Name: Jill
Location: inside her Financial District apartment
Size: 60 sqft
Favorite: that it's a stage as well as storage
I built a stage in my living room for a number of really good reasons. First of all, one never knows when one will have to host an impromptu or scheduled performance. Second of all, with high ceilings, vertical storage seemed like the answer to my dearth of traditional closet space. Lastly, the ship ladder to my loft bedroom can now touch down 2 feet higher from the ground and thus become less ship-like and more normal-like in its steepness.
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com
I thought I would hire someone to make me this stage and then, after about 6 months of talking about it, I decided I could do it myself. I asked a couple of carpenters in my life for advice, over the phone. (I wouldn't recommend this approach--the phone part, that is!) I had been collecting wood from dumpsters in my neighborhood so I had enough for all of the base supports but not the really long 2x4's and 2x6's. It was a very cold day in December and my sister was in town so we went lumber shopping. We then carried 10 pieces of 10' long wood to my house on our heads in two trips. The people at the lumber store on Walker near Canal not only sold me all this wood but also cut my found wood to the exact sizes I requested.
Once I had all the supplies, had found all the studs in my walls, and had used my trusty level to make sure all the pencil lines were straight, I started the project. It took me about a month of workâpart time. The hard part was finding the perfect object to keep the beams at the right heights while I attached them to other pieces of wood, or to brackets. Metal studs are great, but I still used small pieces of wood to prop up the main beams as a back up to keep the stage standing. The other larger and more eternal problem is that nothing in my apartment is even or level! As much as I tried to fight that, there remains a small discrepancy in the height. This will become evident when I attach my plexiglass panels.
I am glad it's finished. I can't say how much joy it gives me to walk on it! I look forward to my first salon/karaoke/open-mike night.
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Comments (40)
Very impressive.
Karaoke much?
you're a genius! a home stage would complete the home life of so many people out there. for karaoke nights: projecting videos/images on the far wall (stripes and all) would be hot. maybe a disco ball?
Thinking about this some more, I've decided that this is inspiring because not everyone would want or need a stage--in fact, probably most people wouldn't want or need it--but you've barged ahead anyway and made it work, and accomplished something useful and fun.
:) I typed my post without having read heather b.'s.
I love it! what a great storage solution!
re: "there remains a small discrepancy in the height. This will become evident when I attach my plexiglass panels."
Or when I attempt my big roller-disco number and go careening into the audience...
:)
That's an excellent solution! Your pull-out tray seems to be sagging a bit, however. Perhaps you could retrofit a metal brace on it?
joan! you're right, it's not a necessity by any stretch. i was actually thinking of all the people out there who love to go out as much as they love to stay home...so at-home karaoke parties WITH a stage is just perfect.
you're also right that jill completely made it work for her, and the multi-multi-funcionality of it as storage, as a room, while also being really fun, is pretty amazing.
i like this idea! i need to start thinking about levels - cuz, you know, my taste is bad enough for me to really swoon over sunken living rooms and conversation pits. and that's not a joke.
pphilihpp, don't feel bad. I am dying for a conversation pit.
Jill, Awesome work. I have been toying with the idea of building a similar platform with storage for my bed (feng shui be damned). Very educational.
It looks like great fun! Good job!
Why did you decide to permanently attach this to the wall? A stage of that size, especially loaded with all that stuff, would be hefty enough to not move much. However, you could move it out of there with some effort if you wanted. This is what I plan to do.
Stage naysayers, don't get hung up on its functionality based on calling it a "stage".
Wouldn't this still be highly practical as a "rasied dining area" or "raised library" or even "raised bedroom"?
P(too), I didn't hear any "nays." And yes, of course it could be redefined.
Joan--
Just reacting to those questioning its practicality.
I just want to have the video camera ready for when you do your big roller-disco number.
you can now host a cable acess talk show in your apartment!!
When I lived in the city, the hippo playground on the Upper West Side was renovated (mid-'80s?). One of the things they added was a stage. (Or did they end up adding it? I don't remember.) People questioned that in the plan, and the planners said that kids tended to use a stage spontaneously for pretend play and for actual off-the-cuff performances. It was very convincing. It's an intriguing idea for an apartment.
i agree with p2 (yes, i'm following him around the boards today, and just agreeing, lemming-likem, with everything he says); it could be used for all sorts of "functional" purposes.
but the biggest "function" is perhaps just that it could be fun. if you've got the space, why not? i think it adds a certain theatricality (in a good way, not a "bad stage set" way), and just sort of begs for something creative to happen.
or do i just need a beer?
My husband always says I'm a thwarted actress, so this could be dangerous. Actually, I'm a thwarted dancer, but I just don't have any place to perform. (Though I have been known to jete to the garbage chute.)
I'm impressed that Jill built this herself. Go, Jill!
pphillipp--
If you're going to follow me around, could you grab me a beer too?
i once lived in a loft with a bunch of artists, and we had something a bit like this in our lounge area.
we used it many a time as an actual stage, for readings and performances. we stored all manner of equipment under there. when not in use as a stage, we had a couple of couches and a coffee table on it so that it functioned as a raised living area. we arranged the couches in a way that didn't make it seem like a talkshow set. it was hardly noticeable at all, actually, and if i ever live in a place with high ceilings, i may do something like it just for the multi-level effect (not likely to host any karaoke parties anytime soon).
Raised-dining-area by day and Saw-a-person-in-half-exit-under-the-stage or Trapeze-launching-pad by night. Fit for those days-you-gotta-tap-dance. Brilliant sliding apparatus. I sense some Brooklyn-envy...
Pretty awesome construction! Must respect the salvaging of the dumpster wood & lumber transport by transit is nothing to sneeze at either. There are no limits.
Most excellent! I"m glad it turned out as cool/practical as it seemed like it would.
where you do get plexi-glass from in manhattan??
Canal Plastic on Canal Street.
jill, I am awestruck by all your projects, especially your creative vision.
Brooklyn envy? Please. Newsflash: Broadway is in Manhattan, where Jill lives.
Brooklynites are getting annoyingly smug.
"pphillipp--
If you're going to follow me around, could you grab me a beer too?"
yessir, yesssir, right away sir
*putting small, festive umbrella in the neck of the genessee cream ale*
Actually, forget the beer.
But the "yessir, yesssir, right away sir" is TOTALLY working for me...
Now this is MY "Camelot"!!!!!
Simply brilliant on a budget, and truly original in being perfect Apartment Therapy, ie, sans architect-boyfriend/investment banker income.
Bravo Jill----get up there and take a bow!
Must be a truly fun place to live in. Thanks. it was like a party viewing the construction "photos."
Gee, all I want to do is build a 6" platform on my balcony and feel clueless. This is so inspiring. I may just be able to do this. Thanks Jill!
Jill
Wow, I'm so inspired. Awesome job!! Now I REALLY want to make a platform for my pole. Uuh, did I say pole? I meant my desk...
tribecatexan wrote:
> where you do get plexi-glass from in manhattan??
jill wrote:
> Canal Plastic on Canal Street.
Canal Plastic rules.
I love the stage idea. I'm sure the "60 sqft" is the size of the stage, not the apartment! How big is this room? It looks like a great set for a music video. Fisheye lens... Cram a whole band onto the tiny little stage for a party. They'd all be squeezed in around the drum kit that would fill most of the stage. Stuff about 50 people into the other half (how big is that room again?). It would be a bit claustrophobic but funny and probably a lot of fun to pull off. Have any friends in bands? It would be the quintessential small Manhattan apartment party taken to the extreme.
a wonderful idea and beautifully done. when am i going to be invited to come and see it. what a wonderful camera you must have to take those great pictures.
This is BEYOND awesome! Especially the storage capacity and the rollers. I am also impressed that the sage is able to carry the books on it. Books are heavy.
Love this platform idea (aka stage), with all that new storage space, it makes your place feel way less cluttered, eh?
Question: Are you able to guestimate how much weight it can handle on it? Just in case everyone decides to Karoke at the same time...
I dig that drippy wall, Jill. Seriously dig.
How'd ya do it?