Have nothing in your houses that
you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
~William Morris
Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.
~Author Unknown
CLOSET SPACES can be small or nonexistent in older buildings or small apartments. The clothing issue can be helped with free standing cubicle storage. It is a non-permanent, inexpensive solution that can be dressed up and personalized with fabric or wicker bins and neat piles of clothes.
Place the storage unit along the length of wall in an empty hallway. Or use it as a free standing room divider.
Free standing shelving units can be very versatile with a more open, airy feel than their counterparts with fixed doors and may be used to hold more than clothes. The units can become home to collections of books, sheet music, sports equipment, toys, bath and bed linens, baskets of extra toilettries... and whatever else you need to store. A word of warning... open shelves are dust and clutter magnets. If you truly do not think you can keep them clean and organized, then you will become frustrated with the cluttered look. The solution: Use bins in all of the cubbies or purchase a shelving unit with doors!
CLOSET OFFiCE
Closet offices are a great way to make a small space work hard with charming efficiency.
See earlier blog entry for photographs, ideas and instructions.
WRiTER'S DESK It may be small but it is mighty... a multi-tasker's dream and another option that saves precious floor space. Due to the small scale, a writer's desk is mobile making it ideal wherever there is space available. It can be placed in less traditional spaces like behind a sofa, beside the bed as a desk and nightstand combo or in an entryway, hallway or kitchen.
SMALL BEDROOMS
Itty bitty spaces can be put to good use and they don't have to be boring or cluttered. First, evaluate the room's main purpose. What are the essentials needed in the bedroom? If a bed and a light source are essentials, then the rest are extras. If you read in bed, a diminutive bed stand with lamp will be on your list. Pick a bed suitable to the room size and to the person(s) sleeping in it. Add decorative pillows for a dose of soft luxury, use mirrors on the wall to expand the space visually and use hooks on the wall for clothing to keep floor space as open as possible. Storage can be found under the bed.
ROUND TABLES generally work better in eat-in kitchens. Pedestal tables allow more chairs to be pulled up to the table when guests arrive. Whereas, tables with legs are difficult to seat more than four people comfortably as someone will end up straddling a table leg.
MiRRORS visually expand a small space. Use them liberally as collages on a wall, refitted cabinet fronts or place a large standing mirror in an unexpected place. Framed mirrors in every room can be decorative as well as useful.KEEPiNG iT SiMPLE
Living large in a small space requires the ability to SiMPLiFY and CONQUER CLUTTER. If you need help in this area, ask a friend who lives this way! A few hours together sorting, recycling and tossing may be enough of a jump start to set you on a new path toward meeting your goals.
The greatest step toward a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.
~Steve Maraboli
