Tiny Houses and Transitional Spaces
I have a fascination with the whole tiny house trend. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s the process of downsizing to a teeny tiny space (usually on wheels, so you have the option of a “home to go”) ~ keeping only the essential things that you need for day to day life.
Some of the spaces make me feel slightly claustrophobic. Others seem oddly spacious ~ even though the square footage proves otherwise.
What I find most fascinating, however, is how every square inch is thoughtfully planned. Spaces are designed to be multi-functional. By moving around just a few things, a room can provide the solution to more than one living space requirment. I watched a video of a woman sliding her ottoman to the side, cleverly pulling and pushing on certain spots, and suddenly it became a table to be used in the living room as her “office” computer table. (Awesome ottoman design, I say!)
I was thinking of that the other night when I needed to change my office into a Dining Room. Guests would be arriving, and I was running short on time. Rather than overthink, I decided to just get busy. It was rather messy to begin with (understatment!), but was shocked to discover the process took less than 30 minutes.
Here’s how the room is normally set up: (Well, you know, when it’s all cleaned up and staged for pictures!;)
And here it this morning as the Dining Room.
Here’s what I did:
-
The printer and computer were moved to the dresser top in the corner.
- The closet was in need of some attention, so before I could get to the next step, I needed to organize a bit of craziness in there. Once that was done, I moved on to step 3.
- The papers and pens that were piled on top of the desk were stacked and put in the closet (nestled snug as a bug between the flour bin and vacuum…)
- A table leaf was taken out of the closet and added to the table.
- Dining Room chairs were brought up from the basement, and the office chair went upstairs.
- A quick snap of a checkered tablecloth nicely disguised the unsightly burn marks on the top of our old table.
- A simple centerpiece of a small vase of carnations, container of serviettes, and salt and pepper shakers finished it off.
Now the room’s all set for dinner for 8…
and I’m enjoying the comfort of typing this morning from my lazy boy chair in the living room! (hmm…I could get used to this!:))
What about you? Do you have any transitional spaces in your home that provide double duty when needed? If so, do you have any tips to share with us on how you make it work? We’d love to learn from you!
Great post, Rita! I totally agree with you that transitional places in your home is smart. We have two areas that have become transitional:
1) formal living room – was primarily used for our church small groups and posting couples until my husband came home with a desk ($20) from a local hotel selling off their furniture as they were required to upgrade. We have placed the desk in the living room window and it is now my husband’s “office”.
2) our third bedroom – this year we purchased an IKEA Hemmes daybed (it’s a beast to put together!) as my son and his famly came. Our grandson slept on it for the 3 weeks they were with us. However, the room is primary used as “my office”. I have my chair and small table/desk. The closet has been done over to provide lots of storage and clothes space (usually off-season coats). In the future if someone stays with us with a child or a couple with a single adult – we can easily remove the chair and table and pull out the daybed. In the mean time, it has become my sofa in the room and I’m having fun finding decorative pillows and trying to mix and match fabric.
Hugs from Ontario