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talley_sue_nyc

I just made my apartment bigger!

talley_sue_nyc
18 years ago

And all I did was remeasure, and add in the rooms I used to leave out.

I always thought we had 850 square feet--it felt bigger bcs it is well arranged. I figured the square footage by multiplying each room, and adding them together.

But a guy down the block advertised his identical apartment as 1,100 sq. feet. So, as we were getting a bid for flooring to be redone, I needed to provide the room measurements.

And I realized, myliving room is 3 feet bigger in one direction and 1 foot bigger in the other; the kids' room is 2 feet bigger one way and 2 feet bigger the other way; the dinign room is a foot bigger in both directions, and ditto the bedroom.

Also, I realized, I never used to add in either the foyer or the hall. Or the bathrooms. Or the closets!

Without closets and without the space the walls themselves take up, I've got 1,050 square feet!

Comments (9)

  • andrea345
    18 years ago

    oh TalleySue,
    I hope I'm not "the wrong" person for this post. One of the favorite things we did when we bought our 1952 tract house was tear out closets & put in armoires. I love the larger rooms. I got almost 3 additional feet of width in one room & sufficient storage along a 10' long wall taken care of by a 4' wide armoire. Those things are brilliant - they've got all sorts of shelves, drawers & variable height racking. We even added one to our living room to hold jackets, boots, hats, gloves & things.

    Congratulations on finding your new space! I couldn't help commenting when I read about the foyer, the hall, and the closet. (psst... we also got some lost wall space back by using pocket doors). heh

    -a

    And no, "remodel" would never pass my lips.

  • alicesRestaurant
    18 years ago

    That's great! Probably makes you feel richer, right?

    If you had a floor plan, I would love to see it because I've actually researched 1000 sq ft homes and always thought that would be my dream. I hate big houses but want to have all the amenities such as two bathrooms and relatively large living area. I don't need/want a dining room, just a little alcove or something. I don't care if the bedrooms are small but I'm one who does like closets because they hide the mess so well. (If I ever finish decluttering, maybe the need for closets will be less. )

    Anyway, I think finding your new space is great.
    --Alice

  • teacats
    18 years ago

    It is amazing what we can find with simple measurements!! LOL!! I always advise folks on the decoration boards to measure all of their rooms AND spaces -- including hallways, doors and windows -- and write it down in a decorating notebook. A section for each space. Why??

    Those measurements save so much time, effort, steps and even tears. Can't tell you how many folks are so sure that their rooms are "just 10 x 10" (an example!) -- and then find those missing few inches when they actually measure them!!

    And when you are decorating -- it is so handy to look at a notebook and see those measurements in print. And to even draw out a simple plan of the room -- nothing fancy -- just a shape with basic measurements.

    Also handy to have photos of the rooms too! And write down names/numbers of paint colors and even fabrics.

    When decorating it is just handy to turn over those measurements to the book -- and not have to store them in your memory ........ my poor old brain simply has too many leaks these days!!!

    WELL done on those measurements!!!

  • alicesRestaurant
    18 years ago

    Scratch my request to see your floor plan. Sorry to sound paranoid but what dawned on me is something I heard someone else mention (can't remember which forum). They said floor plans on the web enable/assist potential burglars in planning their break-ins. Don't want to be the cause of THAT. Oh well --Alice

  • artmom
    18 years ago

    Ooooooo, that makes it worth more, you ARE richer!!! The same space has always been there and you have been using it all along.Hmmm, guess it may make a difference come tax time unless you play dumb. I think it's great!

  • talley_sue_nyc
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Teacats, that's great advice. I had written them down somewhere before, but didn't remember them. I had that "remembering wrong" problem when I went to get carpet cut to size as an area rug in the kids room--I thought it was 9x12. Fortunately, I measured really well before I actually placed the order, but I ended up having to choose different color to get one that came wide enough (or something). And I know I paid more for it than I'd originally planned--not a bad thing particularly, but it made me feel unsettled and worried something ELSE was wrong.

    I think a burgler wouldn't have that much trouble figure out how to break into our floor plan--he'll just come down the fire escape and come through the windows into what are obviously the bedrooma nd the kitchen, LOL!

    There was a floor plan similar to ours in a NYTimes Real Estate ad, but I think that ad has faded or I'd link youi to it.

    I like the closets, actually--I like that even the knowledge of the presence of stuff is hidden behind plaster walls. And I like having the expanse of wall itself, w/ the paint, and the place to hang pictures (not that I have many of them, but stil...) There's plenty of OTHER stuff (furniture, bookcases) cluttering up the wall, those closets are hidden storage.

    And I don't have much in the way of doors--most of the hallways either don't have a door at all, or it folds back against the wall and is completely out of the way (or hiding the laundry, in the bedroom, LOL!) You couldn't fit pocket doors in our building--the walls, most of them, are solid plaster. No studs, no lath, solid plaster. Bricks, or thick sheets. Don't ask me how it works, but it's been impressing building inspectors since 1921. To put in electrical wiring, you have to carve out a groove to sink the BX cable into, and then plaster over it again.

    Our doors are solid wood--when they're closed, sound does NOT go through them. They're a beautiful veneer, too.

    Alice, our floor plan is REALLY nice--almost no wasted space. It's a little like a railroad flat, in that rooms are up against each other, not off a long hallway; but you don't have the problem of needing to walk through one bedroom to get to the next, bcs it's like an L-shaped railroad flat. There is a little hallway in the short side of the L, but it doesn't use up that much space. it really is a lovely layout.

    Anyway, I thought I'd just let you all know that you don't need to feel sorry for me anymore--I don't live in 850 square feet after all, LOL!

  • maddiemom6
    18 years ago

    Wow Talley.... well then I will call off that telethon I was going to hold in your honor now that you are a land barroness and all that :).. I know it must feel good. When we got this place I was agast that we were going to fill up 4K of space.. but we don't get to use it all righ tnow... my MIL lives with us and we made her and apt out about 750 sqr feet of it. Some day that will be out Master suite, sitting room and bathroom... I think then the house will feel REALY large... The kick is that I wonder if that will have any impact on how orgainized it is!

    Maddiemom

  • JessyFeldm_speakeasy
    18 years ago

    Alice etc.

    You might want to check out the Sarah Susanka books (from the library, so you don't have to store them). She's an architect and thinks 'small' and multi-tasking areas. We don't need monster mansions. Great, creative ideas.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah Susanka books

  • mustangs81
    18 years ago

    TS, Glad that you have more space. I always relate to you when I see HGTV programs showing NYC apartments.

    We just had our house reappraised and gained 125 SF. Of course the original appraisal could be correct, but I feel confident after watching how detailed the appraiser was. She said that it would take her 30 minutes. It ended up taking her 1 1/2 hours, she said that she didn't know that there would be so many nooks so I guess she measured them all.