Small space living comes with many challenges, but the rewards for a family on a budget are great. For a long time I considered our smaller home a temporary means to get us by until we could afford more. As the years have gone by though, I have truly discovered the power of living in a smaller house and making the most of what we have been given. I will admit that it is all about our approach towards making our space our own, more than it is about the amount of square footage in our house.
Small space is all relative, of course, isn’t it? In full discretion, our home is 1,500 square feet for our family of four. While that may sound like a lot or a little, the space is made smaller and more challenging with a tri-level floor plan. If it was spread on one or two levels, I am sure it would feel much larger. I think it is the floor plan that is more of a challenge than the square footage of our home. Regardless, spatial challenges have existed and we have learned a lot from working through them.
Regardless of your square footage though, I wanted to share with you a few ideas for learning to embrace the power of living in the space you are in right now. There is so much that I have learned over the years about making our home the best that we can and I wanted to share with you some ideas on how to make the most of the space you are in right now.
Reconsider Your Furniture
Furniture can truly make a room feel larger or smaller depending on the size of it and the purpose it serves in your home. Our larger furniture that we purchased for our previous home was not well-suited for the home we had now, but replacing it was not a cost that we could really afford.
Instead, consider scaling back on the amount of furniture you have in your rooms. Do you truly use the side tables in your home? Is the coffee table really needed or would your space benefit from an ottoman that could serve as dual storage? Try removing pieces of furniture from the room and see if they make the flow of the space feel bigger.
When you do replace furniture, try buying items that could serve as a dual purpose or could maximize your smaller rooms. When my son needed a new bed, we opted for a loft bed that would allow him to have a desk underneath, one piece of furniture that he would truly need and one that would not have fitted with any other piece of furniture.
Cut the Clutter in Half
The best part about living in a smaller space is that it has forced me to edit the belongings I have and has kept me from buying as much as I would in a larger space. If your home closets that are small, if you don’t have a basement, if there is no garage…then these situations can truly work for you as a way to keep your clutter naturally under control.
Lately I have been trying to live my life by the infamous quote from William Morris, “Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.” If it is not bringing beauty or usefulness to my space, then I can feel good about passing those items on to someone else in need. Suddenly, my kitchen counters feel spacious, the basement really does have a spot for everything in storage, and the house really does have enough space for us all.
Consider making a weekly date with yourself to devote an hour towards improving one spot in your home that you struggle with. If it is a drawer that never opens, an office that is filled with useless papers, a basement that has become an avalanche of misplaced items, spend your hour making those spots in your home better. Make it a goal to cut the clutter in half in these spots to make them more livable and enjoyable.
Make Wise Renovation Investments
Renovating your home can be costly, but it is usually not as costly as it is to buy a new home. If there is a particular area in your home you want to improve, consider getting an estimate to make your space more livable. Many homes have unused corners and smaller spaces that could be improved upon to make the home more livable.
Our little house got a much needed renovation this past year to make our space work for us for many years to come. With one wall knocked out and putting unused basement storage to work, our home was renovated into a spacious family room and a quiet home office in the basement.
Begin really thinking about the space you are in and how you could make it work for your family. Look for guidance in home magazines or consider spending the money on having an architect coming to evaluate your home to draw up a plan for making more out of the space you are currently in. You may be surprised to discover how much more square footage you might have right where you already are.
Make Your Space Feel Permanent
If you look at your home as a temporary place until you find something better, you might be overlooking the chance to really make the space you are in work for your family. I found that when I finally told myself that this was my home (whether I liked it or not) and put the elbow grease into it, it transformed not only the space…but my attitude towards it. As with all things in life, it is what you make it and I am choosing to make it the best that I truly can!
If you are living in a smaller home or apartment, just remember to consider your blessings. Not only do you have a mortgage or monthly payment that you can afford, but you have less of a home to clean, a natural way to edit the excess from your life, and more importantly….cozier quarters that force your family to always be together. What could be better for a family than that?
First Photo Credit: mricon
How have you learned to embrace the space you are in right now?
What a beautiful office. I want to curl up in one of those chairs with my cup of coffee!
We are in the “transforming our attitude” phase of how we look at our house. We have plenty of space, but the floor plan has a couple of kinks. When we bougth 4 years ago, we had a 5-7 year mindset on this home. Then the market crashed, real estate values plummeted, and we are simply staying put as a result (and glad we bought well below our “price range” as well).
Thanks for the post and the reminder to, “bloom where you’re planted.”
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5 years ago we moved from a 3000 sq ft..3 level home to a tiny cottage barely big enough to turn around in!…it was a “temporary” move also:)..well things didnt work out as planned… and we will be here for at least another 5 yrs or more…or maybe forever!..it truly is all about attitude….now I can start decorating as I really want…mostly all handmade by me…and cleaning is a snap!It still hurts that we had just finished an almost total home renovation on the old home…it was beautiful…but we are at the age now to think of less work is less pain!!..I am still working on finishing this home and letting the past in the past…..and I cant help wondering when did we all start to think big or biggest is best?
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I love living in a small house – takes some innovation but there isn’t as much cleaning, you have to be continually evaluating what you need/don’t need and you don’t need as much furniture – tres frugal! Don’t forget the smaller utility bills! (our home is 1023sf for a family of 4)
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Our house was so big to us when we moved in with one child in tow. Two more children later, it doesnt feel so big anymore. With an open split level floor plan there isnt much room to “escape”. Our closets are not horrible but NEED a better system in them as clothes everywhere is my biggest complaint!
My husband has been out of work for a year so we are grateful to even still have our home, and will likely be here for some time. Im love learning new ways to make better use of my small home.
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I can so relate! We moved into our little rancher before we had any children. We always planned to “upgrade” as our family grew. Recession, loss of my income, husband’s salary was also greatly reduced… and here we are. LOL I have accepted that this is likely to be our home for a long time. I just really wish we had the funds to renovate a few things. Maybe someday!
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Marilyn Holeman Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
My husband and two sons (with the help of our two daughters) built our own small home–including going through the process of getting county permission–with NO building background. They checked books out of the library, asked contractor friends questions (and occasionally got their help.) My point is, YOU and your family can do more than you think! Go for it!
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Thanks for the reminder to be grateful that we have a roof over our heads. We were suppose to build in a year but with me being a SAHM and the economy we will be living in our less than 1200 sq foot house for a while.
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I always chuckle at articles like these (In a nice way, of course). Our small house is less than 700 square feet for a family of four (five over summers). I wish someone would write a small house article that addressed a SERIOUSLY small house!!!
Because I’ve run out of ideas for making us fit in here!!
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Amy Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:01 am
I can’t imagine, Tiffany! Small space is definitely different for everyone. I hope some of the tips still help. Furniture choices and/or renovation choices can still apply to almost any space!
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Marilyn Holeman Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Hi Tiffany, Our house where we raised our four children is 605 square feet–so I can seriously relate! At one point, a friend walked through our laundry room, and casually mentioned that there was space there for a bunk above the machines. Voila! It was done, and was so cute, it was the most sought after spot in the house. (When my son got too tall, we cut a hole into the closet and built a shelf for his feet to rest on!) We also built a bed in the cubby in the living room above the desk. They are both now used for storage. (Our “master bedroom” was in the “dining room” for a while!)
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april Reply:
February 17th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
I have a 900 sq foot house with 5 people(one almost 14 yo girl, 11 yo boy,and 4 yo girl, who still shares a room with us! and pets)2 closets, 1 bathroom, oiy!
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Rachel Reply:
March 10th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
I live in a 2 bed 1 bath house a little over 750 sq ft. Two adults two small children and a dog. I absolutely love this house and plan on staying and raising the kids here. Its small but has a lot of charm and its a lot of fun coming up with creative solutions for storage. Our gas and electric bills are so low and it takes no time at all to clean. There really are lots of benefits of living small
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We have a three story home. It’s not large, large but it’s perfect to me. DH, however, thinks it’s a starter home and wants something bigger! Eep! We already have so much furniture and clutter the place feels small. It was actually one of my goals this year to rid ourselves of it.
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We just moved from a 2600 sq. ft. home to one that’s 1400 sq. ft. and couldn’t be happier! My husband traded in a hour+ drive for one that’s 10 minutes. We are spending so much more time together as a family and it’s wonderful!
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We have a 2 bdrm apartment for us and our baby. I’d love a house one day simply for the yard and basement, just to have a tiny bit more breathing room. I definitely don’t want a large home (who wants to clean it??) but just enough space and definitely to pare down on belongings – however, we aren’t sure if we want more kids and if we would ‘have’ one or adopt one, so we must keep baby things for now…that creates storage issues!
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We did a temporary move to a 500 sq foot apt (with our family of 5). It is becoming more temporary than we expected partly because we love it! When we do find a more permanent place we know we don’t need or want a huge ‘mansion’. Our use of space has become very creative. We switch out the kid’s toys every couple of months and it is like having new things every time. The ceilings are too low to loft the beds, but my son is still young so he uses a bed from Ikea that is as long as a twin, but not as wide.
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I really liked your point about not waiting until you have something “better” but making the place you have now a real space for you. It’s something I need to remember for my own place. I’ve moved endless times and never really put down roots anywhere now. But I’m living in chaos with stuff not put away and half done. It’s been bugging me and yet I have just not dealt with it. I’m going to be inspired by your post and get started on making this a place to live instead of a temporary base of operations.
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I ABSOLUTLY love this article! I was very much ready to pack up and move but after reading this I am pumped up on staying put. With a few adjustments (building on an extra bathroom-we only have one, which doesnt work with a household of 5) and LOTS of cleaning and organizing, not only will we save money, we will be able to live a happier less stressful life
Thank you, sincerley, for the inspiration!!
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Amy Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Wow, Christy, you just made my day! I am so happy you are going to make the most of the space you are in! Thank you for letting me know that it inspired you!
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“I think it is the floor plan that is more of a challenge than the square footage of our home.”
TRULY the key.
We live in 900 very ineffeciently designed square feet: the house is split in 2 halves by a chimney and full staircase; the converted attic 2nd floor has deeply sloping roof/ceiling which limits full headroom severely.
After I finish reading your post, if I have anything useful to add, will do so. Here from Meredith’s question @ likemerchantships.
deb meyers
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We have a raised ranch of about 1500 SF and I know what you mean about needing to work the room. Easier to clean, easier to keep clean, we need to make sure that if something comes in, something goes out, and because we are on top of each other, communication is key! I for one love living in a small home.
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I live in a small house and struggle with my attitude many, MANY days!! I am thankful, but oh so frustrated some days….We have five children, and we live in a house that is only 1150 square feet. It has been the source of a tremendous amount of stress in our marriage, because I never really wanted to buy this house, but here we are!! I feel sometimes like the seven of us are literally tripping over each other, and always being on top of each other causes some short tempers sometimes, and impossible space and storage challenges!!!. But, I am thankful that we have a house. I often ponder how families larger than ours lived in small log cabins out on the prairie and yet somehow survived. I try to remind myself that, ultimately, my kids will most remember whether or not there was love and laughter in this home, not really how big or small it was. Thanks for a great article that encourages those of us who live with this challenge every day!
Susan
(Here from a link on Meredith’s Merchant Ships blog. I wish you could talk her into starting to blog again- she is missed!!!)
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We lived for six years in England before moving back to the US (husband was military) and purchasing a house. If we’d never lived there, I think we’d currently own a much bigger home. However, we moved here from a house that had a 9×26 foot space as the ENTIRE living/dining/office area! This four bedroom 1500 square foot house felt HUUUUGE when we viewed it. The funny thing is, by todays American standards it really is a small house. However, the people that lived here before us, who bought it new, raised 7 kids in this house. They clearly made good use of the space, so I know the 3 of us certainly don’t need a bigger home. In fact, we had a ceiling leak once and had to close off the biggest bedroom for nearly a month while repairs were going on-we never missed the space!
I am slowly going through and adding space efficient storage solutions, and DH just came up with a way to utilize a big long wall in the kitchen that could create desperately needed storage there-a little thought is often all you need.
I have moments when I would gladly give it back to the bank (because I think eventually we will have replaced absolutely everything in this place-obviously, a lot of things wore out with 9 people using them for 20 years). But, the house and I are learning to appreciate each other. I think we’ll survive.
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Love this…
If you look at your home as a temporary place until you find something better, you might be overlooking the chance to really make the space you are in work for your family.
Our house was built in 1968 and while it may not be my “dream” home it is in an awesome school district and we have great neighbors and a great neighborhood park.
I’ve been working on decluttering for a couple of months and I still cannot BELIEVE how much stuff I have hauled to Goodwill or given to friends with girls. WOW!
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Colleen P. Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Jamie-a great neighborhood can make a so-so house a lot more appealing! LOL! We are in the same situation; it’s not our ideal house but the location is wonderful, as are the neighbors. Ours was built in 63, I’m thinking the 60′s isn’t the best decade for home building. Ours has so little architectural interest that we’ve had to put a lot of work into just making it more than rectangles and squares! I’m sloooowly turning it into as close as I can get to an English cottage.
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Sharon Reply:
July 20th, 2012 at 8:17 pm
I thought I bought a small home in a good school district. We were homeschooling at the time and I was more concerned about resale value. Silly me. The economy has tanked, our house has lost value (but we are still “right-side up, thankfully), and the school district has tanked. My point however, is this, I told my husband that if I had to have a small house, I wanted it to look as much like a cottage as possible. In our area, there are lots of people with enourmous mansions; I’m talking 5000 sf and more. I covet (ed) and am saddened that I passed that attitude on to my older son. He feels ashamed of our small home; I never felt ashamed but still…. With lots of prayer and with websites like this, I have come to appreciate my small-ish home. I also told him to look around; just as many people live in small homes in our area as live in big ones. I am now praying for him to appreciate our home.
One story: We remodeled a bathroom for 1500.00! Sink, toilet,floor, cabinetry, paint, and accessories (we left the tub in place). I was so appreciative of my small bathroom! We need better storage and some more ways to create privacy (our home is very open) but all in all, I enjoy our neighborhood, love our yard, and am appreciative of my home.
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Love, love, love those chairs. We’ve got a larger house but a big family. I’m always in awe of what it looks like when we de-clutter (the rate at which clutter piles up here is crazy). In my pre-kid days I had a small, beach side flat in Spain. It wasn’t much more than a loft but you’re so right, the neighborhood made it feel like a castle. I miss it so much.
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Loved your post! I haven’t read much on this topic in blog world, but it hits right at home for me. I LOVE my little house ~ 1,000 square feet of HOME. There’s 6 of us who dwell here, and simplicity is the key word. I like how you put it “embrace the power of living in the space you are in”. The quote you shared is also one of my favorites “Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful” and even then there are limits:). Sometimes it’s hard to be content with a small space, but less really is more. Most of the time I love that warm & cozy feeling of everyone being together, but when it gets to me I just send them outdoors. Living in a small place forces us to simplify and to work together to keep things orderly. My sign above the ‘dining room’ reads: “Love Grows Best in Little Houses”. It’s kind of a motto for me ♥ No matter what size your house is the important thing is to make it a haven for your family. Thanks for a wonderful post!
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I’ve read your previous posts about the renovation of your home. Indeed it was an amazing transformation. I love your office because I am planning on renovating our house especially my mini-office. Truly it’s an inspiration.
melanoma symptoms
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My husband and I live in an 800 sq ft apartment. Between the 2 of us we have 8 children over the age of 18, none live with us, but we have great family holidays which all happen here. With all of our children and there spouses and the grandchildren, we have had 22 people in our apartment at once, and the den, kitchen and dining room does not space for that many folks. Two people can not turn around in my kitchen without bumping into each other. But I store the folding tables and chairs behind the sofa and Thanksgiving I get them all out, push back or move any other furniture I can and we set up tables for 22 people for a sit down meal and we are family and we are grateful to be together. There is so little counter top to set food in my kitchen that I have put baking pans over the sink to place more serving dishes. This past year many cooks rotated in an out of the kitchen. And when the day was over my husband and I looked at each other and said, “you know a lot of families fuss and fight with other when they got all the space in the world and here we are tripping over each other all day long and no one even snapped.” I call that blessed! And last year after having our first family dinner after us getting married I wanted us to start house hunting because I wanted a big house to have these big family meals in. These days I am just more creative with storage space. Under stuff, behind stuff, on top of stuff. When you start really looking there are lots of places to store things. I am a big coupon person who stock piles and I hear people say…I don’t have the space to start a stock pile. If I can do it in 800 sq ft, any one can!
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This is SO timely for me! We are in the process of packing up to move to somewhere that is only 300sqft smaller. And I AM LOVING THE PURGE!
I grew up in a home of more. Stuff everywhere, and “no don’t throw that out.” so to finally feel like I can change gears is AWESOME!
My theory: use your walls! Shelves are an amazing invention, and I plan on using them a lot! Thanks for the motivation for me to pack…I’ve been dreading it today!
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Oh, I just love this. Love love love it.
We moved into our 1300 sq ft home 3 years ago, downsizing from 1800… not by choice did we get a smaller house… but we left our 1800 sq ft to live in a town we wanted to live in, so the 1300 sq ft was the best choice at the time. Anyway… I have gone through many stages of mourning with regards to the lost space, and then stages of complete chaos trying to ignore my lack of space, and finally an acceptance of the fact that we are where God wants us to be, and I must do the best with what I have, to finally JOY in this space.
It’s been an interesting journey, and I’m so thankful for all I’ve learned in it. I have gone from having the greedy mindset that our next house will have to be at least 2000 sq feet, to being totally ok if our next house needs to be 1000 sq feet. (Ok, that might be stretching it a bit, but you get my point.
)
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I’m a small house lover!!!! My current house isn’t all that small 2500 square feet, but I have lived in smaller places! I love the feeling of being in control of my space, not having so much that everything costs a fortune to redo or furnish because it is so huge!!!
Definitely challenging to have a small home, but I love a good challenge.
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I needed to hear this today. My husband and I recently bought our first house – a charming cape code. As we contemplate beginning our family, I look at our three bedrooms and (at times) wonder how we will fit. It makes me realize that I need to start paring down my things now so that we can live simply. Thanks for a great article!
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I’m grateful for this article. It makes me feel less alone in my feelings of frustration over my small house. I left a a good-sized 3-bedroom with a library/office plus a family room…for a 2bed/1bath vintage home which had been in our family forever. It was supposed to be our dream/til-we-die bungalow but we’ve found nothing but claustrophia, primarily because of ME not wanting to get rid of my STUFF. I happen to love my stuff. It took me years to collect and acquire after having nothing. If you can’t make a small house work, the clutter and warehouse feeling puts terrible strain on your psyche, marriage, life; you wind up walking through “tunnels.” You can look like a hoarder in no time. In our case, as is the case with so many early-20th century cottages, there just are no closets, and the folks back then didn’t have our technology of computer, printer, fax machine, television, “stereo” equipment, microwave, toaster oven, food dehydrator, blenders, juicers, cappucino machine…you get my drift. They didn’t make houses back then to anticipate those kinds of inventions…small appliances or large ones. (My grandma lived in our house in 1930 and didn’t even own a toaster into the new millenium.) I’ll unpack a box, post-renovation (yes, we did a little, like electrical/plumbing), and just stare in a circle, wondering where the heck I’m going to put anything. I have to create room to move around in, which means I have to say goodbye to things I want and like. It’s the mindset. In theory, the not-so-big house concept works, but we didn’t have the money to totally overhaul our house by changing out walls, counters, cabinets, windows, etc. Anyway, I’m reading the comments here, re-reading the article and I’m determined, once again, to make this work because, you guys are right, in what I still consider a DEPRESSION and not a recession, we’re not going anywhere, certainly not now and what I have, with the way it is right now and how it will remain in terms of square footage, has to work. I didn’t know so many of us were finding ourselves in the same predicament but I am, indeed, thankful for a roof over my head. Don’t blame me, though, if my sleepy dreams take me to McMansion land, with cupboards and closets and nooks galore!
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Just wanted to make an addendum. I like what the shabby chic designer, Rachel Ashwell, says about what’s in your home…that it should have three things: function, comfort and beauty. I interpret that to mean that if it doesn’t have purpose (or multi-purpose), if it’s not something that feels good underneath you and it doesn’t please your eye, why have it? Why hold onto it? Better to move it along. Don’t think about what you paid for it. Don’t obsess over how you should keep it because you might still need it some day. Don’t say to yourself, “it’s a perfectly good thing, it doesn’t have a mark on it, it’s in great shape, surely I can find a place for it” because, in a small space, you will struggle to find a place, for anything! It’s not the kind of stuff you need to fill up your house with! When you’ve got a little house, you need to fill it up very, very selectively. And as you’re filling it up, don’t fill it to the brim, or you’ll be right back where you started from. I guess for some of us, if you can’t change your attitude, a small house makes you feel shackled; restrained against your will. But if you look at is as streamlined, easier to clean, soothed by all of your essentials within easy reach and view, there’s the trade-off. Comfort in containment. Not-so-big house? I guess not-so-bad after all.
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In the second picture I’m wondering if this is called a loft bed (in a child’s room)? If so, at what age did your child sleep in it and any issues? We’re thinking of putting one in our 6 year old son’s room to gain more floor space. Did you make this or buy it? Thanks so much!
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Amy Reply:
February 21st, 2013 at 12:58 pm
It IS called a loft bed, Nchole, and Ethan was about five when we put him in it. I think you need to decide that based on how adventuresome your child is. Ethan is not one who gets in and out of bed or that I had to worry would jump from the top or anything like that. We have had no issues other than my worry if he gets a stomach bug and can’t get down fast enough
Hope that helps!
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I really enjoyed reading this article. Our family of four, myself, husband and two kids, ages 3 and 16 months are getting ready to move from 900 to 1500 square feet, and at first I was feeling almost hesistant that it wouldn’t be enough space, but after reading about the many families who are in similar spaces or smaller I am confident that we are making the right decision and that our new home will work for us if we can get creative with configuring the space. I live in a somewhat urban neighborhood in San Diego and you learn to live without a garage, which in my opnion means less junk and clutter to obtain. I’m learning to live and embrace the space you are in today!
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