BY SUZANNE SPROUL
LIVING in Lake Arrowhead comes with crisp fresh air, secluded forest backyard and, in many cases, complete silence except for the chirping of migratory birds.
It also comes with narrow streets, uneven terrain and icy conditions that cause problems when one is simply trying to park a car in the driveway.
But when the home is built on an incline along picturesque Lake Arrowhead, one learns to deal with Mother Nature.
Homeowners Jim and Linda Loomis were faced with that continual seasonal annoyance. They contacted designer John Lapi about having heating elements installed under their existing cobblestone driveway to try and eliminate the constant struggle of slipping and sliding on snow.
Lapi proposed another solution: Why not add a second floor to the present garage, giving direct access from the street? Not only would that solve the problem, but it also would provide 1,000 square feet of additional garage and office space to the Loomis family's 4,200-square-foot residence.
Lapi has his own design company based in Yucaipa and has done various other projects for the family. He specializes in space efficiency and remodeling.
"If you look at the house, you'd never know it was an addition. That's what I do well," said Lapi, while walking around the Point Hamiltair gated community home along North Peninsula Drive.
Lapi has been in business since 1972, teaching at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles and Brooks College before that. He's been drawing since the fifth grade and has a knack for seeing how pieces fit together. He calls himself a space-plan efficiency expert.
In this particular case, going up made perfect sense.
Most mountain homes are built close to their neighbors, carefully wedged between towering trees. When space is at a premium, learning to deal with what you have comes into play.
"I enjoy coming up with plans to reuse space, in the process re-evaluating space for the human environment," Lapi said. "We can reconfigure usable space for an existing structure and make something wonderful out of it." And using space wisely not only produces pleasing aesthetic results, but it can be kinder to the wallet.
"You can save between 20 and 50 percent of your construction costs by simply using the square footage you have, but doing it in a better way," he said.
In the Loomis home, Lapi redesigned the kitchen, the family/television room, the home gym, a master bathroom and an indoor sauna. Now, the garage/office space has been added to the list.
Not only does the family have an additional two-car garage, it also has a secluded office area that is equipped with a small but fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom, sleep area with a Murphy bed and couches and a desk with three windows that allow the inhabitants to gaze out onto Lake Arrowhead to their heart's content.
"All it takes is to know the product, know the dimension and then to understand the intertwining of both," Lapi said.
