Living With Intent; Functional Spaces

When living with fourteen people in one modest, 5 bedroom house, we all cannot help but think about design. We must be creative with our space. It is tricky to give each individual a space of their own and also find storage for extraneous personal items. Through this experience I am learning one of the most important lessons: we don’t need that much space to live comfortably.

It seems as if the living space dictates the lifestyle of the occupier. Its very simple really. The more rooms, cupboards, closets, attics, basements, and sheds...the more we will find things to fill them with. My parents house has multiple rooms stuffed to the brim with strange decorations, trinkets, and extra things we never use because 1) we cant access them and 2) we eventually forget they are there. After all....there are plenty more things in the other rooms.

Living in luxury does not mean burying oneself in stuff. The PBS special “Living Large: A Look Inside the Tiny House Movement” on the program Need to Know is a perfect example of this. A woman from Olympia Washington built herself an 84 square foot home...on wheels. The video takes you into her home and shows the elegant beauty she has found in practical simplicity.

VS.

 

By designing a living space with intent a deeper connection can establish between the person, the place, and the items in it. One suddenly knows what they have and why they have it. If the why is unsure, it probably didn't make the cut.





The Tiny House Movement is growing. I highly suggest getting inspired:
http://turnbulltinyhouse.blogspot.com/
http://tinyhouseblog.com/
http://www.littlehouseonasmallplanet.com/index2.html