400 sq ft... (home, college, town)

[Keeper]

You are gonna meet yourself coming and going. Seriously.. I lived in a studio apt that was around 550 sq ft. might not be too bad for a couple of months but it gets old fast.

[nitokenshi]

My apartment is 495 sq feet and it's perfect for me but I like tiny spaces. I find it to be very roomy.

Check this site out for pics of tiny apartments..
Small Cool Contest 2009 | Apartment Therapy

[Michaelsaurus Rex]

Originally Posted by nitokenshi

My apartment is 495 sq feet and it's perfect for me but I like tiny spaces. I find it to be very roomy.

Check this site out for pics of tiny apartments..
Small Cool Contest 2009 | Apartment Therapy

Yes that is the site that got me liking tiny apartments.

Well I went to go see it and it had a mini fridge and was the size of a dorm room, LOL. A little too small for my taste but they had one for about 70 bucks more thats about 550 sq ft that is perfect because the bedroom is walled off and the bathroom has 2 entrances. I might end up going with that one.

Unless anyone knows any good studios in south tampa that are under $800 and have wood floors.

[tajones44]

Check into a Motel 6 for a week - that should get you about that size and will give you some time to figure it out. If that's enough room, then you are good to go.

[nucat78]

Afterthought:

I've been researching downsizing for years, including living aboard a boat, and the "experts" all seem to agree that the keys are to be very well organized, reduce your possessions to necessities, and buy furniture that's serves more than one function - sofa sleepers, the dining table doubles as a desk, footstools have storage space in them, etc.

If you must own a lot of "stuff", rent a self-store unit. FWIW...

[TampaKaren]

I watched the House Hunters show last week and a young couple was looking at flats in Paris. In their price range and location they desired, there were none over 500sf.

I saw another show where a dorm room was made over for three college guys. The designer used all the vertical space possible with floor to ceiling shelving and raising the bed high enough to put a work space underneath. She said the key to working with small spaces is to keep as much floor space open as possible.

[Keeper]

I lived in a studio apt that was about that size. I had a sofa bed at first and dinning set but it was all in one room so I put up a drape to make a bedroom at least appear to be separate. The biggest problem is you only had one room in reality.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

lived on a boat for a while when growing up with my parents and our 70lb dog. i still prefer smaller homes. there's less to clean. though i'm in a 3/2 now as i set myself up so i could have a roommate for company and income. also onsite i've got a 2/1 620-square-foot accessory dwelling unit which i think is plenty roomy. one bedroom in the cottage is just 8 x 8 but would make a nice separate office, a little kid's room, or even just a small bedroom big enough for a full-sized bed and dresser. the other bedroom is about 11 x 11, plenty enough space for sleeping. there's even an eat-in kitchen separated from the living room by a half wall. all that house lacks is storage space which some built-ins and free-standing armoires will solve.

in the 3/2 i've one room set up as my office but also i wanted guests to have their own room while here so i added a full-sized murphy bed. the 5-drawer filing cabinet fit perfectly into part of the closet, then the 8'-9" x 10-'4" room holds a 31 x 63-inch desk, a vertical stack of 6 shelves and the aforementioned full-sized bed while still maintaining 54 square feet (more than half the room) of open floor space.

another room would be a little tight with a queen sized bed, two dressers and two night stands, so i picked all furniture on legs. every piece. this way you can see much more of the floor even if you can't walk on it. also you can see through the furniture underneath to all the walls. so while there is only enough square footage left for necessary circulation, the eye has further spaces to wander.

[lavender]

go and look at the IKEA small home set ups in their new store, one is just two hundred and something sq ft, and pretty neat, but it is small for sure. They also have a 400 or so sq ft one I think. amazing how they do that - course they took the doors off

[nucat78]

Originally Posted by housingcrashsurvivor

one bedroom in the cottage is just 8 x 8 but would make a nice separate office, a little kid's room, or even just a small bedroom big enough for a full-sized bed and dresser. the other bedroom is about 11 x 11, plenty enough space for sleeping. there's even an eat-in kitchen separated from the living room by a half wall. all that house lacks is storage space which some built-ins and free-standing armoires will solve.

Might have to look you up when I finally decide to chuck this Chicago weather and move down there...