Category Archive

living small

An art historian’s eclectic, nerdy, queer, and academic-themed 650 sq ft apartment

My decorating style and clothing style are one and the same: lots of texture, pattern, and color, and a mix of old and new, femme and butch. Plus lots of purple and lots of pink, from my hair to my lipstick! I want my home to feel not just lived-in, but full of items you can’t wait to pick up and find out more about.

A tiny, geeky, artsy, punk-y studio in Seattle

There are two big challenges here: storage room and tidiness. It’s not a very big apartment — I think it clocks in at about 425 sq. ft., and it only comes with just the closet and some poorly arranged kitchen cabinets to contain all my stuff. So most of my furniture is for the storing of things because I can’t live without making and surrounding myself with art.

Two tiny apartments that are big on style

200-square-feet in NYC never looked so cool. Lysee didn’t skimp on the colour and wall-coverings in her tiny space. She created the feeling of more space by having defined areas, like adding a kitchen cart to zone off the kitchen. The loft bed is a huge space-saver, and I bet it’s more fun sleeping on the top bunk, too!

Our one-bedroom condo in Seattle: Home to four people and a kitty living well

We’re a family of four that love living in a pretty small space. Our condo is 730 square feet, one bedroom and one-and-a-half baths. We didn’t intend to stay here, and I certainly never expected to end up loving small space living or a minimalist approach to possessions but this home has taught me the value of both and shaped the expectations I put on myself for how I want to show up as a home maker in the world.

Why yes, I DO live in a barn!

Walking out of the house one day with my two young men (Jace is four and Kasen is three), they naturally left the door to our loft wide open and continued to walk down the stairs as if they didn’t have a care in the world (which is true). 
I, of course, lovingly yelled up to them, “Boys…do you live in a barn?” Jace stared blankly back at me for a minute. Blinked. Then very mater-of-fact stated “Yes, mom. We do.”
 For right now, this is our home. A one bedroom, rustic, romantic loft on a little piece of land with chickens, fruit trees, and love.

Clever storage solutions for small, “two-butt” kitchens

I have a small kitchen, or as my dad refers to it — a “two-butt” kitchen. It’s just a galley kitchen with appliances on one side and a couple cabinets and drawers on the other. Therefor, I’ve had to get creative with my storage solutions. If you’re currently suffering from a bad case of two or one-butt kitchen, you might want to invest in some of these small-space storage helpers…

Help, I’m drowning in home brewing supplies!

My partner has just gotten into home brewing, and I am constantly tripping over empty glass bottles, utility buckets, glass carboys and plastic tubing! Anyone have any advice or tips on keeping the brewing supplies corralled, neat, and stored in a small space?

Small family bedroom full of extra space and storage hacks

When we moved into our apartment, the bedroom was a poorly-lit beige box. Further challenges: The room needed to accomodate a king sized bed, clothes for two adults, plus a changing area and a bassinet for our son Izzy, who’s now three months old. It’s also a rental, which severely limited our willingness to make major modifications. With paint, decals, mirrors, and creative storage, we came a LONG way towards counteracting the room’s tendency to be a small, dark cave. Since the room initially seemed to barely accomodate two of us, this seems like a huge achievement! This is how we pulled it off…