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I was watching a home renovation show on YouTube and something the interior designer said to the home owners she was designing for struck me as interesting.
The designer said:
“It’s always difficult to design a smaller home. In tiny spaces, every item in the house has to be multi-functional. A dining table needs to be a work study and needs to be folded and put away when not in use. The couch/sofa in the living room has to have storage space and convert into a bed and become a bedroom when guests come over…”
I am paraphrasing a little but you get the gist.
What the designer said makes perfect sense. But what she defined as being a “tiny space” did.
During the conversation with her clients, she said that designing tiny homes that are 900-1,200 square feet can be incredibly challenging.
Say what now?!
Homes that are 900-1,200 square feet are considered tiny? To say I was astounded is putting it mildly.
Look, I get it. The designer was American—the land of the brave and home of the free, where bigger is often considered better—and the couple she was designing for had bought a condo in Boston. By American standards, I guess it is a tiny home. I mean, a cozy 1,200-square-foot condo in bustling Boston might leave you feeling like you’re living in a shoebox compared to some sprawling, suburban 5,000-square-foot McMansions.
But for the rest of the world, these 900-square-foot homes (which are typically two to three bedroom apartments) would be considered on the larger and more spacious side.
As I watched the TV show, I pondered the concept of tiny spaces and a whirlwind of thoughts swirled in my mind. Sure, it’s easy to get caught up in the glamour of sprawling estates and grandiose mansions, but what about the charm of compact living? What about the beauty hidden within the confines of a modest abode?
I recently moved from a 1,000-square-foot apartment in a city I have lived for over a decade to a shoebox in a new city in Southern India. Where I currently live is a tiny, tiny, tiny apartment. Since this is a brand new city for me, I wanted to live there first for a few months (maybe a few years) before I bite the bullet and commit to a larger space.
Don’t die of shock or anything but my current apartment is 300 square feet!
It’s not just a tiny apartment but in American designer parlance, I live in a micro-mini apartment. And this future “larger” apartment I plan to move into will be around 800 square feet. So even my considerably larger apartment, by my standards, is still “tiny” to Americans.
But here’s the thing…
Even in my current apartment, I have clearly delineated spaces. I have a comfortable size living room with one couch and two medium-sized chairs. There’s a wall-mounted dining table that doubles as my workstation and my tailoring station when I alter clothes. Four dining chairs are scattered across the apartment that I bring together when I have guests for dinner.
My bedroom holds a queen-size bed and three large wardrobes. My kitchen is perfectly sized and holds all of my appliances and my washing machine. I also have a balcony that doubles as my study and dressing room.
When I have guests stay over, I push my living room couches against the wall and fill the empty spaces with air mattresses. I can sleep two in the living room and one in the bedroom comfortably.
And I do all this in a 300-square-foot space.
I live tiny but I have everything I need and more. Having lived here now for six months, I’m wondering why I even need a larger space.
I then started to think of my 1,000-square-foot apartment in my previous home as well as many of my friends’ homes in the U.S. The fact is that the majority of the spaces in these homes are never used. I have friends who live with their partner and maybe a kid (if they haven’t moved out already) in a 2,000-square-foot home. And they spend all their time in the family room, kitchen, and bedroom.
That’s it. They don’t even step inside their formal living room or their formal dining room or their three guest bedrooms. Most of them haven’t had guests stay in over a year. All they do is spend time cleaning spaces that nobody uses.
But when I tell them how comfortable I am in my new micro-mini home…well, none of them believe me. They look at me like I’ve lost my mind. And they shake their heads to say that they could never live in such a tiny space. They feel claustrophobic even thinking about it.
Needless to say, when I recommend that they downsize (usually after they b*tch about the hours it takes to clean their homes every week or the hundreds of dollars they spend getting a cleaning service to do it), they balk and say, “Oh no. We can’t even fathom living in a tiny space!”
But why?
Sure, living in a 300-square-foot apartment may not be as blissful for everyone as it is for me (and New Yorkers and Londoners and the Parisiennes). But surely two or three people don’t need to live in a 2,500-square-foot home either, right?
Here’s the thing: tiny living isn’t just about making do with less—it’s about embracing a philosophy of mindfulness and intentionality. With barely enough square footage to swing a cat, every inch of space is precious. But that’s where the magic lies.
A tiny space is where you can let your creativity reign supreme, where every item serves a purpose and every corner tells a story, and where innovative design can transform necessity into luxury. It’s about curating a space that reflects your values and priorities.
So, the next time you find yourself yearning for more space, take a moment to appreciate the beauty of tiny living. When you find yourself balking at the idea of downsizing, take a moment to reconsider. Whether it’s a cozy apartment in the city or a rustic cabin in the woods, there’s something truly magical about embracing life on a smaller scale.
Embrace the cozy charm of a smaller space, and who knows? You might just find that less truly is more. After all, it’s not the size of the home that matters—it’s the love that fills its walls. And to rub the ultimate cliché in, big things often come in small packages!
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
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