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ModernDaisy's apartment post just got me thinking on this. I really look forward to seeing the winners of Apartment Therapy's Smallest Coolest Home Contest every year:
http://contests.apartmenttherapy.com/2009/small-cool/
Why? Because we live in Manhattan, where living in a small space is a way of life! Getting everything arranged in a tiny space is a challenge, but it's fun and I wouldn't change it for anything.
The two of us + cats live in 450 square feet. Our bedroom is 10' x 9' and we pretty much hop onto the bed to get into the room ;o)
Anyone else live in a small space?
Heh! Our bedroom is just that - a room with a bed in it. I have to climb over FI to get up in the morning. BUT! It has a window (overlooking an airshaft, but whatever).
Wow I think I would kill someone living in 450 square feet. I guess it's just something you get used to though.
@teaandtoast: LoL! FI climbs over me to get up in the morning! And we have a window too...which overlooks a small roof and a back alley/courtyard area...and about 238907 other apartments. But our front windows look out onto 72nd street, which is nice.
Some of those places don't even look small!!! They did a great job, they look awesome. My room in my sorority was tiny...and i was a hermit so i didn't take advantage of the common areas, study rooms, or couches, either. Didn't help that we never threw stuff out =\
I do, I do! We have slightly more than you, about 650 sq ft, but we moved here from a Texas suburb, where we had about 1000, so this is a big change for us! It's also a loft, so no separation between rooms. We love it, but I'm definitely struggling with furnishing it appropriately. We just got a GREAT platform bed with drawers underneath and a fab headboard, but we need nightstands that are REALLY small. Like really really small. Less than 19" wide, and they're IMPOSSIBLE to find. Suggestions? At this point I don't even care if they're the espresso finish we need--I'll refinish them if I must!
I know that some people wouldn't be able to handle the small space, and I definitely don't think I want to do it forever, but we bought at the bottom of the market and are hoping to make a nice profit once the market comes back, so we'll be here for a few years. We're loving being more urban and able to walk to everything we need or want to do!
It's funny that you started this thread, because I was about to start one asking for help with small furniture. So really....help??
we have about 800 sq feet now, spread out onto 2 floors, but we're moving to nyc this summer and probably going to have to go smaller! i'm kinda nervous about it!
@mrsmdphd: Here's some cute "nightstand inspiration"
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/inspiration/nightstand-inspiration-105027
Also, did you try CB2? They cater more to apartments, so that might help. Also, have you thought of just putting shelves on the wall? That's what we did.
Edited to add: Also try Ikea.
@hotchild - I have no idea how people without street facing windows sustain the will to live. Our living room has high ceilings and looks out onto West Third. Not necessarily scenic, but certainly active, and keeps FI from going crazy in the wintertime.
@teaandtoast: We used to face the back of the building and I hated it. When we moved to the front, it was much better and the cats went wild haha. They love watching the people, dogs, and cars.
The only downside is we live in front of a bus stop so it's a little loud in the summer.
@hotchild - Yeah. Our last apartment was on 37th, right off the endearingly named 'Tunnel Exit Street." I prefer the drunken NYU co-eds.
ok i know i have no right to really talk here as our condo is about 1100 square feet but can I just complain about how most of thet square footage is WALLS!? our bedroom is big enough to fit our bed for the most part. our bathroom can only have one person in there otherwise its a tight squeeze. im also a climb over the boy in the morning gal hahaha
We face a courtyard and I love the quietness and view of trees, makes me forget that we are only 3 miles or so from the craziest place on earth, times square.
I used to live in your standard 1 bdrm converted to 2 with a roommate. I think my room was about 10x9 and therefore our living room with no windows was only a little bigger than that.
We do! We live in about 550 square feet--more than you, hotchild, but just barely! The only thing that makes it manageable is that we have high ceilings and huge windows in the living room and bedroom. Otherwise I would feel like we're living in a box. We're moving in May, and while I hope we can get a bigger place, I'm definitely not giving up having natural light and high ceilings, now that I'm used to it.
@mrsmdphd - I had this challenge in my old bedroom and this IKEA nightstand was perfect http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30056929 it looked great, was small enough and came in espresso. If that doesn't work for you, lots of other IKEA stuff is amazing for space saving.
My apartment is also teeny tiny, about 475 sq ft but I love it. It is in a brownstone and the living room is street facing right across from Fort Greene park in Brooklyn. We have two enormous 97" windows facing the street, so on sunny days, it almost feels like we have a balcony.
I love how this quickly became (mostly) an "I Live In NYC" thread.
@hotchild and @teaandtoast - Thank you!! I'm looking right now, and hopefully I'll come up with something! I like the shelves idea, but FI is being weird about wanting a drawer. I'll work on him... ;)
That sounds like a really cool contest!!!
I live in a 750SF and that is tiny enough! thankfully within a year me and my FH will be in a larger home not a tiny appt...:) but I'll always love that it was our first place together!
@teaandtoast: totally! we can all commiserate with each other on tiny living spaces :)
@plantains - I LOVE that! Thanks! Hotchild had mentioned Ikea, so I'll definitely check it out! We don't have one near here, so it would have to be something they sell online....but this one looks perfect and it's only $50!! That's awesome!
@mrsmdphd - I also had a bee in my bonnet about needing a drawer which is why I got that one, so I totally empathise!
I have been slowly downsizing over the last few years (I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong...) =(
When I first met FI I lived in Astoria in a MASSIVE 3-bedroom/2 bathroom which an eat-in kitchen, full livingroom and seperate dining room. We were able to host both my and Fi's families for Tgiving one year (12 ppl) including having my side (8 ppl) all sleep there. I loved that apartment. I miss that apartment.
Then we got engaged, and I moved to midtown with FI. He had a typical 1bedroom in a a lux building, so the amenities were a step up, but the size (12x16 bedroom, 14 x16 living room, teeny-tiny pass-thru kitchen) took a lot of getting used to. The view (30th floor on a south facing highrise on 43rd/42nd St) was gorgeous and before they started putting up another building you could actually see the SoL. Being on 43rd between 8th & 9th, we were also directly across from the bus station, and I can promise you they don't make glass soundproof enough for that.
Once his lease was up we looked for a place to call "ours", and ended up finding an apt with almost the exact same layout but each room 2 ft x 1 ft smaller. On the plus side in addition to our apt we now have a private 12x 24ft patio to call our own (which the dogs adore!) but once again I'm trying to figure out where to put all my crap. It's 2 packrat type people and 2 hyper dogs climbing over each other and all our belongings. Also, our patio now faces Sullivan St Bakery, so we've always got the faint smell of bread...
@ hotchild - 450 sq ft?! Wow that's so tiny!!! I thought our house was small (JUST under 700 sq ft), but not anymore! Like you said though, I guess living in NYC you are used to it. In this area, it's wide open spaces with room to roam, and we are so used to 'personal space' that anything under 800 sq ft is pretty much considered tiny. If my house were any smaller, I would go NUTS!
I LOVED reading the article. I had no idea there was such a thing as this contest. Very cool.
@okqueenbee: We used to live in 400...30 of which was a hallway. We were really about to kill each other in that space.
The setup of our "new" apartment is much nicer.
@hotchild
that is awesome! I have always dreamed of having a team like that decorate and set up my house perfectly for me! 210? my mom would not believe that...must tell her! haha she thinks our place is horribly small...and it really isn't so bad
Just because this makes me think of a big news item a while back (they had nothing better to report..)
http://www.joeydevilla.com/2007/10/21/torontos-smallest-house-is-up-for-sale/
I'm actually in a pretty big condo (by downtown Atlanta standards) with two bedrooms in 920 sqare feet. I could definitely live in something smaller. Have you guys ever seen the Ikea showrooms "Live in 450 sqare feet" And it's got the coolest set up with budget friendly Ikea goods.
Ok, I just blew up FI's inbox with nightstands from IKEA. Best. Idea. Ever. Thanks to all who suggested it. They're all sleek and modern, so they'll fit in our industrial loft, and they're small enough to fit. You guys are the best!!
We have 650 one bedroom, up from a 450 studio last year. DC apartment prices aren't that much better than NYC :(
I like it for now, just because you realize how little you need to be happy. You have to think about every purchase because there's a huge "where will this go?" factor. But I'm starting to get sick of it because I have the nomad mentality about living in an apartment -- I don't want to paint and hang stuff because it's not permanent. Not to do with the size, just apartment living.
@ribbons - I'm with you on being over apartment living. I've been in NYC for about 8 hrs now and LOVED it for the first 7. This last year has found me jaded and ready to get a HOUSE with a yard and trees and grass - oh to have a CAR again!!. FI, on the otherhand, still loves it here, so here we'll be for a few more years=(
Our 1-bedroom is very large for a 1-bedroom in NYC, but it is in a brownstone and I would (actually we plan on) downsize in a second to live in a luxury building. It's the apartment I moved into 5 years ago when I was making less than 1/2 of my current salary. And now of course we have both of our salaries and are really outgrowing it.
The space is nice, but the building sucks. And we're on the ground floor and basement, the two least desirable floors. But, everyone loves coming over since there is plenty of room to have guests and we have ltos of closet space and 2 bathrooms in a great neighborhood - we look out onto 73rd :)
It's so interesting to see how people prioritize living arrangements. We definitely put neighborhood over amenities, and it shows in our rather oddly shaped apartment and its random fixtures. I love where I live, but what wouldn't I give for an elevator?
@ribbons - Heh. My brother lives in DC and he and I were commiserating over rent the other day. He gets a teeeny bit more space than I do for the money, but not much.
@teaandtoast: Us too. I know we could get a better place in Queens or Brooklyn but you can drag me kicking and screaming from Manhattan.
We live in a "smaller" place for Texas its a little under 800 square ft (nothing compared to you NYers) But, its a loft which means no privacy. I can't wait till we get our house that has a bedroom with a door! lol, its the small things that count!
@hotchild - LoL. When we were looking for a new place earlier this year FI kept trying to show me listings in Hoboken. It's a cute town. Lovely views. Can totally see why people like it. No. Niet. Nein. Not happening.
@teaandtoast: I used to live in a studio on 36th and 2nd, so i totally understand what it's like to live over the tunnel. the noise is just awesome.
FI used to live in a walk up in the west village. awesome neighborhood, but his bedroom was 8x8. it was literally a room with a bed.
we finally upgraded to an awesome apartment in the flatiron. it's about 660 square feet, but the storage space is rediculous so it feels bigger. at least to us! i'm sure those outside the city would not agree.
when I lived in chicago - my very first apartment, by myself, no roomates - was 325 sq feet! but i absolutely LOVED it! lol.
the kitchen sucked as it literally only had a dorm refrigerator (about thigh-high, under the countertop) and I was paying $625 for it as it had a "view" of wrigley field...you could just barely see the lights of the field! :)
we live in a nice yet small house now. well, small in terms of houses go - specially in a city like Indy... 865 sq. feet on the main floor and about the same in the basement - without the basement we'd go crazy! 2 bedrooms, 1 bath - the bedrooms though are TINY - but again, we love our house! :D course the awesome thing about our house - front yard, back yard, deck, etc...as small as the house itself is - we only paid $72,000 for it and our mortgage, WITH taxes/insurance is $600/month! :D
Right now - four of us plus four cats in a 600 sq foot apartment. Cramped, but better than last year's 450 sq feet!
Next year, it'll just be the two of us, two cats, and hopefully one little dog in an apartment that will be about 500 sq feet.
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