Archives for Small Spaces

Small spaces: Custom closet using Ikea bookshelves

One of my favorite places for small living inspiration is Ikea Hackers. If you’re unfamiliar with the site, it’s a collection of reader-submitted modifications to pieces of furniture from Ikea. The hacks range from relatively small (like adding paint to a Lack table) to extremely involved (like turning a Spar butcher block into an electric guitar). The site has been around since 2006 and is teeming with ways to personalize Ikea furniture.

Earlier this month, the site featured Regina’s amazing closet for her itty bitty Swedish apartment. Under what I think is her lofted bed, she has five modified Expedit bookcases (in the 2×2 configuration) that she added a piece of wood to the base and then attached four casters to the bottom of the piece of wood. In the U.S., these Expedit shelving units are just $40 a piece and the Besta casters are $10 for two, so the whole system probably cost less than $350 to create, which isn’t bad for a custom closet that could easily cost four times this price. Visuals from the article:

The rolling bookcases not only hold her clothes, but also her hobby supplies (such as the sewing machine and fabric stash pictured above) and other necessities for her apartment. I like that she can roll the sewing Expedit directly to her sewing table, and then roll it all back into the closet when she’s done. The storage system is ideal for this small space, and I think could easily be utilized in other homes — small or large.

Note: There are casters that are specifically made to hold the Expedit bookcase, but they stick out beyond the base of the bookshelf, so you can’t nest the shelves directly next to each other. They’re also $5 more for two casters, which adds $50 to the cost of casters, but gets rid of the need to attach a piece of wood to the bottom of each bookcase. If you don’t need the items to nest next to each other, the Expedit casters might be a good alternative for you.

If you are unfamiliar with Ikea Hackers, spend some time perusing it for even more ideas. Most of the hacks are inexpensive and easy to do.

Images by Regina as posted to IkeaHackers, and thanks to reader Shalin for bringing this closet to our attention.

Posted by Erin on Apr 30, 2012 | 8 Comments | Tweet This

Space-saving solutions for small homes

Although I grew up spending weekends on our family farms shucking corn and talking to Bessie the Cow (all the cows had the same name, it was easier that way), I am a big-city girl at heart. I long to be in a city with a coffee shop right around the corner and pavement under my feet. And for most people, myself included, city living is synonymous with small-space living.

Even though I’m currently living in Suburbia, I’m looking forward to our next home that will hopefully be in a more metropolitan location. As a result, I am constantly on the lookout for space-saving solutions to use in our next big-city dwelling. The following are some of the terrific ideas that have recently caught my attention:

The website Apartment Therapy featured D.C. residents’ Josh and Lauren’s dining table artwork. It’s a table that hangs on the wall when not in use –

The now-defunct magazine Ready Made included a formica countertop on wheels in its article “Southern Comfort.” The countertop rolls into the kitchen for food preparation space and then rolls out into the remainder of the room to create a dining table –

Continuing with dining solutions, back in 2010, Dwell showcased a wall hiding a bookshelf that folded down to create a table set atop a rolling island –

Short walls are also called pony walls or knee walls and Better Homes and Garden suggests cutting into them to create untapped storage space in their article “26 Great Bathroom Storage Ideas” –

Have you spotted any small-space fixes recently? Share links to more space-saving ideas in the comments. I’m always searching for uncluttered and efficient solutions.

Posted by Erin on Mar 22, 2012 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

‘A nice little home out of a garbage can’

California-based artist Gregory Kloehn likes to recycle used metal into sculptures of familiar objects, people, and animals. His work is usually quite whimsical, with a dash of social commentary.

Recently, Kloehn spoke with video blogger Kim Aronson about his decision to study housing and what constitutes a home. Beyond providing basic shelter from the elements, Kloehn concluded a home also includes a place to cook a meal, a bathroom, and a safe place to sleep. Once he narrowed down the qualities, he sought to find something metal he could recycle to make a bare-necessities home.

What resulted was his creation of a house inside a trash dumpster. From Aronson’s video interview:

Kloehn doesn’t live in this house, but he thinks it may be able to provide a place for someone who either doesn’t want the burden of a more traditional dwelling or someone in great need of shelter. I think it could work as a meditation cabin, but I certainly wouldn’t want to live in it full time.

Is a house nothing more than shelter from the elements, a place to cook a meal, a bathroom and a safe place to sleep? I don’t know if I agree with Kloehn’s conclusions — a house to me also includes a place to entertain friends and family — but I’m also not certain I completely disagree with him. A home doesn’t have to be gigantic to be a good (safe, sanitary) place to live. Maybe if the item he chose to recycle wasn’t a trash dumpster I would have less of an issue with the structure? I don’t know. He has certainly given us all something to ponder.

You can find more fine art from Gregory Kloehn on his website. (via Good)

Posted by Erin on Sep 15, 2011 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

A small, slim space

According to the NPR piece, “Living Very, Very Narrowly,” writer Etgar Keret is making a new home in a 133 centimeter (4.36 feet) space between two buildings in downtown Warsaw, Poland. His home will fit here:

Image and rendering below are by the home’s architect, Jakub Szczęsny

The house will be named “Ermitage” and will be as much a workplace and studio for visiting guests as a place for Keret to live when he is in Warsaw. From descriptions on the architect and Keret’s websites, they imply that Keret will not live full-time in this space, and that his primary residence is in Israel. As a second home, I think the size constraints are manageable, like a cabin:

The thin home has a bathroom, kitchenette, dining area, bed, and office space. There also appears to be some storage in the “attic” at the top of the home. It is, most certainly, a novel project and I look forward to seeing its final fabrication. The home is scheduled to be completed and occupied by February 2012.

Posted by Erin on Aug 4, 2011 | 41 Comments | Tweet This

A family of 3 in 320 square feet

Small living comes with many benefits, and Debra, Gary and their son explain how it works for them in this video of their 320 square foot home:

Their home was made by Slab Town Custom Homes in Mountain View, Arkansas.

Posted by Erin on Jun 9, 2011 | 73 Comments | Tweet This

Big living in a small space

We continue to be fascinated with people who live big in incredibly small spaces. Thanks to reader Leah, we now know about Christian Schallert in Barcelona, Spain, who has fashioned a beautiful home in a mere 258 square feet.

Check out “Lego-style apartment transforms into infinite spaces” to see the adorable Schallert and his “Lego” home in action:

Personally, I love the shower storage areas as well as the bed being stored under the balcony. I never would have thought to use such non-traditional storage solutions. I also enjoyed in the video when he admitted his tiny space forces him “not to be chaotic” and every time he comes home “it’s nice and organized.”

Posted by Erin on May 12, 2011 | 40 Comments | Tweet This

Ultra-small living in downtown Tokyo

Fuyuhito Moriya purchased a parking space in Tokyo, and then had an ultra-small three-story home built on the 30 square meter lot (about 323 square feet) for approximately $500,000, according to the CNN article “Ultra-small is beautiful for Japanese homeowner.”

Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video that accompanies the article, so I strongly suggest you go to see the video on CNN for a tour of the property. It truly is a phenomenal space.

Thanks to reader Ann for introducing us to Moriya’s ultra-small home.

Image by Studio Noa.

Posted by Erin on Nov 16, 2010 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

Range-oven-dishwasher: A perfect unit for a small space

The post “Space Saving Appliances in Paris” on Apartment Therapy has been taking up room in my thoughts for the past month. Specifically, I can’t stop thinking about the range-oven-dishwasher unit pictured in the article.

Unfortunately, the post didn’t include any links to such a device, so I finally broke down and took to relentless searching on the internet. As far as I can tell, hours later, there is not a company selling these space-saving devices in the U.S. market. Some older RVs and yachts are outfitted with a Modern Maid brand range-oven-dishwasher, but since Modern Maid was acquired in the 1970s, the units went out of production (if you have one, Maytag is the current owner and provides repair parts).

The most popular unit sold in Europe appears to be the Candy Trio 501X:

It is an impressively small 86.3 cm x 59.7 cm x 60.0 cm three-purpose unit, and is perfect for a London flat. If Candy could switch up the voltage requirements, I think it also would be perfect for a studio apartment in the States.

Does anyone know of a similar unit I’ve overlooked being sold in the U.S.? If so, please share. I know our small-space dwellers would appreciate a link.

Posted by Erin on Nov 9, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Really small spaces: Portland coop

We’ve written about very small living spaces before, but this 16-square-foot contemporary chicken coop wins the all-time prize in the category.

The three hens who live in this modernist dwelling must have very refined aesthetic sensibilities. I can easily imagine them inside the coop perched atop tiny Eames shell rockers discussing the exhibition of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection at the Portland Art Museum.

I’ll freely admit that the coop is a thing of beauty, but not everything with a clean and uncluttered design makes your life easier. Call me crazy, but I’m actually glad I can acquire eggs without engaging in small-scale urban subsistence poultry farming. Division of labor means I can make an omelet without the concomitant obligation of having to clean up chicken droppings.

I love Dwell, but I can’t wait for the guy who runs Unhappy Hipsters to have a little fun with this.

Posted by PJ on Nov 2, 2010 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Assorted Links for October 30, 2010

It’s been a fun Halloween week here at Unclutterer, and we hope you have a terrific time celebrating the holiday officially tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy these links related to uncluttering, simple living, and some randomly cool things:

  • Recent bride Naomi Selden wrote about how to create a clutter-free wedding registry on D. Allison Lee’s Organize to Revitalize blog. If you’re getting hitched, this is a wonderful resource.
  • E-book owners might be interested in Leatherbound — a website that compares prices for e-books from around the web to find you the best deal.
  • If you live in a small space, Matroshka may have some space-saving furniture options for you. Production appears to be limited at this time, but the company is growing.
  • I’m drooling over this Stackable Oven-To-Table Cookware that was featured on Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn. I don’t typically make eight casseroles at a time, so I have no need for it. But, I’m happy to know it exists.
  • The website She’s Next, a site “featuring 60-second inspirational videos for 21st century women,” launched this past Thursday. Erin is one of the presentations, talking about where to get started in your uncluttering efforts.
  • Website ZenHabits has a quick resource for unclutterers from Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project: “Nine Quick Tips To Identify Clutter. I especially like the question “Was I ‘saving’ it?”

Posted by Erin on Oct 30, 2010 | 2 Comments | Tweet This

BADA table is more than meets the eye

We’ve always been a fan of coffee tables that convert into full-sized dining tables. They’re a good solution for people who live in small apartments, but still want to be able to have friends over for dinner parties. The BADA table from EcoSystems takes the idea of the transforming dining table even further. It works as a desk, dining table, and loveseat.

If you’ve seen any great furniture that multitasks, please share it in the comments.

Posted by PJ on Oct 27, 2010 | 10 Comments | Tweet This

Small but spacious condo

The website Freshome recently featured a beautifully designed studio condo in New York City’s East Village. The space is only 500 square feet, and the architecture firm JPDA found a way to take advantage of every inch of it:

I truly love the storage in the risers of the stairs. I also love how the space has a designated office built right into the room.

Be sure to check out all the photographs of the condo. I’m pretty sure the bathroom sits in the closed space between the kitchen and the living room (under the stairs) and the area between the front door and kitchen is storage. (A final note: I think the 15th picture in the series is from the Indigo Lounge redesign and incorrectly in the photo series for this home.)

Posted by Erin on Sep 27, 2010 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

The multitasking sleeper chair

The latest DWR catalog arrived in the mail yesterday, and the Soto sleeper chair instantly caught my attention:

After looking at the picture, I spotted the chair’s $3,300 price tag and quickly closed the catalog. No offense to the designers or the wonderful folks at DWR (it really is an attractive piece of furniture), but $3,300 is way above my price range.

Sleeper chairs are fantastic additions in small spaces because they work double duty as seating and guest accommodations. One of these multitaskers in a living room or office is perfect when you don’t have a guest room or space for a larger sofa sleeper. My husband and I have been considering getting one for my son’s bedroom so that when his cousins or friends spend the night they won’t have to sleep on the floor, and he’ll have a comfortable space to sit and read the rest of the time.

A little more in line with our price range are:

For $130, Target has a single sleeper:

For $20 more ($150), Target has a sleeper lounge chair:

JCPenny has the Sleepy sleeper chair for $500 that is available in nine different upholstery options:

And, for $1,000, is the sleek Vincent twin sleeper from CB2:

You don’t have to spend $3,300 or add a spare room onto your home to increase the number of sleeping accommodations you have to offer guests — a sleeper chair might be all you need for your small space.

Posted by Erin on Aug 12, 2010 | 35 Comments | Tweet This

Blog to watch: UN v2.0

Alec Farmer, a graduate student in Glasgow, Scotland, is spending a year living in a micro-structure and is blogging about his experience on the new UN v2.0 site. The UN in the blog title is an abbreviation for urban nomad, and it aptly describes Farmer’s interesting project in small-space living.

The structure Farmer built to live in for the year was designed more than 30 years ago by famous minimalist architect Ken Isaacs.

If you’re unfamiliar with Isaacs’ work, Dwell magazine created a design leader video series that included Ken Isaacs and the structure at the center of the UN v2.0 blog. (The structure first appears in the 4:16-long video around 1:26.)

Farmer’s adventure begins in September (I’m assuming at the same time the Glasgow School of Art, where Farmer attends, starts its fall classes). His first entry on his site explains the reason for the experiment:

Having studied [the Urban Nomad] subject for a few years now, one can only speculate so much. Reading can only get you so far, before you have to take another step and actually try it.

So thats what I’m doing.

Follow along on Farmer’s micro-structure living journey at his blog UN v2.0. You also can download a free copy of Isaacs’ How to Build Your Own Living Structures through the PDF library at The Pop-Up City. This document includes architectural plans to a few micro-structures designed by Isaacs.

(via The Pop-Up City)

Posted by Erin on Jul 13, 2010 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

The Papervore Coffee Table

I fell in love with the Papervore Coffee Table by Pigeontail Design the moment I spotted it on Design*Sponge last week. I’m now plotting “accidents” my current coffee table could suffer so I can replace it with this:

Simple, modern, multipurpose design — the Papervore Coffee Table makes my heart go pitter patter.

Posted by Erin on Jun 17, 2010 | 34 Comments | Tweet This

Assorted links for June 15, 2010

A number of really cool things have moved across my desk this past week, but none of them are necessarily large enough for a post all their own. Enjoy exploring these uncluttering and organizing tidbits:

Posted by Erin on Jun 15, 2010 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

Space-saving pop-up furniture

Dwell magazine recently published a fascinating piece on a new trend in pop-up furniture. “Pop-Up Schmop-Up” highlights mostly space-saving furniture for public spaces, but it starts with the Armin Wagner cardboard Pop Up Desk for homes and offices:

Next up is Rogier Martens’ POP-UP 2010 public benches:

My favorite item not pictured in the article, but certainly mentioned, is the Urilift public restroom. It’s a public restroom that raises and lowers out of the ground at certain times of the day. There is a not-so-safe-for-work but amazing marketing video showing exactly how the toilet operates. These pop-up restrooms would be perfect in D.C. where our public spaces have so many different uses over the course of the year — festivals, protests, inaugurations, parades, sports fields, sunbathing, tourist walkways, etc.

Check out the full article for even more amazing pop-up furniture products. These products all remind me of Gary Chang’s Incredibly Efficient Efficiency, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of these kinds of space-saving designs. I love to see designers thinking outside the box — literally, in the case of Wagner’s Pop Up Desk.

Posted by Erin on Jun 9, 2010 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Transforming furniture

We’ve featured some transforming wall beds on the site before, and now we want to show you more of them in action. The New York company Resource Furniture has made a demonstration video of all of their amazing space-saving furniture:

Actually, they’ve made two videos, but the second one is produced in a way that kind of makes me motion sick. Regardless, if you live in a small home or have a room that serves multiple purposes, transforming furniture can be a wonderful way to make better use of your space.

Posted by Erin on Jun 1, 2010 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Small-space ingenuity: The Sigmafocus hide-a-cue

The French company Focus has designed a truly beautiful barbecue grill that folds into the wall:

From pg. 120 of the focus catalog, the Sigmafocus:

Finally — an alternative to the unattractive contraptions on capricious wheels that have cluttered up our gardens and decks for so long. The Sigmafocus and the Diagofocus [another product Focus offers] prove that aesthetics and ergonomics aren’t confined to interior design. It can be used with either wood or charcoal and comes equipped with a stainless steel grill and a range of barbecue tools. The quality and thickness of the steel used guarantees the longevity of the barbecue, which meets the EN 1860-1 standard.

Sigmafocus
This wall barbecue for gardens and balconies folds up, so that when closed it takes up limited space.

Attractive in both open and closed positions, it offers a range of cooking heights. It is easy to fix to any-wall (there are only two fixation points).

The generous ash pan allows the barbecue to be used a number of times without having to empty it out. The disc that attaches to the wall protects the wall from smoke.

Specifications:

I couldn’t find a price or shipping details, but the full contact information for the company is in the back of the online catalog and on the company website. I cannot tell you how amazing I think this grill is, especially for someone like me with the world’s tiniest backyard. Genius!

(via NotCot)

Posted by Erin on May 15, 2010 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

How much living space do you need?

After watching the YouTube video of Gary Chang’s 344-square-foot apartment, writing about Japan’s hotel “capsule” housing and reading WSJ.com’s blog post “The Optimal Amount of Living Space,” I’ve been wondering: “How much dwelling space do humans require to be happy and safe?”

Since safety and happiness are major concerns in U.S. prisons (“happiness” in the sense of keeping rioting, violence, and suicide rates at a minimum), I expected minimum square footage per inmate mandates to exist. Turns out, the federal government does not define how many square feet a prisoner is required to have for conditions to be considered something better than “cruel or unusual.” As a result, inmates are given anywhere between 35 square feet (common when two prisoners share a 70 square foot cell) to 100 square feet (quite uncommon, but more likely to be found in solitary-confinement situations where prisoners never leave their cells). And, research about the penal system shows that rates of riots, violence, and suicide don’t appear to be directly correlated to cell size (much like job satisfaction isn’t based on office size).

The amount of space humans need to be happy and safe, therefore, is quite minimal (based on how it’s configured, it could be difficult for most people to even lie down in 35 square feet). So the question isn’t really one of need, but one of want.

Many factors go into answering the question: “How much space do I want to be happy and safe?” Location of property, floor plan, cultural norms, rent/mortgage, amenities, storage, air quality, and aesthetics are all considerations that weigh into an individual’s want response.

Have you ever stopped to consider how much space you want? What factors are guiding your answer? Are you letting your stuff dictate your response? I’m eager to read your thoughts on this issue in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Apr 28, 2010 | 59 Comments | Tweet This