Living in a small space has its challenges and virtues. I find that it forces me to be more thoughtful with what I bring into my home. Since there is little room for storage, everything is on display. Because of this, I try to be careful with what I buy. I ask myself if I really need it and if I will want to look at and live with it every day.
Regardless of the ways in which we are challenged by our space, keeping these inspired quotes in mind provide a good starting point to seeing the benefits these challenges provide.
• 1 You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• 2 Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it. - Leonardo Da Vinci
• 3 The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. - Socrates
• 4 Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. - William Morris
• 5 Live simply so that others may simply live. - Elizabeth Ann Seton
• Read More: 30 Best Quotes on Living Small on Eco Salon
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Great quotes.
Thank you!
you can also focus on quality over quantity in a small space
Beautiful, helpful quotes; little gems like these help me to remember what's important in life.
Great quotes! They make me want to clean out my closet and get rid of books.
I love all the quotes - but 4 and 5 have long been favorites. Thanks for the reminder.
Less is more.
Good things come in small packages.
my favorite small home saying is an Irish toast:
"May your house always be too small to hold all your friends"
:)
great quotes, but more importantly, do you have a source for those cubes?
These are great!
@GINANDLEMONADE
Those are "cubits" and here's a link: http://www.smartfurniture.com/kids/smartcubes.html
the cubes are available at DWR. Cubitec
GINANDLEMONADE:
Cubitec shelving from Design Within Reach, in transparent white. www.dwr.com
hamhocksforlegs, that's wonderful!!
I am a maximalist. I abhor a void yet I have always lived in small spaces. My current home is large by my standards at 775sf. It is filled with a lifetimes collections that I love and that reflect who I am as a person. I adore multi-layered spaces that cannot be taken in at one sitting. Minimalism leaves me cold and bored.
Also, lower heating/air conditioning bills. I can't believe how much people in the suburbs need to pay for their giant houses!
"It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you have..." Sheryl Crow
That said, I guess I'm a mediumalist! ;^) Zen minimalism, done in a sort of Japanese style, is gorgeous, and I love it, but I probably couldn't maintain it -- where do you sit the several books you are reading or planning to read? Where do you have the incomplete craft projects?
But I find "maximalism" (@granville, above) to be a little claustrophobic. Too much, too many layers, too visually cluttered and I get antsy.
Uncluttered, nice blend of stuff and not-stuff, and it's Just Right! Aiming toward low maintenance helps, too.
I'm trying to embrace this line of thought: "Enjoy what you have and don't worry about what you don't have." I'm sure someone out there said it.
IMHO, family living in a relatively small space is good for kids. The family is around all the time so they're used to being part of the whole. I cringe when I hear mcmansion hunters on TV wish for 4000sf and a remote kids play room in the attic or over the garage. Everyone needs their own space, but it shouldn't be too far removed from the daily life of the family. Otherwise, they're just lodgers.
thank you for reminding everyone this!
#5 Beautifully put.
Lovely quotes, I heartily agree.
Inspiring. Will be conidering these ideas over the weekend. Thank you for the post.
I'd really like to send an incredibly large box of Maison du Chocolate truffles to the entire staff an Apartment Therapy. Your site as been my therapy as I have transitioned my mindset from "needing" The Big House to totally grateful for my small house that we are almost finished renovating.
Thank you so much for your whole ethos, as especially posts like these.
Having moved from a modest 60's backsplit in the 'burbs to an even more modest early 80's condo in the heart of the city, these quotes ring true to me. Living in a small space leaves more time for actually enjoying it, instead of cleaning it!
I have just recently discovered this! Love the quotes! Not having all of the stuff and space to keep track of and clean is such a relief!
These are all great quotes, but #3 is my favorite. I will be writing that one down.
pretty helpful advice
Love these! Thanks for posting!
#5 is beautiful and resonates so much with me right now. i'm trying to live with less so that i can give more. there are far too many people without the necessities for me to spend in excess as often as i do.