Furnishings

Flexibly Furnished

While Highgate is unfurnished, Cloud Nine Studios and The Quarters are what we call “flexibly furnished.”

They are fully furnished homes, but if you want to bring your own furnishings, we will store what you are not using. This means is that your home can be anywhere from semi-furnished to fully furnished—it’s up to you.

This way, you do not have to waste any of your space on things you don’t need, nor take on the liability of damaging anything you didn’t want anyway.

Furnishings Provided

At minimum, the following furnishings will be included:

• In each bedroom:
  • Convertible desk/bed
  • Premium queen mattress with new mattress cover (see Bedding & Towels)
  • 55” television
  • Air conditioner/heater
• Refrigerator(s)
• Washer and dryer
• Fire extinguisher

Furthermore, if you have cats, you can get several other free benefits.

Beyond that, before you move in, you decide what you want from the following:

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  Dinnerware

  • Plates
  • Bowls
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  Flatware

  • Knives
  • Forks
  • Spoons
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  Cutlery

  • Cutting tools
  • Storage block
  • Cutting board
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  Cookware

  • Sauté pans: 8”, 10”, 12”
  • Pots: 2 qt., 3 qt., 8 qt.
  • Stir fry wok: 12”
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  Drinkware

  • Glasses
  • Cups
  • Mugs
  • Filtered water pitcher
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  Food Storage

  • Glass containers with locking lids
  • Plastic dry goods containers
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  Kitchen Essentials

  • Can opener
  • Spatulas
  • Tongs
  • Ladle
  • Peeler
  • Grater
  • Colander
  • Oven mitts (silicone)
  • Tongs
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  Kitchen Organization

  • Paper towel holder
  • Spoon rest
  • Utensil caddy
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  Baking Tools

  • Baking sheets
  • Baking pans
  • Mixing bowls
  • Measuring cups
  • Whisk
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  Kitchen Appliances

  • Coffee maker
  • Toaster oven
  • Slow cooker
  • Multicooker (pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, etc.)
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  Bath Accessories

  • Soap dish
  • Hair dryer
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  Clothing Care

  • Iron
  • Ironing board
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  Cleaning

  • Step trash can
  • Handheld vacuum cleaner
  • Mop and bucket
  • Dustpan and brush
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  Rolling Chair

  • Upgraded wheels (no mat required)

Please note: In the future, some furnishings may be replaced with items of similar quality.

Furnishing Quality

The home furnishings provided are not cheap surplus goods; rather, they were obsessively researched and carefully selected for the space. All are either products I use myself or better.

Some examples of what is provided:

• The pots and pans are HexClad Hybrid commercial stainless steel—some of the best in the world—they cook great, are easy to clean, are nearly indestructible, and have a unique design which is non-stick without any non-stick coating.
• The chair is a La-Z-Boy executive rolling chair with upgraded wheels, which is about as comfortable as chairs get. (I work at home and sit in one all day.)
• The washer and dryer product line by Miele has been called “the laundry world’s equivalent of a Rolls Royce fleet.”

Furniture

Convertible Desk/Bed

Video: Convertible Desk/Bed

The cornerstone in a space built for one, this serves as four major pieces of furniture: A desk, bed, chaise longue, and table. (Also two minor pieces: The interior shelf serves as a bedside table, and the top serves as a storage shelf or cat retreat.)

This effectively turns one room into multiple rooms. When in desk mode, you’re in an office—with no bed or couch, it’s a more professional environment with limited distractions that helps you focus on the task at hand. Then, when it’s time to relax or go to sleep, you’re in a dedicated bedroom. All your work can be hidden away, so it’s not causing you stress when you’re trying to unwind.

With only one moving part, switching between modes takes less than five seconds. You don’t have to make your bed to change to desk mode, and you don’t even have to clear off the desk to change back to bed mode—you can leave a laptop or a full-size monitor on the desk and it will be right where you left it when you need it again.

Please watch the video to see this remarkable piece of furniture in use and to learn about more advantages of its design.

Get the best of both worlds

Like in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Dame Ragnelle, with normal beds you must choose between sacrificing your happiness during the day or the night. Either you must constantly work around a big bed during the day, or else you don’t have enough room at night—or both, since even small beds take up an enormous portion of the room.

This convertible piece of furniture allows you to have the best of both worlds—you can have a spacious queen-size bed when you need it, and the rest of your room back when you don’t. If you want to use the room for another activity, like working out or yoga, you’ll always have this space available, but even if you don’t, you’ll spend most of your time in a more open, less cramped space.

This is quality custom furniture

Photo: Desk mode, in staged room

It is worth emphasizing that these are not the kind of cheap Murphy beds that proliferated in the 1970s, with their rickety structure and infamously uncomfortable mattresses.

This beautiful furniture is custom-built in the USA with all hardwood construction—no particle board. They feature premium quality, comfortable mattresses that are designed to be stored on their side while retaining perfect structure and density. Plus, a new mattress cover is installed for each tenant.

The bed is comfortable by design

Even if you have used a modern convertible bed before, chances are you haven’t ever used one like this, because very few are made this way. While most convertible beds fold up vertically, these fold horizontally, which brings numerous advantages.

First, the bed is much easier to open and close, as the handle is lower, plus the weight inside travels a shorter distance and is distributed more lengthwise rather than concentrated at the end of a long lever.

Photo: Bed mode, in staged room

Furthermore, rotating along the shorter dimension allows the bed to be fully cantilevered, which removes the need for auxiliary support legs on the outer corners. These legs are a major weakness of almost every other convertible bed design—they’re spindly and don’t provide the stability of a broadly supported cantilevered platform. The legs are also a trip hazard and can damage floors, and worst of all, if the legs are not in the right position, the bed can break when weight is put on it.

With this fully cantilevered design, there’s only one moving part. Pull it down to open; lift it up to close; no legs to worry about. The area underneath is totally clear—no tripping, no stubbed toes, no damage to feet or the floor—and it’s more stable than any regular bed.

As the bed is positioned with the shorter dimension coming away from a wall, simply adding a support pillow allows it to function as a chaise lounge for reading or relaxing while watching television.

The desk is incredible

Photo: Desk mode, detailed view

When closed, this furniture transforms into not just a desk, but a remarkably good desk—in fact, quite possibly the best desk you’ve ever used.

The horizontal design compounds the usefulness of the longest dimension by creating a massive desk area—which is 2-3 times the size of desks typically used in small rooms. There are no legs to bang your knees or chair into—all legroom is clear under the entire desk, which is especially nice in a small space. Yet even with no legs, the desk is rock solid because it is part of the larger structure, which is in turn bolted to the wall studs. Plus, the top of the frame can be used for storage that is easily within reach when working at the desk.

Finally, the most enjoyable feature of the desk: You don’t have to clear it off to access the bed. Simply leave everything on it and pull the bed open—the desktop will rotate under the bed with plenty of room for objects you’d normally have on a desk, even a full-size monitor.

Other Furniture

To make the most of the space, these homes have been designed to require very little freestanding furniture. Instead, most of the necessities are built in.

The convertible desk/bed also serves as a table and chaise lounge. The closets have built-in chests of drawers. Every room has recessed lighting, so you won’t need lamps. Large televisions are mounted on the wall. Most of what would go on a bedside table can go on the hidden shelf/shelves on the wall by the bed. Power strips are installed right where you need them. Each bathroom has storage built into practically every available cubic inch. The shower doors are glass, so you won’t need a shower curtain or liner, and each shower has three shelves, so you won’t need a shower caddy. (See Why we built everything in for details.)

Cloud Nine Studios also has custom storage benches, wall-mounted flip-up tables and entryway organizers, mirrored closet doors, and about as much cabinetry as a mid-size home.

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  Photo: Storage bench

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  Photo: Flip-up table

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  Photo: Entryway organizer

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  Photo: Closet doors

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  Photo: Cabinetry (panorama)

While built-in furniture is more expensive, it is more durable and takes up less space, and with it we have built in features that will be useful to practically everyone. That said, if you feel you need additional furniture, please ask us first—we would like to know which needs have not been provided for, and if we feel that the furniture might be generally useful to others, we might buy it for you to use.

Washer & Dryer

The washer and dryer are made by Miele, a German manufacturer with one of the best brand reputations worldwide.

The washer and dryer are much smaller than typical machines, yet still have a normal capacity. They also have several unique energy-saving features. The washer has a 1,600 rpm motor, which removes more water than other machines, dramatically reducing the drying time. The dryer uses a heat pump, which makes it better than just about any other dryer, not just because it dries faster while using less than half the electricity of other ventless dryers, but most notably because it does not release moisture into your home while operating.

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  Photo: Washer and dryer

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  Video: Washer features

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  Video: Dryer features

Bedding & Towels

New mattress covers are included in your complimentary welcome package. These covers will be installed before you move in, and you are required to keep them on, as they protect the mattresses from liquids, bedbugs, dust, dirt, and dander. We do not reuse these, so we encourage you to take yours when you move out.

Other than that, bedding and towels are not provided, as our furnishing program is based on items that people can reasonably keep in good condition. Fabric goods wear significantly through normal use and cannot always be satisfactorily cleaned.

For people who want to travel light, we keep full sets of new bedding and towels on hand, which you can buy for the same price we paid. (We’ll show you the receipts.)

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  Bedding Set

  • Queen sheet set
  • Comforter/duvet
  • Pillows (2)
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  Towel Set

  • Bath towels (2)
  • Hand towels (2)
  • Washcloths (2)
  • Bathmat
  • Kitchen towels (4)

Photo: Kind Bed Support Pillow System

If you have special requests for bedding or towels, please notify us well before you move in and we will try to accommodate your needs.

When you move out, if your bedding and towels are still in good condition and you don’t wish to keep them or give them to another tenant, we will donate them to a local charity for you.

Finally, the other fabric item we highly recommend is a reading/backrest pillow, which will let you get more utility out of the bed. (The Kind Bed Support Pillow System by Avana is perfect for this.)

Changing Furnishings

If you would like to change which furnishings you have in your home, please just let us know via email and we will arrange a time to meet. There’s a bit of paperwork involved to check in or check out items, as we’ll have to update your furnishings inventory, so please be thoughtful with your requests. At the same time, if you need something or have something in your home that you don’t want taking up space, please don’t delay for weeks because you don’t want to bother us—we want you to be happy here.

Loaner Items

We have several items available to borrow on an as-needed basis. We expect this list to grow over time, but as of now, the following items are available for tenants to borrow:

• Wet/dry vacuum
• Various tools
• Umbrellas
• Beach gear set: Includes two beach chairs and a tent
• Cat carrier kennel (emergencies only, please)

Damaged/Lost Furnishings Policy

Everything we provide is built to last. If you are reasonably careful, when you move out you should be able to return most items in about the same condition they were in when you moved in. It is our goal that you get your entire security deposit back,

If you damage or lose a provided furnishing:

• Please let us know right away.
  • If it is covered under a product warrantee, it may be able to be repaired or replaced at no cost.
• We will charge you only for the exact cost of the repair or replacement, and we will give you a copy of the receipt.
  • If you don’t need a replacement right away, we will watch for a sale price for a few months if you prefer.
• If you want, you can keep the damaged item.
• We will prorate the cost if the item was not in good condition when you got it.
• We will not charge for normal wear and tear. For example, if we furnish you with a cutting board, we expect it will get scratched up.
• We’re not unreasonable. If you chip or break a plate during your stay, we’re not going to charge you. If you chip or break all the plates, then we’ll charge for a replacement set.