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If it was in Paris -- my favorite city in the world -- then maybe. :-)
P.S. - I see you are in Chapel Hill. I'm relocating there this Spring!
Quote:
Originally Posted by no kudzu
I don't think I could. And I know I could never sleep in a tiny confined coffin like that. Maybe with the door open. I wish I knew how much the rent is for this space. Property is ridiculously expensive and hard to find in Paris so I bet there are plenty of places which could be remodeled to look something like this and plenty of people who would be happy to live there.
As I have begun living a more minimalistic lifestyle I have discovered that so much of what I really thought I needed was unnecessary -- and now that it's gone I don't miss it at all. I feel lighter and much more free!
Jeffrey
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian_M
Could I? Sure, why not! I've lived for months out of 50cu/in (backpack), and while I had the whole outside as my "space", you're still living minimally. A well designed and efficient layout goes a LONG way towards making small spaces usable. It's just that here in the US there's this pervasive "bigger is better" mentality, and that anything less than huge is just simply to enough to survive on. The bed is WAY more roomy than a bivy sack (basically a rain fly for a sleeping bag), with the exception of it being too short for my 6'4" frame the other space would be just fine. The 'shelf/stairs' need to be designed differently though, she was taking HUGE steps to climb up.
Yes, that space is for one person, without a pet... just like a motorcycle is for 1~2 people and not hauling 3 tones of fill dirt.
As for the built-ins, none of them were extraordinary in any way... doors on boxes with things that rolled on their own and a pretty paint job. They'd only be expensive if you didn't shop around (or thought normal carpentry work was expensive to begin with).
No.. I can already tolerate a much smaller house than a lot of americans... I only need about 2000 square feet including basement area.... for many that is still too small. Actually I could do with even less but around here housing is tight and smaller places cost more per square foot.
I could probably live there, if I were alone and with no pets but the deal breaker for me would be that bed.....I'm totally claustrophobic and couldn't stand being confined like that. I will say that the design is a very good use of limited space.
I think my minimum would be about 300-400 sq ft. Give me about 300 sq ft for the kitchen/bathroom/living room, a 100 sq ft loft for sleeping and maybe a 100 sq ft porch on the front. Sound proof each room as much as possible for privacy. Utilities would be next to nothing. Another thing I like about minimalist living is that it would be super easy to furnish a house that size. Most people have a lot of rooms and spend tons of money furnishing each one with a lot of stuff that will go out of style in 10 years. Give me a nice recliner and small couch and I'll be fine.
IMO, smaller homes are the future. Those with a little more money to spend will upgrade the finishes/quality instead of going bigger. Perhaps the average home will be around 700-800 sq ft and 1000 sq ft will be looked at like 3000 sq ft is today.
I think it depends .... Many cities outside of the US are built up with all sorts of things that entice people to stay away from the home until they are ready to sleep. I don't think someone living in that 86 sq ft flat spends much non-sleeping time in there.
Americans want everything IN their home. Many have a gourmet kitchen, home theatre, home gym, swimming pool, tennis court, etc.etc. This culture has the expectation that homes need to be big and we correspondingly spend a lot of time at home.
There's no way I could live in that, it's like a glorified walk-in closet!
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Paris
