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rosesstink

Small space memories

rosesstink
12 years ago

While I was ironing today (and wishing I had enough hanging space to iron a week's worth at once) I remembered the first apartment we lived in. It was tiny! The only closet was about two feet wide. We had to hang two or three shirts on one hanger and everything was totally squashed. Our current 1200 SF is luxurious by comparison.

What are your small space memories?

Comments (11)

  • TxMarti
    12 years ago

    Our first apartment had a 3 burner stove, and the rest of the "kitchen" was along a 6' wall with a little refrigerator and the sink, which left about 3 feet of counter space divided on each side of the sink. When I cooked, I had to line up the dining table chairs to use as counter space.

    And I actually have fond memories of that apartment.

  • desertsteph
    12 years ago

    4 girls sleeping in 1 bedroom - lol!

  • rosesstink
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    We had a kitchen like that Marti. If you left the dish drainer on the counter (and where the heck would you put it away?) we had about 1-1/2 feet of counter. It was okay for the two of us working different shifts and only entertaining two other people at a time.

    I too have fond memories of our little apartment.

  • Shades_of_idaho
    12 years ago

    Funny the smallest house we lived in a little over 800SQ FT had large rooms. There were only 5 rooms counting the tiny bath that I am sure really was the pantry before being made into a bath with INDOOR plumbing. The old out house was still there.

    The living room was 16 by 16 and the two bedrooms were 12 by 12 each with a small walk in closet. I remember that house with happiness. It was the house with the tiny 24 inch stove.There was a fun wrap around front porch and my husband covered about half of the porch.

    House was on 100 acres with one mile of the Salmon River running through the property. So the house was tiny but the space was HUGE. Was a great place to live. We had no neighbors behind us for 15 miles all forest service and BLM land. I used to walk with the dog, calf ,goat and cats up the draw and we would have an adventure for the day. All running free. Some times I would ride one of the horses or mules. The biggest problem was the rattle snakes in that area. They were really bad.

  • TxMarti
    12 years ago

    Ok, you had me wondering why you ever left, until I got to the word rattles snakes.

  • flgargoyle
    12 years ago

    I remember the party we had for our wedding rehearsal- 24 guests in my little 800 sq ft home! There was a group in the LR, a group in the kitchen, a BIG group in the garage (where the bar was set up!), and a group on the back porch. Luckily, although it was December 31, the weather was very mild.

  • camlan
    12 years ago

    I rented a small studio apartment once, with a separate galley kitchen. The kitchen consisted of an old enamel sink with the attached drainboard and three very narrow, very tall wall cabinets on one wall and a tiny stove and small refrigerator on the opposite wall. It was so small that you could turn around from the sink and open the fridge without taking a step.

    No counter, except that drainboard. No cabinets under the sink, so I put some wooden crates there. But it did have a big window and lots of sunshine.

    The whole place was about 400 square feet with one tiny closet. But I lived there for three years and loved it. Right in the heart of Beacon Hill in Boston--I was able to walk everywhere, including to work.

    Couldn't afford to live there now, even with the much larger salary I'm making 20 years later.

  • ellendi
    12 years ago

    My first apartment out of college was a studio apartment with an alcove kitchen in Brooklyn. The kitchen did not have a counter for a drain boardand the stove was tiny. I paid $175.00 for rent.I was able to have a table and the half wall made it feel like a seperate room. The main room was roomy and I probably could have divided it into bedroom and living room, but I used my high riser with bolsters as my couch.
    When I returned to the neighborhood years later, I was happy to see it went co-op and looked very upscale!

  • leafy02
    12 years ago

    I lived in a tiny studio with a closet-style galley kitchen for one year after college. A friend lived there with me when she was on the outs with her boyfriend. She kept all her stuff in boxes under the desk. We were usually home different shifts during the day and out listening to bands or dancing at night, so it was plenty of room for us.... and one dog, two cats, and a parrot.

    It was a walk-up and level with the treetops. Many of my fond memories involve laying on the bed reading with my dog and cats curled up beside me, sunlight filtering through the shifting leaves, lulling me to sleep. Bliss!

  • Shades_of_idaho
    12 years ago

    camlan my friend had a studio apartment that sounds exactly like yours was. I used to love to go visit her and we felt like we were in a castle in that tiny apartment. We were so grown up. NOT...... I remember she would have to buzz me into the building.

  • xantippe
    12 years ago

    I am late to join the party, but I wanted to say what a fun thread. How nice it is that we all have fond memories of our extremely tiny houses/apartments.

    Our first apartment was 610 square feet, and we, of course, just HAD to have Thanksgiving there. We invited 10 people, and had to push all the living room furniture to the walls to make room to dine. It was BYOT (bring your own table), BYOP (bring your own plates), and BYOC (bring your own chair). But it was one of the best Thanksgivings we've ever hosted.

    The next year, we had moved to a 900 square feet townhouse, and had 14 people for Thanksgiving. It was still bring-your-own-everything, but this time, we threw a tablecloth over the assorted tables (a rickety 1900's card table, a round kitchen table, and a rectangular folding table) and called it classy. That was the best Thanksgiving ever.

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