The Long View

One of the first projects I worked on was a 2-bedroom addition to a neighbor's house in the mid 1960's. It was pretty simple: a short hallway, two bedrooms, and two closets. The layout was efficient. The neighbor and his father-in-law built the foundation and most of the framing quickly, but when they started laying out the interior partitions, the father-in-law asked me to consider a change in the plan. "I would like to angle this wall with the door to the bedroom," he said. "That way, we can get the furniture into the room." When I looked then at the plan as I had drawn it, I realized that the change was necessary. As designed, the hallway was large enough to accommodate the furniture in one position, but not large enough to maneuver it 90 degrees into the bedroom. It's usually a good idea to plan ahead at least to the next step, even if you are not considering a long term effect on global climate.