too close IMO.
those side chairs are 2 ft wide and 15" deep ???

if you want to maintain this set up, i recommend a 2'6" x 5'0" dining table about 3'6" away from the appliances, and backing directly on a sofa ... you can eat facing each other and the TV wall. b/c your LR is 13ft wide, you can fit a full size sofa.

do you need/want a den and those walls?
i think they walls may end up restricting your options for usage.

the bed used in the floorplan is only a double ~4'6" w so keep that in mind when you move your bed and accessories there.

price wise ... maybe $300K

 

[Monaco]

I
My dislikes:

[*]how should I put this ... YUK ! interior bedroom !!

You really dislike interior bedrooms. Have you lived in one before? Or is it just in theory that you object?

I've never lived in one before, but when I examine how I use my condo - I don't actually use the bedroom much during the day. I'm even starting to think it might not be so bad, especially since the bedroom is guaranteed to be dark and is probably quieter too by not having a window. I end up spending most of my time in the LR/DR and use the den as a study (I'm trying to practice good sleep hygiene).

 

[scangrade]

without knowing what kind of furniture you have, i took the liberty to do a mock up ...
i tried the best to make it to scale but it's probably off.

hi cdr, thanks for the mockup. the image is kinda small so i'm not sure what you've written on it. is that a table with bench seating in the kitchen? that's not a bad idea. pull out the table with a bench as additional seating and back against the wall when it's just me.

 

[izomax]

I have been looking at historic prices of 1 bedroom condo and it looks like 1 bedrooms appreciate very slowly (or close to zero) in value compared to 1+1 or 2 bedroom. So I guess 1 bedroom is a bad investment?

 

[carturo15]

I have been looking at historic prices of 1 bedroom condo and it looks like 1 bedrooms appreciate very slowly (or close to zero) in value compared to 1+1 or 2 bedroom. So I guess 1 bedroom is a bad investment?

I don't think so, 1 small bedroom is the best investment, those are the first units to go on any new project. the smallest units always carry better prices per square foot than larger units and are easier to rent, easier to sell

 

[Solaris]

You really dislike interior bedrooms. Have you lived in one before? Or is it just in theory that you object?

I've never lived in one before, but when I examine how I use my condo - I don't actually use the bedroom much during the day. I'm even starting to think it might not be so bad, especially since the bedroom is guaranteed to be dark and is probably quieter too by not having a window. I end up spending most of my time in the LR/DR and use the den as a study (I'm trying to practice good sleep hygiene).

indeed I strongly dislike interior bedrooms (I pretty sure I'm not the only one thought) ... I think this concept arised from builders pushing the threshold too far to build smaller condos and started to rebrand what would have been a 'den' in the past as a 'bedroom'

I have not owned/live in a condo with an interior bedroom before, but I have stayed in multiple hotel suites (approx 1 week each time) with interior bedrooms, and frankly I don't like it ... I prefer to have fresh air from the bedroom window and natural light when I wake up in the morning (alternatively if I needed darkness blinds are there as well)