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» Magic Mezzanines - how to add space and save money |
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| Magic Mezzanines - how to add space and save money |
I was mystified when Daniele told me his Mum and Dad would be coming to stay during his first holiday in his newly renovated cottage in Ano Korakiana . I had seen the cottage when he first bought it a year ago - and it seemed a tight fit for Dan on his own!
But when he invited me over to have a look, I was in for a shock. The one-up one-down house, which looked just the same size from outside, had been tardissed * by one simple step - the renovation team had installed a timber mezzanine under the roof, at a stroke creating a second bedroom with no extra construction.
Corfu’s villages are full of tiny houses and little barns which, without the construction of an expensive - and possibly illegal - extra floor, are too small for all but a couple. In these cases, a ring beam to support the new roof will raise the ceiling sufficiently to allow for a mezzanine, even if it is just a sleeping platform under the eaves. With larger olive presses, which generally have a high roof already, one or even two mezzanines can give a stunning visual effect, breaking up a large floor area while leaving part of the space open to the ceiling beams. Two mezzanines at each end of a large building can be linked very effectively with a staircase and gallery.
One good example was a small building in Paxos, once a stable but now converted into a spacious apartment for two. A mezzanine was constructed across one third of the floorspace, it breaks up the high airspace and at the same time creates a natural division of use, with the kitchen and bathroom tucked under the timber floor, and the lounge high and airy to the vault of the ceiling. Otherwise-wasted space in the low eaves has been pressed into use for storage.
And guess what? As Dan also discovered, the owner didn’t just get a much bigger house - he saved lots of money too!
There are a number of properties suitable for Mezzanine Treatment - please contact us for ideas.
* Tardis: Doctor Who’s space-time transporter in the long-running Sci-Fi TV show. With the external appearance of a police phone box, it opens into infinite space inside.
Mezzanine floor in Paxos, with kitchen and bathroom tucked underneath
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