Category Archive

living small

3 quickie ideas for unconventional room dividers

When we lived in a studio apartment, we used an IKEA bookcase to divide our “bedroom” from the…front door area. (In retrospect, maybe putting the bed in front of the door was a poor choice.) BUT! I know how important and useful dividers can be in small spaces. I’ve got a few simple ideas.

How to build a Japanese-style heated floor desk

I’m all about floor-furniture like the kotatsu, a 14th-century invention used in many Japanese homes all winter. It’s like the floor-oriented table often associated with Japanese homes, but with the added convenience of a heater and blanket. Sometimes I have daydreams about how awesome it would be to have one of these suckers. SO WARM. So cozy. None of the crampy discomfort of a western-style desk!

I’ve got a little floor-desk of my own going on, and this IKEA hack came just in time for me to play with.

When home is a hospital room

The hospital was my literal home, but I soon realised I had to spiritually embrace my time there as well if I wanted to get out and make a recovery. I filled my room with little things to empower me to say ‘this isn’t just another nameless, faceless hospital room, this is MY space and goddammit, I’m owning it!’ With that ownership slowly came empowerment and a slow, slow process of finding myself again.

Our family closet: we wash, dry, and store our clothes in one room

Family closets are usually used by large families but you don’t have to have five or more kids to benefit from a family closet. Heck, you don’t even need to have a kid to enjoy the ease of keeping all the clean laundry in one place.

We love sleeping in a closet: Elizabeth and Derek’s home tour

“Our space is great. There aren’t really many challenges with the structure of it.” Says the girl who built a bed in a closet. That’s just the first reason you’ll love this home tour.

A double shot of how-tos on hanging gardens

Hanging gardens are SO SO hot right now — and why not? They’re easy, gorgeous, and fit in even the smallest homes. We’ve covered one version of a hanging garden — now you can add two more to your knowledge base.

I’m a fat woman interested in living small. What do I need to know?

I love your posts about tiny spaces and tiny homes and I dream of someday having a tiny place of my very own. As a fat woman, though, I wonder if that would be a comfortable situation. I’d love to go RVing full-time, honestly, I’m not sure if I’d be cozy or cramped.

Dorm living’s lessons for the rest of your life — from a former Resident Assistant

I’ve been a Resident Assistant and an apartment manager, so I know the ins and outs. I’ll help you make the most of your time in dorms and avoid pitfalls.