So smart and so simple. After we blogged PLY Architects' Michigan home and headquarters, we looked a little more deeply into their portfolio and found this single family home in Ann Arbor with a brilliant detail: a built-in shoe rack at the front entrance. The entryway provides storage and seating without quartering off the space or blocking natural light. Click below for links and more photos of this home.
According to PLY's website, the client - a Japanese-American family - requested a place to remove and store shoes. The clients' needs "provided the opportunity to spatially enhance the rituals of daily life and frame them within the larger context of the site." We think it's one of the most well-designed landing strips we've come across.
For more information on PLY Architects, click here.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
That's a traditional "Genkan" - every home in Japan has one...
..tho I've rarely seen one with built-in shoe storage such as this - They usually toss their shoes and house-slippers all over the floor.
view bepsf's profile
I'm in Ann Arbor all the time. Any locals know what road this is on? I'd like to drive past and see how it looks in real life.
view shayshay213's profile
i wish i could have a recessed entry way like a real genkan...
but for now, leaving shoes in front of the door without any particular boundary should suffice.
i hate it when people get annoyed when they're asked to take their shoes off...
view domdom's profile
The calm of the design is wonderful. Check out the website for the full-view with the garage. http://www.plyarch.com/hk/index.html The only thing that did not flow well for me was the directions of the roof of the house vs. that of the garage and them both in relation to the landscape. I know that the decision was made for water runoff I just think there is something not perfect about the direction. Take a look at the image starting with the little red car on apprach to the house to see what I mean.
view Michael Dumas's profile
I am so envious of the built in bench and shoe rack. So great.
view vbp's profile
I love benches and other sorts of seating by the entryway for putting on/removing shoes (with house-slippers on stand-by). I love it even more when it's a beautiful built-in.
view randomname's profile
That's awesome. I wish I even had an entryway. My door opens smack in the middle of the living area and there's no space for shoes or a bench.
view jooly's profile
A spacious genkan is not unusual, especially once you're outside of Japan's major metro areas. The seating is unusual though, and works beautifully here. (If I saw someone sitting in one over there, I'd assume she was drunk or lazy...)
view kushkush's profile
I realize "shoes off at the door" is largely a cultural preference, but that's how I grew up and remain. I have a small bench in my entryway and a small bookshelf I put my shoes in, but I am thinking of changing to one of ikea's shoe cabinets, which I LOVE:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30152600
view joydreamz's profile