Always up for a trip to The Container Store, we were super excited to walk the red carpet at a special evening hosted by Dwell with The Container Store. The format was a discussion by KCRW host and producer, Frances Anderton. We were expecting a detailed how-to lecture on organizing a small space but the symposium had its own direction...
ATLA On The Town: The Container Store and Dwell
Margaritas in Container Store Containers
The pairing of Dwell and the Container Store arose from their shared interest in simplicity and order of space. So naturally the event offered all the appropriate swag to accompany this great evening ($25 gift card to the Container Store, new issue of Dwell Magazine, great food and drinks). The topic of discussion revolved around a new appreciation of living in a small space.
Frances began by sharing the fact that she, her husband and her child live in an 800 square foot home. This statement was greeted with an audience gasp. We happen live in a space that is smaller than 800 square feet (plus a roommate) and have plenty of room. We were bummed but not surprised that the audience gasped--the majority of Americans think bigger always means better. While Frances noted that her space is small, she also said (rather warmly) that her family really likes the size space, and think of it as a nest. Her exact words describing her family life in her undersized home were "close presence." The discussion moved to other areas but we were most interested in the idea of redefining what it means to live in a small space.
We were wondering, those of our readers who live in smaller spaces, what's your relationship to the size of your home? Do you consider it a cozy den or are you space envious?
- If you missed Laure's post yesterday on How Having Less Is More, you'll have to check it out. Frances and Laure share similar thoughts on the subject.
- We still think about Abby's post on How Many of Everything Do You Really Need?
- Fit Your Home to Your Life, Not Your Life to Your Home is a great inspirational post to help give you a vision for your space.
Tags
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Pink Taco?!?!?! I'm so jealous!
I moved from a huge 2 bed/2 bath apartment to a 280sq foot studio. I traded space in order to have my own apartment (no roommate) and to be able to do things the way I wanted to do them. And it's a compromise I'll never regret. Living in a small space is very different and it forces you in to a new perspective, not only on the space you live in, but everything else about your life. I've only lived in my tiny studio for less than 2 months, so I still haven't quite figured it all out yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it and definitely not envious of those with more space.
view sparkle's profile
I think most people gasped because that's a pretty tight fit with a child. Let me know if they're still in 800 sq. ft with a teenager.
view Palmetto's profile
I, like sparkle, moved from a 2b/2b with a friend(and before that a boyfriend of 5 years) to a 300sqft studio. I love the cozy feel of the place since it's just me and the cats. While I would like a separate bedroom and a space to entertain(I used to throw a lot of parties), I'm quite happy with the place. My problem is that I had spent years aquiring all of my things for a much larger space. Now, most of it has to go. The painful thing is, when I do get a larger place someday(either by continuing to get raises at work or getting married), I'll have to purchase all of those things again. That's that part I hate the most. How do you get over that?
view krpm1 aka Kelly:)'s profile
My formula for the perfect amount of space: 800 sqft for the first person and 400 for each additional. I understand this works in LA and most of America but would never fly in NY.
My neighbors live 3 to 800 sq ft and there is no way I would describe that set up as conducive to well balanced living. It works if you have an infant, but after that it gets cramped.
view RichardinLA's profile
There will always be a part of me that wishes I had a huge house with tall ceilings and lots of windows with dramatic views (better if it's a castle!), but I know this is unrealistic.
My husband and I live in a 700 (or was it 600? I don't remember off the top of my head) square foot apartment and it's plenty of space. More than we need, really.
Until recently we lived in a 500 square foot apartment and that was a bit cramped, but mostly because we had too much furniture. If we had gotten rid of what we didn't use, it would have been plenty of space, too.
view Mrs.Mack's profile