Let’s talk about the smallest places in which we have lived as adults.
(I will be adding some photos of flowers that are blooming here at the cottage, even though they have relatively little to do with today’s subject matter. But they’re pretty.)
Now, I’m not talking about dorm rooms or college apartments (I lived in one where 3 of us shared a tiny bedroom) – they don’t count – or the bedroom you had when you were still living at home. I’m talking small apartments and/or houses. As you know, I have never lived in a large abode. Never. I grew up in a tiny bungalow crammed with six people. Six tall people. And from that point on, I have always lived in a small space.
But some of the places I have lived have been rather more petite than others. I should also add that I was a renter for most of my adult life. We bought this house (I use that word loosely, as we’ve got a hefty mortgage) in 2005, moving in a few months short of my 53rd birthday. A non-renter for the first time ever.
1. When I first moved to Philadelphia at the age of 30 to go to graduate school, I rented a small studio apartment with one window. One. And it was in the back of the building, so the light was terrible. It had a linoleum floor that was dark brown in color and really reminded me of the basement floor in my parents’ house. There was room enough for a bed, a dresser, a chair and my grandmother’s trunk, which functioned as a table. (I left most of my belongings behind in Michigan when I made this move. Some of it, regrettably, is still at my friend Jan’s house.) I made shelves out of wood and cinder blocks. The kitchen was the size of a closet; in fact, it was a converted standard closet where you opened louvered doors not to find clothes, but a sink, a couple of cupboards and a refrigerator. Its one redeeming quality was a non-functioning fireplace with a mantel. I lived with very little sunlight for a year. It reminded me of a tunnel.
2. In my third year of graduate school, I moved to a tiny two room apartment. One room was the kitchen. The other was the bedroom. All of my bookshelves were in the kitchen, as well as my stereo and record albums because there was no room for them in the bedroom. The bedroom had 3 windows (yay!) but it was so poorly insulated that I had to line the inside of the windows with that plastic sheeting that you cut to fit the window and make taut by heating with a hair dryer. When it was windy, the plastic would flap and make noises. Once again, I made do with a bed, a chair, a dresser and an inexpensive dining table that I found at IKEA. The first IKEA that opened in the U.S. was right outside of Philadelphia – oh, my fellow poor graduate students and I were so excited! This apartment was very small but seemed positively palatial compared to my first year studio. I stayed in that apartment for three years until I had to move to Boston.
3. Which brings me to the smallest apartment I have ever lived in. Boston is an expensive place in which to live and as a new faculty member at Boston University, I was hired that first year on a visiting teacher basis. They ended up liking me and I stayed on, however, the head of the department was sweet but rather cheap so he hired me for very little money. That made finding an affordable place in Boston particularly daunting. As I was still working in an office in Philadelphia at the time, I had only two days in which to find a place to live and I ended up in a studio apartment that was the size of many a walk-in closet.
I quickly realized that I was going to have to get rid of some of my things. And, mind you, I didn’t have all that much to begin with. I had to leave my bed and kitchen table behind and buy a futon/sofa combination that could convert to a bed at night. I gave away lots of belongings. I took my essentials: books, records, shelves, dresser, stereo, television. I rented a U-Haul to move my stuff up to Boston and two of the faculty members arranged for some students to meet me on the other end to unload everything. After all the boxes were in the apartment, there was no space to move. None. One of the students asked me with concern and a little shock in his voice if I was going to be okay. At that point, exhausted and overwhelmed by the enormity of the move and a new job looming on the horizon, I said brightly, “Sure!” and hustled him out of there. It was 11:30 at night, I was in a new city, I didn’t know how I was going to make it work, and I felt all alone. So I turned on the Tonight show just to hear the comforting sound of Johnny Carson.
That place was teeny-tiny. It had a galley kitchen. I had to open the futon every night so that I could sleep. Sheets on at night. Sheets off in the morning, tucked away until that night when the whole cycle would begin again. I had one window in the main room and a tiny sliver of a window in the kitchen area.
And the rent was pricey. But I made it work.
4. From there I moved on to that apartment in Cambridge that I’ve spoken about. It was only a one bedroom apartment but size is relative and it seemed huge to me after living in the tiniest apartment ever for a year. When I moved to San Diego, I also lived in a one bedroom apartment that was on the petite side but I was finally able to buy a bed and get rid of the futon. Then Don and I moved in together and we rented a house that had two bedrooms! I had never lived in a place with more than one bedroom. The house was a Craftsman bungalow, so we’re still talking small.
When Don and I moved out East, we rented a small cottage that was so tiny that many of our belongings had to go into storage. We stayed there for four years, until we bought this cottage.
Which is also small.
Do you see a pattern here? I always long for more space. But I make do. Every place I have lived in, each of them rentals but one, has been decorated, filled with the things I love, and made my own. Or our own.
Not to sound too immodest, but I am great at adapting to a space. If I have to get rid of things, I do. If I can’t paint the walls, that’s okay – I figure out how to make the room pop. I’ve never, until now, had the luxury of doing absolutely whatever I liked with a space. And even now, we don’t have the funds to do anything drastic. So I take what I have and make it beautiful. I bet you do the same thing.
This house is tiny – just a little under 1100 square feet. But when one of us has been away from home working, usually housed in a very small one room apartment, we remark on its spaciousness when we return. I have a feeling that most people would think that it was way too small. I can’t even imagine the snarky comments if it was featured on House Hunters. No walk-in closets, no stainless steel or granite, no usable basement, no attic, no garage. It would be thumbs down, for sure.
We love it.
When I see some of the so-called ‘small spaces’ out there in blog land, I chuckle. Really? Check out a typical Manhattan studio apartment or my Boston studio, and then we’ll talk small. Likewise when I see a large house labeled a ‘cottage.’ I don’t think so.
What’s the smallest place you’ve ever lived in as an adult? I’d love to hear your stories.
Happy Monday.
80 square feet. In a vintage travel trailer while building our tiny cottage. So now, the 375 sq. foot cottage seems spacious!
:)
GORGEOUS photogs of your garden today, Claudia. Have a beautiful day!
xo,
Lin
I wish I had measured the square footage of my studio apartments, but I didn’t, darn it! It’s all relative, isn’t it – your tiny cottage would be shocking to some, but it’s perfect for you!
Have a great day, Lin!
I lived in a 350 sq. foot, 1 bedroom rental house for over 20 years. The living room was long and narrow, so I used one end as my living room and one end as my dining room. There was even a space for a full size washer and dryer … but it was tight. Every single room was tight. This was where I learned some very ingenious ways to store things! The saving grace was that the dining room end, in the living room, was an entire wall of built-in storage. It was my pantry, my linen closet, my “just about everything else” storage closet. But I had stuff stored everywhere!! :) The craziest part is – my next home was a 725 sq. foot, 1 bedroom duplex. I finally was able to have everything out, and it was filled up with only the addition of a small buffet table. Now I’m in a 1 bedroom apartment. Not sure of the sq footage … it’s larger than the house, but definitely smaller than the duplex.
It’s amazing how we learn to adapt to a space, isn’t it? Storage is always a problem, but we figure out how and where to put things. It’s like solving a puzzle!
After the war, my folks had to move out of our 6 room rented home. The landlord’s son was needing a house…so we had to find another place to live….fast. Dad rented a tiny house, with one bedroom, a small kitchen/ living room, and a teensy bathroom with a shower in the middle of the room. The low ceilinged basement had a dirt floor. Dad and I set to work making it as nice as we could. I can still see my Mom crying, when we moved in. Our furniture was in storage. We lived there for about 6 months until our brand new home was ready to move into. Dad and Mom could afford to buy this first home due to the GI Bill. A small subdivision where everyone was in the same boat. The little house is still there, but has been improved since then.
My parents bought their home because of the GI Bill, too. A tiny bungalow – all the houses were somewhat the same.
When I was eight housing was very scarce. My family of five lived in a one bedroom apartment. We kids had the bedroom , bunk beds and a crib, and my parents slept in the living room. Whenever we walked across the floor,the people downstairs would bang on the ceiling.
So small! It’s amazing what we can adapt to.
I lived in North Carolina with my boyfriend who was a Marine, and two other Marines. We lived in a mobile home. I think it’s size was something like 12 X 15. I know it sounds big compared to some of the others, but there were 3 very large Marines living there with me. It had one bedroom which we rotated out of, One week in for each of us. The weeks out were spent sleeping on the floor of the living room/kitchen. There was 1 closet for everything, Their uniforms needed to be starched press, so guess where they went. Everything else that needed to be put somewhere was stored in the bathtub until it needed to be used then it was put on the bathroom floor.
I can’t imagine sleeping on a floor weeks at a time now, but I remember that time in my life fondly. We had such a great time. Me and my Marines.
Love, love that story, Trudy! You and 3 Marines!
The smallest place we ever lived…was an efficiency apartment. It was decent…had a shower…and a kitchenette! Course it was easy living, because being right out of college we didn’t have much, except for my precious wine bottle/candleholder collection! You remember those…candle wax dripping down the sides of pretty wine bottles, don’t you? I liked those days with limited space…it forced me to be resourceful, and creative! Course, I like my house today much better…it has more room…and lots of family memories. And now, lack of money keeps me resourceful! ;)
I do remember those chianti bottles with candle was dripping down the sides!
My space here is the smallest. Not that I ever lived in big RICH homes but the places I either owned or rented before were big older houses with more room than this one.
I had to chuckle when you mentioned the word cottage, as to me, perhaps from reading so many old-fashioned and / or english novels over my lifetime, cottage always meant a small home. There was the MANOR and then there was the COTTAGE : )
Yes. Cottage = small. Manor = big!
Loved reading these stories, and yours. The smallest place I lived in was studio apartment right after high school. I had a room mate; at first it was fun because we were so young. But, in actuality it became a bit much seeing as how we worked at the same place, and getting ready in the morning (one mirror to share). One day I came home, and she was gone as in GONE. I heard through the grapevine that she had moved back home in a small town. I couldn’t manage the rent on my own, so I rented a room in a couple’s house. I had my OWN bedroom and bath. It was heaven! :)
A studio apartment with a roommate would be a tough one, but when we’re young, we’re much more able to handle that sort of thing!
Smallest for me was 275 sq ft with me my husband and 2 children. One newborn the other under 2. Was there until the newborn was 3. I remember the sofa sleeping! Open at night closed in the day. Fortunately I was able to fold the bedclothes up in the bed and didn’t have to unmake then remake the bed every day. In the kitchen/dining room I moved 2 steps to sink, stove and refer. The table with fold down leaves would have to be pulled into the living area if
We had a couple come over for dinner. Thanks for the memories!! Some of the best with my kids come from that trailer!
Wow! You are to be commended, Karen. That small space with two little children! But there’s something about that kind of thing that makes for the best memories.
For my first job after college, I moved into a two-room (studio) apartment, 2nd floor, facing south and no air conditioning! No bed – slept on the floor! (You can do that in your early 20’s!) Bathroom was big enough to turn around in with no sink! After moving into a 4-room apartment later, I felt like I lived in a castle! Currently, my husband and I have an 800 sq ft house! I love our house and as you said, Claudia, you can be really creative with storage and adapting the space. I wouldn’t trade our house for any castle!
You can do a lot in your early twenties that you sure can’t do later in life! I think being creative with space is the key. I’ve always had furniture that did double duty and was perfectly to reimagine the storage possibilities.
(No A/C in my first studio, either. Or in an apartment that I shared with a roommate during my second year in Philly And Philadelphia gets hot and humid!!)
The smallest space I’ve ever lived in as an adult was one of the apartments we lived in when we were newlyweds. I have no idea how many SF it was, but it was one bedroom (though I have to say, that bedroom was a decent size for an apartment – bigger than the one we have now in our house!), one tiny bath, a teeny galley-type kitchen (barely big enough for the two of us), and a LR/DR combination. I want to say it was maybe 500 SF at the most. It was fine for the two of us. The house we live in now – we’ve been here for 23 or 24 years (I lose track) – is 2200 SF but that includes the unfinished part of the basement. It’s a ranch house, so the main living area (all on one floor) is only 1100 SF. We don’t have a separate dining room or walk-in closets. The basement is mostly finished (family room) and the rest is storage and a laundry room. We also have a VERY tiny yard. That’s the only thing I don’t like. I’d gladly live in a smaller space if I could have more land.
It always seems that in order to have one thing we really want in a living space, we have to give up another. At least that’s the way it was for us with this house.
Newlyweds and a small space seems to be the perfect combination, Melanie.
AAAUUUGGHHHH……..Those are some very small spaces!! I got nothing.
Tana
Never lived in a small space? Come on…never???
I’ve only lived in 2 places since moving from my parents’ home. The first was a ground-floor studio apartment. Less than 300 sq ft.. One window facing north. A galley kitchen where a meal could be prepared with a maximum of 2 steps to the left or right. Very small tiled bath. Shag carpeting everywhere but the storage room and bath. Everything done in that 70s avocado green, unfortunately one of the few colors I just can’t stand. I had my bedroom furniture from home [bed, night table, tall chest] along with some new things [wing chair, dinette table with 2 chairs, wall unit for TV/stereo]. But I didn’t expect my first home to be my dream home. I knew I had to “pay my dues” and that this was the beginning of that. And it was mine. Lived there for 14 years before moving to my current home, a 1-bedroom apartment which, since I have never wanted a large home, does feel like my dream home. Everyone should have at least one “not-their-dream” home so when they are lucky enough to get something better, they’ll really be able to appreciate it.
Oh, that avocado green! My mom’s kitchen was full of avocado green appliances, as was our travel trailer. Too much, so I can’t stand that color anymore. I think that even if your first place isn’t your dream home, it’s exciting, nonetheless!
I agree – everyone should have at least one not-their-dream home. I think that’s why House Hunters is so incredibly irritating. All those young couples feeling ‘entitled’ to a big home with lots of space, etc.
Oh Claudia – I thought I was the only person that was, as you said “incredibly irritated,” by those House Hunter programs. 20-somethings who sniff at houses that don’t have granite countertops, hardwood floors and an en-suite bath in the master. I always feel like the proverbial crabby old lady when I watch them. Then I get depressed pondering our generation’s parenting skills – seems like we must have spoiled our kids too much, making them think they deserve all those perks when just starting out. If you have everything when you’re 20 or 30, what do you have to look forward to?
I can’t watch it anymore because I get so angry. I wonder about a generation (not all of them, to be sure) that doesn’t understand paying dues, earning one’s way toward a big goal. Of course, it well may be that House Hunters (which is definitely staged) encourages those kind of comments. I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
Sorry to say, I wouldn’t either. But I also think most young people believe they need to have everything they want – and they want it right away. Probably becauseI believed the same thing at that age – though I didn’t get it. :>)
Yeah, what’s up with that? 5000sq. ft. for two people!! Absurd….
jane in tx
Agreed!
I think all of the places I’ve lived have been about the same size..small..I wish I could add on one nice big room where I could have a cozy reading area..craft area..sewing area..some big windows to watch the weather or curse at the weather as needed..you get the picture..As Eliza said..”Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”..sigh..
Yes, I dream of a mud/laundry room, a ground floor bedroom and more storage. And a garage!
I have lived in the same 1123 sq. ft. bungalow for forty years. Raised two girls here with two small closets and one small bath which also houses the stack washer and dryer. The house is now so ingrained into my being that I don’t want to live anywhere else. We have house shopped a couple of times and could afford something else, but why? Do we all have to have those McMansions to be happy?
We have our washer/dryer in the bathroom, too, Suzanne. I think the whole McMansion thing, which I see a lot around blogland, is ridiculous. A waste of space, an assault on trees and animal habitats,,,oh don’t get me started!
when first married we rented a converted garage apartment for forty dollars a month. This was 1972
It was divided into two rooms fairly equal in size. One was a fully outfitted kitchen with a toilet and sink in a little room off the kitchen The other was a bedroom and living room combo with a …… get this……metal. shower stall in the corner.
I actually loved it
Love the description of your place, Sue! Funky enough to be very cool!
When I was 21/22 I lived in a small studio apartment with my then boyfriend, now husband. We slept in a single bed. We fought a lot until we traded up for a one bedroom and a queen sized bed.
Sleeping together in a single bed would test a relationship, I’m sure!
Our current home is pretty small. Not sure of the SF. My hubs parents built it in 1938 using logs they could barter for. It has so many additions from over the years, it is like a maze. They raised 4 kids in it, but back in the 30’s – 50’s it wasn’t really much different from anyone else. One bathroom. Now, all these many years later, we still only have one bathroom and we raised our 2 kids here, too. I wouldn’t ever trade it for a big new house. When I look at the fireplace and know that the rocks that form it were searched out while on walks my in-laws took in the woods, I have to smile. We have done remodels on most rooms, and we now have a bedroom and craft room addition we put on when my father in law came back to live with us for a few years. Each room has memories for the entire family and I feel so happy to live here even without granite and en suites and walk-in-closets! The other night we had House Hunters on and I said outloud (about one of the women with her nose scrunched in dismay because there was no granite and she would need new toilets in all 4 bathrooms because she wouldn’t have “used” toilets in her house)…”I think I hate her!” No one was around, but the craziness made me say it!!
New toilets? Oh my heavens. I suppose that means she never uses a public restroom….
I’m late visiting blogs today. My smallest apt was a one room with a tiny tiny kitchen and a tiny tiny bathroom. Had room for a bed, small table and a couple of straight back chairs and one dresser. Of course it was in Hawaii and right across from the beach so it was not too much of an issue as we lived outside a lot!! I have lived in small apts but I think the other smallest space I live in was 30′ travel trailer! I lived in it while attending a semester of college in Moblie, Ala. It had everything and I owned no furniture at the time so it worked. Gosh, now my 2 bedrm 1000 sq ft duplex seems down right spacious!
Linda
Having a tiny space in Hawaii somehow seems doable! I think I could live in a travel trailer – as long as I wasn’t sharing it with my siblings and parents, as we often had to do on our summer camping trips. Oh, my dad’s snoring was enough to drive me buggy!
when dan and i were first married, and waiting for him to enter the air force, we lived in a duplex MOBIL HOME!!!! they were 12 X 60…so we had 12 x 30 as our living space…a small bedroom..twin bed…we BOTH fit in it at the time…a living room, kitchen combined, and the TINIEST bathroom you ever saw…but i LOVED it!!! it was our FIRST home together as man and wife…and after 42 years, guess what….THEY are still VERY nice, and have couples living in them…they have been very well maintained!!! i HAD pics, but lost them in a fire….