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General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: expatartist on January 02, 2018, 08:17:38 AM

Title: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on January 02, 2018, 08:17:38 AM
Whether you live in the world's most expensive cities, or just want to reduce your footprint, living small can be a way to do just that. Let's have a thread of tips and inspiration for those of us who live small - or are glad they don't have to ;)

Attached is a photo of my tiny 'closet', which rests at the foot of my perennially opened sofabed: secondhand teak shelves (US$26) piled high with books on top, and my winter wardrobe underneath: tops/sweaters on one shelf, dresses on another, trousers at the bottom. At right is a rack (US$10) about 2 feet wide with skinny vintage hangers (US$10) from steamer trunks, where a few delicate clothes hang. Behind them a secondhand, never-used shoe organizer (US$5) hangs from the side of the shelves, its pockets filled with socks, leggings, tights, unmentionables etc.  PJs dangle from the side of the shelf from a hanging hook designed by a colleague (free), next to the sliding Japanese-style door that divides my curved bedroom from the living room.

It's a juggling act but all quite organized-ish. All summer clothing is rolled and bagged into built in storage, overhead Japanese style, until March when I'll do the switch-over.

How about you? Would love to see how other Mustachians live in tiny spaces, what solutions have worked for you, etc.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on January 02, 2018, 08:29:09 AM
Secondhand fridge (US$90) fits perfectly on secondhand washer/dryer unit (US$300). A setup I wouldn't recommend to most, but works for me and those of my neighbors who can afford a washing machine.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: limeandpepper on January 02, 2018, 09:33:53 AM
Posting to follow for now and hopefully contribute later. My partner and I are moving into a 40sqm/430sqft flat sometime this year, which isn't super tiny but has to accommodate a home office setup (the sort that requires extensive hardware... not the sort where a laptop suffices), occasional entertaining (including sleepover visits from my parents), and I'd like a cat, too.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Salim on March 18, 2018, 02:57:46 PM
PTF

My house is small, but not tiny, and I am always trying to reduce and reorganize. I am here to learn more.

Your clothing setup is impressive. I have reduced my wardrobe by about 2/3 since retiring and am still reducing it a bit at a time.

We downsized my business office from 1200 sq. ft. in an office building to 114 sq. ft. when we moved it home. Had to re-home a lot of furniture and equipment. It was a big job. We've given a lot of stuff to our children, friends, and charity. Sometimes selling things seems like more trouble than it is worth.

I love the idea of living light and having a small footprint.

Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Missy B on March 26, 2018, 11:31:13 AM
Secondhand fridge (US$90) fits perfectly on secondhand washer/dryer unit (US$300). A setup I wouldn't recommend to most, but works for me and those of my neighbors who can afford a washing machine.

I am fascinated by your combo washer/dryer. I didn't know they existed, and it might solve some of my work laundry issues.
Can you say more about brand and model, drum capacity, cycle times, general satisfaction with the unit? Is it vented or ventless?

I live in a 420 sq ft apartment in one of the top three least-affordable cities in the world. (Other cities are more expensive, but their wages are also higher.)
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: abhe8 on March 26, 2018, 01:28:36 PM
Posting to follow... Although I don't live in a tiny home, it often feels that way with seven of us here. And I need a huge decluttering. Posting for inspiration. Anyone else have lovely pics?

Op, I love your closet!!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on March 26, 2018, 07:10:13 PM
MissyB, my washer/dryer combo is by Siemens. In HK they're often available on English language Craigslist type sites, not so much in the local secondhand stores near me.

I'm working in Shanghai for a few weeks so can't check stats on the model but IIRC it's a rather small one, washes several kilos and completely dries about half as much - if loaded more you'll need to dry for a second cycle. Some people really picky about laundry have said they don't wash or dry as well as separate units, but I'm happy with it.  Perfect for one or two people but you'd want something larger for a family. Takes a while to complete an entire cycle (it's high efficiency and uses less water than top loaders) up to 4 hours. I'll throw in a duvet cover and some towels in the AM and take them out when returning from work. Used just a washer for years but once in a tiny space there was no room to hang dry without imposing on the neighbors - or risking laundry soaked by their aircon units.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: limeandpepper on March 26, 2018, 11:25:05 PM
I also have a washer-dryer combo in my flat, it's an Electrolux EWW12753 and can do up to 7.5kg washing and 4.5kg drying. I've only had it for about a week and haven't tried filling it up to maximum capacity yet. I suspect I will use the quick wash cycles for smaller loads more often, as it's just the two of us. Currently my favourite function is the vapour refresh, which kind of gently steam cleans the clothes. I'm pretty sure it's more energy-efficient than regular washing+drying* so I'm going to use it for clothes that aren't dirty enough to require a proper wash.

*I don't know how much energy my particular model uses, but I found this article from AEG that says that their steam programmes only use about 0.2kwh each cycle. http://newsroom.electrolux.com/uk/2013/05/17/dry-clean-in-your-own-home-with-the-aeg-steam-function/
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: rosarugosa on March 27, 2018, 04:12:22 AM
We have a small, although not tiny house, about 900 sf for 2 people and 2 cats.  I will try to get some photos to share. 
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: alewpanda on March 29, 2018, 09:39:21 AM
ooohh, I can't wait to contribute!

 We are moving in 6 weeks, into a 590 square foot apartment with a 5x8 storage space in the basement.  It won't be a huge shock per se, we have lived in 640 sq feet with no storage for the last 5 months, but DH will start working from home when we move, so thats an additional set up (3 screens, laptop, and server rack...) and privacy that he will need at times, and we also have 2 large dogs, so they take up some extra space.  I like beautiful spaces though...so the challenge will be using a 1 bedroom for entertaining, my painting, DH's daily office, potentially housing guests, and making it all look and feel calm and pretty at the same time. 

I'm up for the challenge...pics when completed!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on March 30, 2018, 06:46:36 AM
Looking forward to your photos everyone! Share the inspiration....this weekend I'm sleeping under a staircase in a vintage house in Taipei, will post a photo or 2.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on April 01, 2018, 11:24:43 PM
Sleeping under this staircase was not bad - but the Japanese / Taiwanese pillow was a bit on the hard side!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on April 01, 2018, 11:27:02 PM
It's kind of like a dorm, but there's no one shifting in the top bunk. Just reception next to you -
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on April 10, 2018, 08:18:51 AM
Ran into this article today, architects proposing to create micro apartments in Hong Kong using giant water pipe tubes https://mymodernmet.com/opod-housing-tubes-micro-apartments/

About 100sqf. I wouldn't mind spending a year or two in one of these. Really enjoy small spaces with lots of curves, though they're not optimally efficient for storage. Might feel like living in a fishbowl depending on location. We have virtually no codes for apartments in HK so there's virtually no insulation.

What do you think?
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: PoutineLover on April 10, 2018, 08:22:53 AM
Ran into this article today, architects proposing to create micro apartments in Hong Kong using giant water pipe tubes https://mymodernmet.com/opod-housing-tubes-micro-apartments/

About 100sqf. I wouldn't mind spending a year or two in one of these. Really enjoy small spaces with lots of curves, though they're not optimally efficient for storage. Might feel like living in a fishbowl depending on location. We have virtually no codes for apartments in HK so there's virtually no insulation.

What do you think?
Thats a pretty cool idea. I'd for sure stay in one for a visit, like as a hotel, not sure if I'd actually live in one. The lack of kitchen would be a huge problem for me and $400/month sounds like a lot for such a tiny space, but I don't really know what the market is like there.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on April 10, 2018, 09:37:28 AM
Ran into this article today, architects proposing to create micro apartments in Hong Kong using giant water pipe tubes https://mymodernmet.com/opod-housing-tubes-micro-apartments/

About 100sqf. I wouldn't mind spending a year or two in one of these. Really enjoy small spaces with lots of curves, though they're not optimally efficient for storage. Might feel like living in a fishbowl depending on location. We have virtually no codes for apartments in HK so there's virtually no insulation.

What do you think?
Thats a pretty cool idea. I'd for sure stay in one for a visit, like as a hotel, not sure if I'd actually live in one. The lack of kitchen would be a huge problem for me and $400/month sounds like a lot for such a tiny space, but I don't really know what the market is like there.

$400/month is so cheap compared to most options, the only equivalents are typically dorms, or extremely unhygienic conditions or "coffin homes" which are slightly less
www.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/526881/

I pay approx US$800/mo for 150sqf in a neighborhood with more brothels than grocery stores. We have good wet markets though... Most of my expat colleagues struggle to find places that fit within our housing allowance of US $2k. But their standards are a bit different than mine.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: limeandpepper on April 10, 2018, 09:40:38 AM
I can imagine living in the OPod for a year or so if I'm single. You could use a portable cooktop for cooking, I've used that before when I lived in a dorm-style sharehouse with no kitchen.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: PoutineLover on April 10, 2018, 09:50:35 AM
Ran into this article today, architects proposing to create micro apartments in Hong Kong using giant water pipe tubes https://mymodernmet.com/opod-housing-tubes-micro-apartments/

About 100sqf. I wouldn't mind spending a year or two in one of these. Really enjoy small spaces with lots of curves, though they're not optimally efficient for storage. Might feel like living in a fishbowl depending on location. We have virtually no codes for apartments in HK so there's virtually no insulation.

What do you think?
Thats a pretty cool idea. I'd for sure stay in one for a visit, like as a hotel, not sure if I'd actually live in one. The lack of kitchen would be a huge problem for me and $400/month sounds like a lot for such a tiny space, but I don't really know what the market is like there.

$400/month is so cheap compared to most options, the only equivalents are typically dorms, or extremely unhygienic conditions or "coffin homes" which are slightly less
www.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/526881/

I pay approx US$800/mo for 150sqf in a neighborhood with more brothels than grocery stores. We have good wet markets though... Most of my expat colleagues struggle to find places that fit within our housing allowance of US $2k. But their standards are a bit different than mine.
Oh boy, those are definitely not examples of "beautiful & frugal tiny house living".. It's sad that people have to live in such conditions. In that case, the tube homes look super luxurious!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: alewpanda on June 19, 2018, 01:32:55 PM
Ok, so my husband and I are about 6 weeks into our life here in Minneapolis.  We downsized from a 3 bedroom house to a 590 square foot apartment with our two dogs.  In addition we have a 5x8 storage space in the basement and a common bike room for bike storage.  No garage or parking space.  DH works from home, I paint  semi-professionally, and work a part time retail job currently a few minutes walk from the apartment. 

Now lets see how this works uploading my pics :)

First two are the kitchen.  Key to selling us on the do-ability of the apartment are the ceiling height cupboards.  No dishwasher, but the top two shelves of every cupboard is extra storage, cleaning supplies, tools, paper products,  and an entire cupboard just for 'gifts'.



Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: alewpanda on June 20, 2018, 10:03:51 AM
Bedroom and office.  DH works full time from home and needs to be able to shut out the rest of the house sometimes, so the bedroom was the logical place for an office space.  One side of the bed has just enough room for the closet door to swing open, and on the other side, the shelf doubles as office storage and DH's nightstand, while an ikea tabletop and telescoping legs from amazon make a standing desk with room for the server cabinet beneath. 
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: alewpanda on June 20, 2018, 10:13:11 AM
Our living room is multi-functional to the hilt.  Two ikea shelves became entertainment storage/book storage/docking station for laptops and misc other hobby supplies.  We have plenty of seating to have a few people over or to lounge just the two of us.  A dog crate with a tray on top doubles as a side table (not attractive, but functional).    The couch is ikea and turns into a very comfortable full sized bed with little effort.  Our first guest is staying this week and two weeks from now we are adding a cot to the room to host both my sister and brother.  My painting station is off to one side.  I often lay down a sheet to handle larger paintings on the floor.

Most notable sacrifice is probably the lack of coffee table.  We have one that sits off the the far corner just out of sight in the painting corner pic.  We can pull it into the seating area when we have people over or eat in front of a movie, but our dogs prefer the rugs to the hard floor when wrestling or napping (unless its hot), and going without the coffee table gives them much more freedom to play. 
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: alewpanda on June 20, 2018, 10:20:41 AM
And finally, the dining corner.  We use metal stools from ikea and the table is one of ikea's folding down options.  The side you see in the pic flips up to accomodate 4 stools instead of 2, and there are drawers for extra storage on each side.  In the corner we squeezed an ikea lack table with holes drilled into it for dog bowls.  Keeps them off the floor and at a comfortable height for aging dogs.  The extra stools are at my painting desk and in the entry way to put shoes on.  The table is also used regularly with a sheet over top for varnishing paintings or to allow projects to dry when the space is needed. 
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: limeandpepper on June 20, 2018, 10:28:47 AM
Thanks for sharing, alewpanda, looks very functional! I'll share mine when we get our rooms looking as tidy as yours. That could be a while. :p
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Hirondelle on June 20, 2018, 11:17:03 AM
PTF! I live in 12m2/130sqf room. However, my kitchen is seperate (it's small as well though). Those tube houses look lovely. Might post some pics of my room later - honestly it's just a lot of emptyness as I don't have any furniture but a highsleeper bed, couch, table, chair, sink and fridge. And 2 built-in closets (1 for clothes, 1 functions as my pantry).
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on June 20, 2018, 12:55:31 PM
Love the photos and creativity Alewpanda! Your decor's nice and light, must be a great space even in the winter time.

Hirondelle, glad to see a fellow small space dweller. Do you share your kitchen? Always interesting to see the different cohousing options out there.

Windows for me are key to enjoying a small space. Photos of a few of mine from the AirBnB listing I put up then pulled down a week later -
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Zikoris on June 21, 2018, 10:23:00 PM
Here's our 400 square foot, $815 Vancouver apartment: (https://i.imgur.com/jPJJOypl.jpg)

There's also a small kitchen, big balcony which we don't use, and tiny bathroom. Perfect for two adults + cat!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: rdaneel0 on June 21, 2018, 11:01:14 PM
Not necessarily beautiful, but very practical! This is my bedroom closet and our tiny front closet that we transformed into a pantry. Much more can fit in the pantry than is in there now. Also, check out all the TP and first aid stuff in the top of my bedroom closet! Gotta love vertical space :)

My place is a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment (475 square feet).
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Goldielocks on June 22, 2018, 12:37:34 AM
I think you need to create "L" shaped work areas, with a new long table under the window, replacing the eating table.   This can be used as your workspace / desk / eating table.  I would get a "P" shaped office desktop and put it on legs.

Then get another desk / table for him, facing the bed.  Get one with shelving over, and a solid back, creating a nook for bed that is a bit out of sight.  You could have a sitting area where the bed is (when it is up), or put the TV on the wall in the workspace area, and use your (comfy?) chairs for viewing / casual.  Maybe an upholstered large stool for extra seating, that fits under the murphy bed?

Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Zikoris on June 22, 2018, 09:45:11 AM
I think you need to create "L" shaped work areas, with a new long table under the window, replacing the eating table.   This can be used as your workspace / desk / eating table.  I would get a "P" shaped office desktop and put it on legs.

Then get another desk / table for him, facing the bed.  Get one with shelving over, and a solid back, creating a nook for bed that is a bit out of sight.  You could have a sitting area where the bed is (when it is up), or put the TV on the wall in the workspace area, and use your (comfy?) chairs for viewing / casual.  Maybe an upholstered large stool for extra seating, that fits under the murphy bed?

Love the drawing! I've definitely been thinking about some sort or corner desk/table option in that top right corner, though finding something that fits (due to that weird angle) has been tough. We also need to find tables/desks that are more narrow than normal, due to space requirements. I've seen some of those things they call "sofa tables" that seem intriguing.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Goldielocks on June 24, 2018, 01:40:56 PM
Sofa tables tend to be too tall...   Try to just put together two separate pieces, or buy a skinny table top from ikea and an couple of legs, and attach it at the angle you want.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00251135/ (https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00251135/)
Table top is 40" x 24" and $9 CDN..  goes up by $10 for each size up from there..

Cheapest legs are $5 each, or you can get a piece of closet wood rod from Home depot and cut it. (that might be more $$s?)

Get the top, get 2 legs, attach it with a metal bracket to the other table / shelving unit.  Use a shim / wedge/spacer to get the angle you want.

Done for under $30.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Bracken_Joy on June 24, 2018, 02:24:02 PM
Posting to follow. Nothing to contribute, since we now live in a behemouth 1800 sqft house. But I sometimes (often) miss the simpler years of our 500 sqft city apartment. Seeing these photos helps me remember what parts I loved, and what parts I struggled with!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on October 09, 2018, 09:14:57 AM
Picked up a secondhand bar from a French couple to store all dishes and misc kitchen supplies in a space-efficient way. It can look monolithic but keeps clutter inside. They had it custom built in Shanghai, the wings open and can extend the countertops to twice the current size, will use that feature when I have a bigger place again. It's a great organizer but I still fantasize about painting a glaze of red lacquer on top to give it some depth, though the VOCs would be insane.

ETA photos: Measuring cups/spoons and chicken claw beer opener hanging from side of bar, and kitchen sink with hanging decorative functional stuff: Greek coffeemaker, scrubber, crumb brush in a woman's silhouette, crane-shaped scissors, leaf-shaped kale stripper, noodle spoon I barely use but love the look of, kettle used to boil drinking water and coffee/tea. Hotplate and blender are stored under the sink along with pots and pans; dried goods are above sink in tiny cabinets.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Nate R on October 09, 2018, 10:59:22 AM
PTF! I've got less than 900 SF for my main living space. Not tiny, but not huge.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Vasilisa on October 09, 2018, 12:34:09 PM
We're in a 650 sq. foot manufactured home, one large bedroom, one tiny bedroom.

A few projects or ideas we're thinking of to maximize space/storage/places for people:
1. Floor to ceiling built in storage in the central hallway
2. Bike rack in the living room (any recommendations for storing two bikes?)
3. Murphy queen-size bed (anyone have any good experiences or brand recommendations for one? I would love to have the floor space but my fear is it would be sofa-bed uncomfortable or not sturdy enough for "not sleeping")
4. Re-doing tiny side yard to include room for lounging/sitting/entertaining
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Zikoris on October 09, 2018, 12:52:36 PM
I don't know about "beautiful", but we managed to carve out a little home office space in our 400 square foot studio recently when my partner switched to full-time self employment:

(https://i.imgur.com/HeLNqxLl.jpg)

It's been working very well so far for him.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: onlykelsey on October 09, 2018, 01:25:36 PM
PTF!  We are three people (and no longer a 100-lb dog, sadly) in about 700 square feet.  Not tiny, for sure, but definitely needs to be optimized.  Our struggle is mostly that the apartment is literally ten times longer than it is wide, so there is lots of wasted hallway space.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Askel on October 09, 2018, 05:01:05 PM
Not really tiny, but small enough. ~700 square feet and two rooms worked well for 9 years of bachelor life.  Now that I'm married to somebody with an equally sizable bicycle collection... Well, we'll make you a great deal on it when we're ready to sell. :D 

Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: onlykelsey on October 10, 2018, 09:04:30 AM
Only Kelsey - your place is only 8 ft wide?!  OMG.
It varies between 30 inches and 11 feet.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on October 10, 2018, 09:11:53 AM
Wow! I'd love to see your photos if you'd like to share any. Are your ceilings relatively high? This tokyo resident says that's how she copes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYVJbupG3Xg
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: onlykelsey on October 10, 2018, 11:22:14 AM
Was that meant for me?  It really isn't that tiny, just very poorly laid out.  Basically nothing about this image is correct, and a bunch of space is overmeasured and/or double-counted but it shows the basic contours.  all of the hallways are between 29 and 30", the drawing lies.  The rooms are basically 5' wide minus the living/dining room and bedroom, which don't lose space to the hallway like all the other rooms.

ETA: The ceilings are not particularly high at about 8'8, especially given my 6'4 husband.  In our bowling alley apartment lives: our toddler in the allegedly 10'8 by 7'9 bedroom (actually 5'6 by 7'3 ish), the grown ups in the master bedroom, and (no longer) the 100-lb dog at the narrowest point of each room, ha. 

Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Cassie on October 10, 2018, 11:55:08 AM
I can live small when alone. With DH the smallest we can go is 1400. We went smaller and it was not pretty. I am enjoying this thread.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on October 10, 2018, 07:37:48 PM
@onlykelsey What a strange layout, reminds me of British narrowboats made to maneuver through canals. Do the rooms get much natural light?
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: onlykelsey on October 11, 2018, 07:27:45 AM
@onlykelsey What a strange layout, reminds me of British narrowboats made to maneuver through canals. Do the rooms get much natural light?
@expatartist They divided a building in half at some point last century.  I wish they had done it front to back (ie with the "office" being the division between the apartments, so the apartments were shorter and fatter).  On my side of  the building, only the two front windows get light, as the rest open to air shafts about 8 feet wide to the next building.  The other side of the building is a mirror image of ours, though, and faces what is now a small garden/park, so they get lots of light.

On the upside it was pretty good for roommate living when I had one, because it's so narrow and long you can get relative privacy if you're in the front and roommate is in back.  It also has a bunch of exposed brick, and I'm considering exposing and finishing more of it if only to get an extra six inches of space.  Because there is an apartment on the opposite side and a building flush against mine, I don't much need heat, and I don't think removing drywall would affect that.  The exposed brick I have isn't a heat sink.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: PoutineLover on October 11, 2018, 08:07:18 AM
My apartment looks a lot like that too. Long hallway the whole length, with doors opening off to the bedroom, living room and bathroom, and ending at the kitchen. We found a decent way to arrange everything, but I would prefer a more open layout with more lighting.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: onlykelsey on October 11, 2018, 08:17:37 AM
My apartment looks a lot like that too. Long hallway the whole length, with doors opening off to the bedroom, living room and bathroom, and ending at the kitchen. We found a decent way to arrange everything, but I would prefer a more open layout with more lighting.

I own and have played with knocking out a non weight-bearing wall, but the only walls I could move are between the master bedroom and the tiny bedroom or the tiny bedroom and the bathroom (but there's plumbing there, so.. no thanks).   Sometimes I fantasize about opening up the house after the bathroom, so it's one big room back there and no lost space to the hallway.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: We be free if we try on October 11, 2018, 08:46:54 AM
We are 2 adults and 2 teens and a cat in a 1,280sf house - not tiny at all, but small for the US these days.  Was very standard middle class housing when built in 1961.  Comes to 320 s.f. per person, so pretty efficient by that metric. It helps a lot that we have a garage and a yard/garden.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Novik on October 11, 2018, 09:14:00 AM
Loving all these compact living photos and stories. My partner and I live in a ~450 sqft. basement one bedroom apartment. We have access to the landlady's shed and laundry room and can store bikes, skis, camping equipment there, which is a huge help, but the apartment itself is small and not super well designed for the space unfortunately.

One best tiny home hack is our games table. We have a small end table with tons of internal storage that we drag into the middle of the living room and cover with a large 'wood mounted poster' that otherwise is decorative against the wall. Voila - instant table! Makes a big difference in feeling like we have everything we need that we can host games nights and not all be on the floor!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: okonumiyaki on October 11, 2018, 10:20:40 AM
I don't know about "beautiful", but we managed to carve out a little home office space in our 400 square foot studio recently when my partner switched to full-time self employment:

(https://i.imgur.com/HeLNqxLl.jpg)

It's been working very well so far for him.

Dark Souls - hard core gamer...!
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: dashuk on October 11, 2018, 11:49:32 PM
Following with interest, although living in a ridiculously decadent 1300-1400sqft or so*.

There are four of us living here. Two are small but will one day be big. 'Normal' would be to move somewhere bigger or extend some time in the next decade, but we're not about doing 'normal' on this place are we?

I'm interested in efficiency on several levels - extension costs would mean 3-4 years more work to FI, moving even more; I have colleagues going through major build projects and frankly it sounds like more stress and effort than I'm prepared to put in; I don't like the environmental footprint of a big extra pile of brick and concrete, and the loss of garden.

Apply a combination of decluttering and tiny house ideas, and I think we can make the space we have feel huge.

Currently knocking around furniture ideas to make our master bedroom double up as "grown-up indoor hobby space". Not a euphemism - mainly crafting, computer desk, and general chill/concentrate space away from the kids. Not like we can do that stuff and sleep at the same time, so if we make that space work a bit harder, it's less stuff that needs to be elsewhere in the house.





* Rough guess based on rough external dimensions and ignoring some outbuilding/store space. Houses aren't routinely advertised by square footage in the UK because we're wierdly obsessed with number of bedrooms, hence not unusual to see new four-bed houses smaller than our 60yo three-bed.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: expatartist on October 12, 2018, 12:19:01 AM
Zikoris, looks like you 2 have a good setup! Glad to see there are others looking to maximize efficiency re. how much living space we take up.
Title: Re: Beautiful & frugal tiny house living. Share your tips and photos!
Post by: Dicey on October 12, 2018, 12:23:56 AM
PTF