apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

sweet!

LOVE it! we used to live in a 658sf house with our two, then three, young children. when we moved out, they were 4yo, almost 3yo, and 10mo. did i mention we also had two (small!) dogs? it was a tight squeeze, for sure, but it was fine. we now have four kids under six and only just under 1100sf and it feels like a mansion! it makes you reassess what you do and don't actually need. it also freed us up to spend more money on fewer items, giving our kids higher quality playthings (since they only got a couple of small items each occasion) and us nicer furniture.

just wait until that kid starts running around like a tasmanian devil...

Good for them! Live with beauty; Spend each day with the loved ones! Yards and parks make great places to run around, btw.

makakona, I'd love to see how you live with four young kids in only 1100sf -- I'm sure I would learn a ton! Maybe Ohdeedoh could do a feature on your family!

It was a great surprise to see this post! I grew up with Ryan, and his sister Rachel is still one of my best friends. So glad to see him and his family living happy, and healthy. It brings us back to the reality, it is who you have not what you have in life that matters the most!

these pictures ooze home. great pics!

Love it!!! We live in a small space and it is great - les to maintain, less to clean and just less stuff...

This is so great. I also live in a pretty small house (700 sqft) with my husband, daughter Finley (2), and 1 very large boxer dog.

Everyone said we were crazy to have a baby in such a small place but things have worked out just fine. Furniture with storage is our friend. We also try and buy toys that are actually nice to look at since they manage to make there way out into the middle of the living room everyday.

I imagine we will eventually have to move since I am guessing Finley won't want to share a room with us forever.

It's lovely, but as someone who moved, panicked, out of a 400sqft apartment (without a yard or porch to escape to) when my 9 month old son started crawling and pulling EVERYTHING out of it's carefully arranged storage place, I realized that, at least for us, more space was suddenly hugely important. We're still in a relatively small space, for non-city standards (about 900sqft), but it's been a lifesaver for us to have enough space for him to really run around the house (and for us to have our own rooms!). I'm also very glad not to have to hover nearly as much -- having more space, somewhat ironically, allowed me to really simplify the space without going crazy childproofing everything because the rooms are much more open and there's so much less "stuff" everywhere. I hope these folks still make this work after what a previous poster aptly called the tasmanian devil phase kicks in!! (I'm not trying to be negative at all, just wanted to give a different perspective -- I really do think that the fact that they've got an outside space to escape to will make a small space more bearable than it was for my family!)

This has obviously worked well for them but co-sleeping with your baby in your big bed is not recommended by health-care professionals as it can increase the risk of cot death - its been reported (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/14/cot-deaths-sharing-bed-parents) that over half of all cot deaths occurred when the baby was sleeping with the parent either in their bed or on a sofa - its always best to have a separate sleeping place for baby no matter how small your living space is

Violetsrose, please don't pretend you actually know what is "always best" for any family. Millions and millions of families practice co-sleeping. Please quit the preaching.

violetsrose - please read articles fully before posting. This article clearly states that the deaths were linked to drinking and drug use by the parents, more likely the cause than co sleeping itself.

from a non co-sleeping parent

My husband and I lived in a 300 square foot apartment before we were married, and I wholeheartedly agree about the "facing things head on" comment. I think it really strengthened us as a couple, preparing us for marriage, baby, and a "palace" of a 900 square foot house!

What a lovely cozy family home! It looks great and obviously works very well for this couple, though I don't think it would work for our family. We lived in a one-bedroom condo until our first child was almost 2. Everyone thought we were crazy and we got lots of comments like "children need a backyard" or "babies need privacy too" or "when we decided to have kids, we knew we'd need a basement and a garage"! In many ways I think it was easier to live in a small space - it gave us the incentive to buy only what we really needed, and it was easy to keep clean. We had a single basket of toys, put the change pad on top of our dresser, and made sure to spend plenty of time out and about in the city during the day so we wouldn't get cabin fever. Most big-city parents live like this, of course, and I think it's a great set-up.

We did move into a larger apartment just before our second child was born and though I do value the extra space, it's amazing how much more clutter and stuff we've allowed to accumulate here. It's also much easier to be disconnected from each other than when the living room/dining room/kitchen/office/laundry room were all one space.

Ouch, violetrose- I think you might want to keep your judgements to yourself. There are studies on both sides of this issue, so it's just one of those calls parents have to make on their own. It's normal in much of the world, not to mention much easier for breastfeeding moms.

I believe in cosleeping (says the woman whose 2 older children are in her bed right now, though they have beds of their own). I think it's important to point out some flaws in the actual facts of above posters though.

"Cot death" is SIDS. It is by definition a death by unknown causes, and is mostly found in cot or crib sleeping babies, but can be found in those sleeping in parent's arms, strollers, beds, anywhere a baby is sleeping. What is sometimes found as increased in cosleeping studies is NOT cot death or SIDS. It's overlying/suffocation. They are entirely different.

Also, I found that I did want a separate sleep space some of the time even with 2 customarily cosleeping children. In a small space, we've used fully reclining cushy strollers, travel cribs, a full size crib, a full size mattress on the floor, and a futon-style mattress on the floor. When/if they want to put the child in a separate sleep space, they can easily find room for either a rollable mattress or a folding crib.

My 5 year old daughter would not be able to live in 380 sf. - alone!

Congrats for making it happen though.

I think it is really key that they have no TV. Most of the time, we need separate space because others are doing noisy things (like TV, dinner parties, etc) while others are sleeping or working.

I know I shouldn't get any medals, but we moved from a typical 2500 sqft, 2 car garage suburban house (what every young family should want!) to a 1600 sqft rancher in the city limits. We love it and couldn't be happier. Our quality of life in insanely improved.

Thanks AT for featuring a family in teeny weeny space. I am a big believer in small space living for families who want to save some dough. Our family of 6 lives in 1200 sf... which probably seems like a mansion to this family in 380! Our most noteworthy small-space solution: Japanese mattresses that we roll-up in the morning to create a huge, open place for the kids to roll around and play. The other small-space solution: de-clutter every day!

Kudos to them!
Our daughter is now an adolescent and I'm pretty sure this sort of living situation would end in some sort of criminal charges in the family (I kid, of course).
I do love how such a small home necessitates vigilance around consumption. I find it very aspirational, but also agree that this family is very lucky to have temperaments and personalities that allow for such a lack of space and privacy without conflict.

AT, more like this please!!

Yep, this space with only 3 people would be a mansion to some families in other parts of the world.

In defense of poor violetrose - isn't the whole point of a blog to just share our opinions? There was nothing judgemental in VR's comment. I usually read apartment therapy and just hopped over here to see this post. Quite the uptight vibe. I'm going back to my apartment fixation and will leave defensive parenting to the rest of you guys.

We live in a studio... similar in size, actually. Myself, hubbs, baby (11 months) and two cats!

I love the simplicity. It's easy to maintain, too... a big bonus for new(ish) parents!

I love that 3 can live so happily in a small space. We have 4 people in about 1400 sq feet, and that's a challenge to us sometimes, mostly because of clutter. We're planning to stay for the long haul and determined to surmount the clutter.

My fave thing, though, is the dad's left foot in the 2nd photo, which looks like it's ensconced in a beige high heeled shoe. Cool photo effect!

*shrug*

Around where I live it's relatively easy for people who make $11/hr to buy a decent sized house. So whenever I see one of these tiny living spaces, I typically think, "Ah.. must be somewhere super expensive." There's a reason I live in Western NY :)

Yes, Violetrose, your comments are inaccurate. The Guardian article is referring to a medical study about co-sleeping and cot death in the UK. This study has been widely misreported and misrepresented by the UK press (who are notoriously bad for science reporting, especially in their 'tabloid' style newspapers, although the Guardian is not one of these), in which the vast majority of deaths that took place during co-sleeping were linked to parents that had taken drugs and/or alcohol. While various medical establishments in the UK still have not condoned co-sleeping, there is still actually no evidence that co-sleeping with healthy, sober parents causes cot-death.

I get that less is more and all that, but my reaction to those pictures is pretty much "Yikes!" I could never sleep in a bed shoved against the wall if I was sharing it. Also, I didn't feel like the couple had implemented any innovative small space solutions. The space just looked like a dorm room. AT regularly features homes as small as this that are much more cleverly designed.

i dont think i could pull that off. good job keeping it small though.

and to the co space sleepers- at what age do they get their own beds? (i'm asking as a serious question- not as a comment on your parenting).

First child got a bed when she was 2, and her own room at 3. Second child has had a bed/crib all along, but is just starting to spend nighttime sleep there instead of just naps. He's 2.

I know people with cosleeping 5 year olds though, and mine both end up in my bed sometimes, but usually now because the older has fallen asleep in front of a movie there and not because she or I intended her to sleep there.

Our second bedroom is up a flight of stairs though, so they have to be old enough to come downstairs during the night safely to go to the bathroom. And I wouldn't trust the 2 year old not to make a giant mess in the living room even if he were reliable on stairs. He could climb out of the crib at 18 months or so.

What do you do if you don't cosleep to prevent early morning chaos or middle of the night playtime if the child isn't in a crib?

I think the main issue people are having with violetroses' comment is that it's innacurate.

I like small houses, I think it's ironic Sarah Susanka has an entire career devoted to "The Not So Big House" and that starts at I believe around 1600sqft! Our family of 5 live in 1400sqft and while we could do smaller if we had to, this feels just about right. What would the rest of us do while we rolled out the mats for the baby and toddler to sleep??

Sorry I don't like, while okay for the two I just don't think it's practical.

Cosleeping not a fan of, how do you have sufficient and secure intimacy...gross

We co-sleep. 1st child moved to her own room at 4.5 yrs. 2nd kid wanted his own room at 2 yrs. Each kid is different. I agree with other posters that his living arrangement will not last them long unless they want to have relations in the bathroom!
I, too, wonder what Ohdeedoh found so interesting about the home to feature it. Other than a few covetable mid-century pcs. thrown in, I don't see what makes this a visually interesting or a cleverly designed space. I don't mean to sound ugly but I agree with a previous poster that it just looks like a dorm room, maybe an intersting art student's dorm room but a dorm room nonetheless. I had to laugh that even the "doggie-door" was glorified. It's called a "hole in the aluminum screen door", people! I'm equally shocked that their living quarters demands $1000 a month. OUCH.
Not that it isn't a nice space for them. Good for them & awesome for their little one to have a stay-at-home-Mom!

Bummer...a good post invaded by a cosleeping debate. :( Boo.

I am SO glad this works for them! What I tell every friend who is a new parent: make parenting and family decisions based on what works for YOU, not what family, friends, society, or advertising tell you.

I think my concept of what I need/want changes with each of my child's new stages. I thought my storage arrangement worked until I had a little crawler, then walker, on my hands!!

The 3 of us live in a small condo. What I have to keep telling myself is that my home isn't too small; I just have too much stuff.

Sorry y'all but if I read something that suggests there might be a link between something I was doing and the possible death of my child - even if not proven yet - then I'd seriously consider changing what I was doing.

I would never put my child at risk if I could do something simple to prevent it - there no reason you couldn't put a cot right next to your own bed if you wanted to keep the child close to you but still safe in their own area.

Yes this particular article does indicate that drink and/or drugs might play some part too - but, as other posters have indicated, there are no definitive reasons that we know of yet for cot death - so surely its worth taking note of all possible factors - and are all you co-sleepers telling me you are tee-total???

*creative use of space and privacy/intimacy issues in minimal square footage is the topic here, so i'm putting it out there...*

people just don't think when they post *crap*, really. fyi, joejeep, let's just put it out there. the parents are not having 'alone time' with their baby in the bed. when you share a small space and need intimacy, you safely put baby somewhere else (like, hello, as simple as some blankets on the floor), or a couple can be intimate anywhere else...a bed as the only way to go is so...uninspiring.

yes, this post is invaded by comments of co-sleeping, but i guess people who have never lived in a small space are less likely to think outside of the lines. i myself will likely end up with less square footage when i purchase in the dc area--better to have a small space than a late husband, haggard from a trying commute.

although i live in a large space (about 700 sq ft)--a one bed with my husband and baby--and have ample space in our bedroom for a crib (which we have), our 16-month-old often falls asleep with us. if we didn't have a crib, it would still be a no-brainer that intimacy is definitely possible.

also--when the baby becomes older (around 3-4), partitions are an easy and quick fix regarding privacy...it would be nice, actually, to see more posts on how parents make it work in a small space with wee ones, who aren't wee enough to be oblivious or not curious...how many options are there for a space divided that can then perhaps be opened up for day time use? soundproofing off transitional spaces is some more food for though to those who share small spaces with a tot or wonder how parents can be intimate somewhere other than the bedroom.

i agree with lucy though that there could be a lot more in the way of storage solutions, such as floor-to-ceiling shelving units, and maybe some more transitional furniture with built-in/hidden storage.

although this isn't an ugly space, it could definitely use some creative reconfiguration. and drama.