Comments on: East Village apartment makes amazing use of space

By: disconnect

disconnect — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:18:27 +0000

That kid’s room looks like a really nice supermax cell. Is the one-piece stainless toilet/sink around the corner?

“Why on earth would you mop the floor?”

I don’t know, maybe because it gets DIRTY?

By: Brandon

Brandon — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:21:16 +0000

I’m afraid I just don’t “get” this apartment. How can you truly live with a living space like this? I think this apartment is evidence that you can be overzealous in BOTH directions — excess and reduction.

Whatever happened to happy mediums? Do we need EVERY breath we breathe and EVERY step we take to be partnered with worry about our carbon footprint? Can’t an uncluttered life also mean one free from worry?

By: Andrea Kay Bloom Smith

Andrea Kay Bloom Smith — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:01:46 +0000

I must admit that I’m a little disappointed with some of the other comments.

A family of four can live in 600sf if they want to be close and interact through out the day. Sitting on beds when a child wants to hang out is perfectly fine… I’ve yet to have any kid object. Also, it’s fine if there aren’t any books- I thought the idea of this website is creative uncluttering & a great alternative to owning books is borrowing them and returning them or reading them on your laptop or Kindle. And people can sit on the floor; that’s common in much of the world.

I propose that if people wish to further explore creativity in small spaces, they read the book: Little House on a Small Planet.

Cozy and close to the ones you love is the way to go. I like to feel that I have open space in the center of my front room, but I don’t like to have my family members 200 ft away via a “waste of space” hallway, hiding in giant bedrooms.

A house may seem bare without the numerous stuff that fills most houses, but a small house creates an environment that encourages a family to be rich in experiences, not rich in stuff.

Thank you Unclutterer for including a look at one of the possibilities for a small home. Of course, I’m into a more cozy, yet open design, such as one that encourages people to extend their livable space into the outdoors, but minimalism is a great too.

By: hello world.. war

hello world.. war — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:28:02 +0000

I’d rather go to prison than live in that bedroom!

By: Cate

Cate — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:55:06 +0000

I like the way my folding chair legs would slip into the finger slots every time I tried to reposition myself at my desk.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:54:57 +0000

Which of course children **never** do

By: Per Wiklander

Per Wiklander — Sat, 23 May 2009 20:55:54 +0000

@Marie Why on earth would you mop the floor? If really nescessary I guess you just use less water, wooden floors shouldn’t have a lot of water on them anyway.

But it has to suck to spill a drink on that floor.

By: Armário no chão! « A_R_Q_U_I_T_O

Armário no chão! « A_R_Q_U_I_T_O — Sat, 23 May 2009 20:14:36 +0000

[...] 23/05/2009 por Arquito via Unclutterer [...]

By: Marie

Marie — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:08:25 +0000

How on earth would you mop the floor without it dripping down and ruining your clothes?

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:16:18 +0000

I would really, really, hate to live under this person’s apartment. hearing the rattle of the loose floorboards/box lids as two children scamper across them must be deafening, especially as the architect kindly removed any of the insulation between the joists and filled it with storage space, which must bang nicely everytime the poor sods try to get anything in or out of thier floor.

creative? yes. practical? no. perhaps as a bottom floor dweller I’m oversenstive to the noise issue (we have a family of four above us too) but… wow!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:49:50 +0000

I’m concerned about where the baby’s bedroom will be eventually, when she’s old enough to need her own room. The master bedroom is small, the son doesn’t have his own room–his bed is in Dad’s office. However, in the article, the family says that they’re thinking of moving to another country, so I guess that point is moot.

By: Wellington Grey

Wellington Grey — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:17:56 +0000

The floor storage space looks cool, but I’d bet it’s a real pain to actually use. I don’t really want to have to get down on my hands and knees every time I need to access something.

By: GG Allin

GG Allin — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:48:40 +0000

That stuff looks great. Next time I have a spare $1 million for insanely expensive furniture concepts I’ll subscribe to Dwell. For now, I’d rather waste my money on the poop-freeze spray!

By: Shana

Shana — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:36:53 +0000

Looks cramped, boring, and institutional. As someone who tends toward depression, just looking at that place makes my skin crawl. I’m filing this under “just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.” There’s no warmth. If living were about cramming ourselves into the smallest spaces possible, with no eye toward utility or beauty, I suppose it’d be great, but…that’s not the point at all. If this is the kind of thing they feature as impressive and clever and droolworthy or whatever, I’m going to take a permanent pass on Dwell.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:18:00 +0000

while it may be necessary to have a living room if you live in the suburbs where the choice of entertainment is either the cineplex or the strip mall, this family lives in NYC. it’s a completely different way of life in here in manhattan. if you are only comparing room square feet, the kid’s life is poor, but then again, growing up in NYC, the kids’ horizon and identities are likely to be MUCH broader than the confines of their bedroom. I’m not saying it would be an easy co-existence, but i’d pick living as a family of four in that apartment in NYC than living in a 3,000 square foot house as a family of four in the middle of nowhere any day.

also, i’d like to point out that there are many people in the world who exist in spaces much more cramped than the family featured in dwell magazine.

By: knitwych

knitwych — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:22:15 +0000

I think the utilization of space in the floor is genius, but this poor kid’s room looks pretty institutional to me. He obviously can’t have anyone over to play because there’s no space. If adults want to live in such a small space, great, but I think it’s kind of mean to cram the kid into what looks like tweaked out closet.

By: Jessiejack

Jessiejack — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:14:38 +0000

One of my favorite TV shows is Small Space Big Style on HGTV. I love seeing the creative use of every inch in those apartments from 400 to 1000 sq ft. Small space packed with personality and not stuff. It’s interesting how some are very minimalist and plain and others have alot of stuff but appear uncluttered.It reminds me of the post last year on the couple that lived in the RV (the odyssey) Now that couple really demonstrated some creative use of space!

By: Khidr

Khidr — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:11:24 +0000

It’s a space with a lot of clever ideas, but I don’t think it’s a clever space. As some of the other commenter’s have pointed out, the overall space seems very clinical, and there seems to be a lack of actual functional living area. The dining room table / drop down is a good idea, but where is the comfortable seating when not in use? Might also be how it was photographed.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:17:32 +0000

“We particularly like the under-floor storage and the Murphy bed hiding behind the desk shown below” – yeah, because… what else is there?

This blog always seems to be confused over whether it’s about uncluttering, or minimalism – and they’re not the same thing.

This apartment is absolutely horrifying, no matter how livable they think they made the space. I’d live in a motel before living here. I agree with most people above – it’s sterile, clinical, impersonal, boring, impractical and depressing. A bigger space filled with the detritus of real life would be far more inviting and realistic.

By: Jasileet

Jasileet — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:59:34 +0000

It’s interesting but also complicated and cumbersome. It certainly makes the most of the space in terms of storage, but it doesn’t feel light imo. The pieces themselves, though mostly hidden, are large and strange. It really looks like a hassle.

Very good article though.