This tiny apartment feels spacious and avoids the usual annoyances like having to climb ladders or having to reconfigure furniture when you want to sit, eat, or go to bed. Everything stays right where it is all the time except a neat sliding screen that glides across the room on a barn-door track to hide the bed during the day.
One of the neat things about this apartment is that it would also be a good design for a small house or cabin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daL7TkzyW7k
That’s interesting. If you weren’t home much I see how it could work.
Most people of working age sleep 8 hours, work 8 hours (or more), spend 2 hours (or more) commuting, lunch break, etc. So far that adds up to a minimum of 18 hours a day they're either gone or asleep. Most of the remaining 6 hours they're either cooking, eating, bathing, or looking at a TV/computer; all of which are activities that involve sitting or standing in a few square feet of floor space. So size-wise, that apartment is plenty big enough for a couple if both work.Originally Posted by Teacher Terry
If only one person works it would probably still be ok because the big windows avoid it feeling boxed-in or tiny. And of course on Saturday and Sunday most working people go out most of the day for some kind of recreation, grocery shopping, etc.
In my own situation, being retired and being familiar with my own daily routine, it would be plenty big enough for me to live in full time.
Contrarywise, if it was built as a tiny house I would obviously add a screen porch or patio for outdoor living space.
Most couples wouldn’t want to be in that small a space. People like some private spaces, some people have hobbies that involve stuff, others like to have friends and family over, etc.
I disagree that most working people spend most of their weekends away from home. This is especially not true in northern winters when it is cold out and of course during the pandemic.
The pandemic is a special case, which I hope will soon be over. And I didn't say most people spend most of their weekends "away from home" (which in my part of the US means "traveling"). I said most people who work all week go out on Saturday and Sunday for recreation, errands, and shopping. And as far as I can tell from everything I've read or seen, that's just as true in the north as it is in the south because "If the weather isn't bad enough to keep you from going to work...."
I can't certify what most couples want now in terms of sq ft, but tiny apartments and tiny houses have been a growing trend for a decade now in the places where they're legal. Not to mention all the retired couples who full-time RV, and that's been going on since the 1960s.
Obviously a tiny apartment isn't right for everyone. Some people need a big space. For example people who want a big kitchen because they love to cook, and people who like to throw big parties or invite 10 people over for dinner, and people who have a hobby or home business that requires keeping a lot stuff spread out all the time, and people who just plain want more space. But this apartment wasn't intended or designed for people like that. It's intended for people, including couples, who are content to live in a small space but don't want the hassle of having to climb up to a loft bed or wrestle with a murphy bed or transform their dinner table into a bed every time they want to take a nap.
IOW this is a good example of how to avoid some of the things potential tinyhouse buyers object to most frequently. It will never appeal to most people looking for a house or apartment and it isn't intended to.
The errands etc do not take up most of the weekend. In my neighborhood people's cars are parked in their driveways most of the day on weekends. In good weather they may be in the yard. In bad weather they are indoors except when they are shoveling, snowblowing, or roof raking.
I read that the trend now is away from open concept. With more people working from home they want office space, remote learning room, free from distraction. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues post-pandemic.
That is a really well-thought out space and it has a very serene vibe.
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