Book: Space for Living

Well the relatives have left and I'm getting back to my old habits, like posting to this blog.

Here's a book I'm perusing today:

Space for Living: How to Create Multifunctional Rooms for Today's Homes.
by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell. Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1999. ISBN: 0-609-89899-x. It's books like this that can make you realize how much more you could do with your home.

Picture Frame Folding Table

I like this site a lot, Treehugger.com. They sometimes run articles that really hit my 'cool meter,' like this table that folds down from a picture frame

Additional links:
http://www.ivydesign.at/picture_table.html

Small-space Solutions from This Old House magazine

There is a magazine I like called, This Old House. But don't let the word 'old' stop you. This magazine has new ideas for both older homes and for those not yet built!

The online articles are usually a series of 'slides' for you to scroll through. Here's a few samples:

Little Big Ideas - has some basic but classic ideas for making the most of your home.

14 Kitchen and Bath Space Savers - ideas for maximizing space.

Entertaining in Small Spaces - is a review of party friendly products that have maximum impact for minimal storage. Number three is the folding kitchen island/cart I've had my eye on for my own kitchen. Number five can serve has a hall table until a dining table and four chairs are needed for guests.

This Old Studio Apartment - check out what this person did with only 450 sq. ft.! Never say your place is too small again.

In the May 2009 print edition of This Old House (sorry this article isn't available online), Keith Pandolfi lists 9 tips for saving space, including;

• Painting the crown molding to match the ceiling paint in order to widen a narrow room


• Placing "large mirrors facing each other to create the illusion of more space."


• Maximize square footage and natural light by adding bay windows.


• "Use tall furniture and built-ins to draw the eye upward."


• His ninth suggestions is that you incorporate a spiral staircase, but in other article and books I've seen people add storage or shelving under the staircase. One such book showed how they built drawers under the treads, a large cascading chest of drawers if you like. You could do both and really maximize a small space.

Live in the house you have

In 1970 the average single family home was approximately 1,400 sq. ft., now it's about 2,300 sq ft.¹ That means most of us expect to live in a house almost double the size of our parents' homes. Given that the number of children per household has dropped, we should have fewer people inhabiting the average home. Per the U.S. Census bureau the household average in 2008 was .85 children per household, while in 1970 it was 1.20.². What really gets interesting is that the number of people living alone (not counting pets) has also risen significantly. Per the Census bureau in 1970, 17.6% of households consisted on one person. By 2000, it had risen to 25.8%.³ So unless a lot of adults have had to move back in with their parents or we've suddenly had a baby boom we should need less space per household.

So why can't we fit in our homes?

Well in my case we use to live in a 2,250 sq.ft. townhouse, with four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, family room and laundry room. Admittedly we moved and are now living in approximately 1750 sq. ft. home. This should still be plenty of space for two grown adults, especially since we did a massive amount of weeding before the move across country. Yet we have often felt cramped. I have a spacious study (one of the bedrooms) and it is crammed with stuff. But the size difference actually isn't significant, because we may actually have more storage than the old house! In addition to the 1750 sq. ft. of the house itself, we also have a 2 car garage, a 12' by 12' cottage in the back yard that just houses craft supplies, tools, and projects, a new shed to store garden tools, and an old greenhouse. See why I can't understand why our house doesn't seem spacious?

We've lived in this house since August 2004, so we've been here about five years. I love the area, the house, the yard, and the climate. In addition, given the housing market and the economy, selling and moving just doesn't make sense.

So how can I make my home feel more spacious?

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¹ Statistics from the web site by Professional Organizer, Jamie Novak

² Average Number of Own Children Under 18 Per Family, By Type of Family: 1955 To Present (Excel document)

³ Historical Census of Housing Tables Living Alone