Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The tiny apartment

This post is part of a series on homes that inspire me, as part of mulling over what my dream house looks like and to help motivate my decluttering. Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

So far, most of the homes I've shared with you have been purpose-built, painstakingly designed and constructed with intention, reflecting the values and practices of the people living in them. Many are designed to make efficient use of limited space, with clever hidden storage.

Today, I am looking at the experiences of a young couple living in a rented city flat. And somehow they've made it so beautiful, I'm looking at the pictures feeling deeply envious at the sense of simplicity they've created.

These experiences are documented in by Erin in her blog - reading my tea leaves - which includes a running list (93 and counting) of survival tips for tiny apartments. I thoroughly recommend taking a dive into the archives of this, I'm finding it very interesting food for thought. There are a few points that have really resonated with me:

White. White everywhere. White walls, white doors, white cupboards, white sheets on the bed. I always used to think white was boring, that I didn't like spaces painted white. Between Erin's flat and Carmella's cabin, I'm realising that white means a calmer, more coherent background against which your best-loved items just sing.

Even cleaning tools should be aesthetically pleasing. This is something of a revelation for me - of course! Why shouldn't you have scrubbing brushes with an elegance and simplicity, instead of a cracked neon yellow plastic monstrosity?

Things are more fixable than you think. I'm embarrassingly nervous about DIY - I've never done it and I'm terrified of doing it wrong, even painting a table would freak me out, but Erin is clearly the kind of person who rolls up her sleeves and gets to work with the screwdriver/paintbrush/etc. This is definitely something I want to challenge myself to have a go at... if only I knew where to start...


And finally - I really need to clean my windows.

Pictures from http://www.readingmytealeaves.com/ used by kind permission.

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