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Decorating and Loving Our Small Spaces - Pics :-)

post #1 of 52
12/4/08 at 2:47pm
Thread Starter 
Updated the title of thread to reflect its evolution! Keep posting pics and ideas!!! :


We live in a very tiny (<850 sq. ft.) house. It is just myself, DH, and our 18 mos. old DD. DH is in law school full time and I am trying to balance being a mama with doula work and writing my doctoral dissertation, so we don;t have much (read: any) extra money or time to invest in the house right now.

We loved this house when we bought it two years ago. It has a lot of charm, but we have been feeling cramped because of how much STUFF we have and are really trying to downsize and declutter, keepng only what we truly need/love. Please take a look and help me love our house!

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post #2 of 52
12/4/08 at 2:50pm
It's awesome!!!!
post #3 of 52
12/4/08 at 2:59pm
I love it! I especially like the dining room, the colors and cabinets in the kitchen, and how clean the desk area is!!
post #4 of 52
12/4/08 at 2:59pm
I love houses with character! That staircase is awesome. I love your banister. And the arch between the living and dining rooms. And the wood floors. You have a great house!
post #5 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:13pm
Your house is beautiful! I love the woodwork and the colors you've chosen. When my daughter was born we lived in a 600-square-foot house (with another couple hundred in a partially finished basement that we used as a laundry room/music studio), so 900-sq.-ft. seems big for a tiny house to me!

It doesn't look cluttered at all. I don't know how you managed not to have toys all over, but I salute you!
post #6 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all so much :! I love all the things you mentioned, too. It's just so easy to forget sometimes when the quirky things I don't love so much seem to be what jumps out at me. We could obviously use a bit more seating in the living room and our basement is the dirty, unfinished kind. But we are working with it, slowly. We are turning the second bedroom (which has built-in bookcases along one whole wall) into an office which DH and I can share. We had it set up as a "nursery" for DD, but since we all sleep in the family bed, it seemed like waste of space to keep it as a nursery while all of our books got musty down in the basement. I can't wait to work upstairs this weekend. Thanks again for the feedback, keep it coming!
post #7 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:22pm
The entryway might feel cozier if it didn't open right up into your living room. Simply moving what you have might be helpful. You could try pivoting your bookcase clockwise 90 degrees to help to define the entryway. Then move the couch to the right 90 degrees in front of the other windows. By placing the toys in the corner next to where the couch used to be, it will be partially concealed by the couch. It will also simplify your entry area. Then, try a small table with a mirror over the top (to double-check your look on your way out the door) where the toys were to complete the entryway....how's that so far?
post #8 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalia the Muse View Post
It doesn't look cluttered at all. I don't know how you managed not to have toys all over, but I salute you!
Honestly, we just don't have that many toys! One of the perks of not having any money right now, I guess!
post #9 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:22pm
The architectural touches and colors are great, and I love your style. That bathroom is really lovely! In all honesty, I would declutter even more, though. For instance, do you really need all of those inexpensive glass vases above the kitchen cabinets? I have like, two or three in different sizes and that's probably more than I need. Just a thought.

Also, the play area looks cluttered to me. Rather than downsizing the stuff in that area (that's not really a lot of toys, after all, and toys are important!) I would either invest in more upward shelving in that corner so that the toy storage stays a little more contained (shelving can be really inexpensive too ) or I would move her toys to a larger space by getting rid of oterh "stuff". It would be nice if she had her own playroom, since it IS a two bedroom house. But I understand that this is not always possible!

We have a two-bedroom apartment that we share with two little boys (2 and 4), and in our home the dining room doubles as an office (and it works and looks very nice, I think!) This frees up the second bedroom for the boys. We just moved here from a one-bedroom, where their toys used to be in a corner of the living room (and our computer desk was in the living room too!) They love having their own playroom now.

If you do have the second bedroom functioning as an office or study I would consider downsizing the stuff in that room and moving the office function to another room. I actually like the desk in the entry way, I thought it looked fine there-- very creative use of space. But if it is not a comfortable place to study, then definitely move it.

Your house is gorgeous and lovely, thank you for sharing it!
post #10 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:23pm
Wow! I love your home. It looks very cute and happy! It looks like you have figured out a lot of clever ways to utilize your space. And your funky 1950s bathroom makes me smile. Thanks for sharing!
post #11 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:24pm
May I also say, that I love all the details about your home. Your color choices etc are terrific. You have really great color taste etc.
post #12 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:24pm
Lovely home. The colors are beautiful. Just a very few thoughts.
  1. The guitar on the stand on the stairs would drive me bonkers. Can you either mount it on the wall or pare down your collection of guitars from three to two?
  1. The flower vases on top of the kitchen cabinets. Do you need this many? It looks like clutter to me.
  1. Can you clear more of your horizontal space on your tables? Hang photos on the walls.

In general, I'd keep track of the things you actually USE over the next month that are out or on surfaces. Be ruthless. If you don't use all the things on your desk, the utensils in your crock in your kitchen, all the toys in the play area, etc. then reduce the amount that you have out and put the rest in organized storage away from sight.
post #13 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TruthSetMeFree View Post
Then move the couch to the right 90 degrees in front of the other windows. By placing the toys in the corner next to where the couch used to be, it will be partially concealed by the couch. It will also simplify your entry area. Then, try a small table with a mirror over the top (to double-check your look on your way out the door) where the toys were to complete the entryway....how's that so far?
I LOVE this idea, but the only problem is that the loveseat is blocking a radiator (with a cover we made). If we moved it in front of the front windows, we would open some space, but it would be right in front of the radiator.

I know exactly what you're saying, though. I totally agree that the entryway needs to be set apart in some way.
post #14 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
LTB - I love the idea of the dining room doing double duty as an office, but it just wasn't practical for us when we were using it that way. For one, our table (which my grandmother was baptized on!), is round and we don't have anywhere to put bookshelves. We had considered trying to build some ourselves around the entryway, against the wall, but that idea just sort of fell by the wayside. Do you think it would be to cluttered with all those books in there? The upside to using the 2nd bedroom as an office is that it has built-in bookshelves (swoon).

McF - We probably could move that guitar somewhere else. My DH likes to buy and refinish old guitars, but it would make the stairway feel so much more open. Thanks!

sls - thanks for making me feel better about our bathroom!

We can definitely downsize on the vases .

Great suggestions, thanks!
post #15 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by laneysprout View Post
I LOVE this idea, but the only problem is that the loveseat is blocking a radiator (with a cover we made). If we moved it in front of the front windows, we would open some space, but it would be right in front of the radiator.
What about putting the rocking chair and other chair with their backs to the entryway, keeping the couch where it is and put the toys between the repositioned bookcase and the chairs? It's hard to figure out from just the pictiures how each one relates to each other.
post #16 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:49pm
tiny? it`s great! we live in a 262sq.foot apartment...so your house is awsome!
post #17 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by laneysprout View Post
LTB - I love the idea of the dining room doing double duty as an office, but it just wasn't practical for us when we were using it that way. For one, our table (which my grandmother was baptized on!), is round and we don't have anywhere to put bookshelves. We had considered trying to build some ourselves around the entryway, against the wall, but that idea just sort of fell by the wayside. Do you think it would be to cluttered with all those books in there? The upside to using the 2nd bedroom as an office is that it has built-in bookshelves (swoon).
Hmmm, the built-in bookshelves in the second bedroom does lend itself to being the office, doesn't it? And since you are both in school currently, it is very important that you two have a comfortable space to study in.

I still would like to see a larger playspace for your daughter, though. The truth is, you don't have enough space for all of the functions that you want, so something will have to give. Have you looked at IKEA stuff yet? I'm not talking about buying anything there, but just that they have a lot of great ideas for multipurposing small spaces. The living room can be set up as more of a playroom, without the need to have just one corner be a play area, if you incorporate a theme of fun and playfulness throughout the whole living room. In other words, a playroom for DD that also happens to have adult seating.

If you need more storage space, consider lining the dining room walls with shelving (square shelving in very dark brown would be very chic). This could be used to store toys, art/craft supplies for DD, and/or dishes, and display more of those photos, and all of it can be done very attractively. I love your dining table set, btw.
post #18 of 52
12/4/08 at 3:54pm
Lol - You have as much Cheerios on hand as we do!:

My grandmother's best advice to me was to "always store everything as close as possible to where you use it, keeping what you use most often handier than things you use less often."

I hope that helps.
post #19 of 52
12/4/08 at 4:03pm
totally pretty! i think your living space downstairs will open up a lot when you move the office stuff upstairs. that will be awesome. i thought the play areas were very tidy and i, too, looooove the bathroom. i can't believe you think the tile is hideous. i love it. at least you want to cover it rather than rip it out, so the next person might enjoy it!

i thought you could simplify the dining room "stuff" on the table & cabinet, and little things like putting up the picture that's on the floor behind the loveseat (is that a treasure map?), reducing the quantity of vases or putting them away, etc would visually streamline things.

have you considered ditching the microwave? what about removing the table with your breadmaker (since you don't use it!) and pushing the play area back into that corner?
post #20 of 52
12/4/08 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slsurface View Post
Wow! I love your home. It looks very cute and happy! It looks like you have figured out a lot of clever ways to utilize your space. And your funky 1950s bathroom makes me smile. Thanks for sharing!
That 50's bathroom is awesome. I love the tile floor. It is beautiful!!! hmmm, not very often that I love a bathroom floor - LOL

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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Decluttering, Organizing, & Simplifying › Decorating and Loving Our Small Spaces - Pics :-)