Really clever tiny apartment

[pony mom]

This guy's place is so well-planned.

http://blahbethany.com/2011/05/11/this-guys-258-square-foot-apartment-is-better-than-my-house/

Oh crap-I'm not sure how to attach the link so you can just click on it. Hopefully you can somehow watch it.

[Mrs-M]

I'm speechless. People and their designed spaces never cease to amaze me. Thanks for this Pony mom.

[redfox]

This is great! Thanks. Amazing design.

[iris lily]

That was VERY interesting. His little patio really expands his space. In Barcelona, I'd think the weather would be nice a lot of the time.

[Zoebird]

gorgeous!

i love the same sort of feel overall, but admit that I need a bit more space (for the three of us).

but man, what *fabulous* ideas. :D

[Wildflower]

That is amazing! The outdoor space really helps to make it doable, I think.

[catherine]

This is absolutely ingenious!! And beautiful, too!

Love it!

[jania]

Thanks for the link. This is an amazing small home, full of function and open space (for its size). I really liked the idea of the wall of uniform panels hiding everything, so much easier on the eye. And I had to laugh at the toilet area as he had to have magazines, just too funny!

[Kat]

Such ingenuity! Thanks for sharing! :-)

[leslieann]

That was great. Not only is the apartment amazing, the video itself was very good...in the sense that I really do have a feel for what it would be like to live there, and a little about Christian himself (takes the right kind of person, I am sure). Thanks, pony mom.

[Merski]

I loved his design esp. the bed that slides under the patio and the step system onto the patio. Very clever and thoughtful...much better than the woman in NYC who had stacks of containers on shelving. If I were by myself I would gladly pare down my possesions to live in a duplicate of this space.

[pony mom]

I think the only things I would change would be the shower door--maybe make it mirrored or frosted for more privacy. And I don't know if I would have a dishwasher. Maybe the kitchen sink is too tiny to wash anything larger than a small plate but it takes up a bit of space that could be used for something else.

I love how sleek and clean it is, the quality of everything, his huge patio, and his larger fridge. He's kinda cute too!

[enota]

it's. so. gay.

enota

[iris lily]

I've had the same thought about making tiny apartments out of one of our tiny houses, a two story house. By
"the same thought" I mean a wall bank of closing cupboards.

Also, I find the tiny bathrooms that are tucked into bedrooms that behind a folding or sliding door to be quite charming. Ya just need a toilet, a sink, and a small box for a shower-that's not huge.

[Zoebird]

I love "everything behind the cabinet too." I like how clean it looks, as compared to places that use cloth.

tht being said, on the half of the room that is our closet, and the other half will have a day-bed and a trundle, i'm putting up curtains to block the look of the space (floor to ceiling). I have to put in two more shelves for storage (i know it seems strange, but one is for books and magazines that we don't want DS to get, and also office stuff; then the upper two are for suitcases that hold extra blankets, off-season gear, etc), and the top one will be for simple storage (eg, the empty trunks that usually hold DS's toys and such). Then of course, below those shelves our dresser and hanging clothes and shoes. All of this behind curtains, so that it looks spare and organized, and then the day bed tucked into the opposite corner with the trundle below.

[Urchina]

Love the small fridge. Really love the armoire. Clever!

[Miss Minimalist]

Wow, this is wonderful -- *love* the outdoor space! If I lived in Barcelona, I wouldn't spend much time in my apartment anyway. :)

[ApatheticNoMore]

I wouldn't want a space that small. Sure's it's nice when the windows are open to the balcony. But otherwise, yea I'd get a little claustrophobic. It is nice that the balcony opens to the city and yet provides relative privacy since you are far above it (not really your typical apartment situation).

So yea maybe in Barcelona, with the whole view of the city at your feet! But imagine the same amount of space in an average apartment with no real view in the average American city (and not even a great city like San Francisco, but somewhere entirely average). I'd feel like: "So it's come to this, they (you know, evil they that control everything) are having us LIVE LIKE SARDINES NOW!!" I'd want more space.

I've lived in studios small and large, and I've lived in one bedrooms and I must say it's cool to have multiple rooms (ie a living room AND a bedroom!). The small studios were harder to bear. Now if there were some vast cost difference it might be worth it, but there usually isn't, and it's hard enough to get a nice not overly priced apartment period without being too picky about such things. By the way an apartment in the state his was when he moved in would never be "up to code" to rent here.

[NetTurtle]

The before was ugly, but the after was really cool. Without the view, it'd be a tiny, cramped, and dark cave.

[puglogic]

Fantastic!

[jp1]

The idea of sliding the bed under the patio is awesome!

[Gregg]

What a wonderfully well thought out space!!! And I'm with jp1, the sliding bed is the best of all.

[Miss Cellane]

I'm kind of with ApatheticNoMore--it's a little too small for me. But there are useful ideas. I've long held the theory that the smaller the space you live in, the more necessary it is to customize it as much as possible. If you have plenty of room, you can buy more storage furniture, add more closets, devote an entire room or floor to storage. But when you are cramped for space, you need to work and rework the space to suit your needs. I'm always impressed with how RVs are laid out, taking advantage of every inch of space to provide a workable, livable environment.

That wall of storage looks great. But I think I would go nuts if every time I wanted a glass of water, I had to open that hatch to get at the sink. And I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel with that huge piece of wood looming over my head as I worked in the kitchen. So I'd either have the kitchen part completely open, or work out a different way of covering it up.

But I love the bed idea. My big problem with all the sofa beds and futon beds is that you have to take the time to fold them up and unfold them daily. That's a pain just to go to bed. But this bed slides out quickly and easily and doesn't need fussing with.

One thing I'd be missing would be a comfortable chair to sit and read in. Really, the only comfortable seating he has is when the bed is open. But he has designed this to suit his needs, not mine.

[Chickadee]

I loved the apartment but it is too spartan for me. It would bug me to no end to have to get everything opened or out to use it. Having said that though I am amazed by the creativity of design! Wow...I am definitely going to shelve these ideas for a time that I may need to build/design something streamlined.

[jp1]

Having lived in a 250 sq foot apartment for 12 years I agree somewhat with the comments about not wanting everything all sealed away except for the moment it's in use. But I also really like how he has a place for every thing and every thing in it's place and it's all clean lines and compact. One of my biggest dislikes of my apartment was that I was using free standing furniture for everything. I had a big armoire that held all my non-hanging clothes, plus a few other things. I had a free standing computer desk, that was compact but still free-standing. I had a futon and a giant lidded basket next to it that held the sheets and blankets (folded up in one efficient lump every morning so that they could be unfolded onto the bed just as quickly every night). Etc etc etc. The result was functional, and everything had it's place, but the look was still somewhat cluttererd. I lived with it because it had been put together piecemeal, and because it was all cheap. If I were going to go the tiny apartment route again (unlikely since that would also mean getting rid of my sweety of 8 years...) I'd get rid of all my current furniture, purge a lot of the rest of my belongings and create a complete space all at once. Maybe not as spartan looking as this, but with the same thought process.