Home Sweet small home

How to live large in a small space

by Terri L. Jones

You’re trading your house in the burbs for a city condo. Although you’re ready to scale back and simplify — even toss out 30 years of stuff — shrinking your living space can be a challenge. Two Richmond interior designers and a pair of organizing experts who have helped countless boomers “right-size” show how to turn even the smallest shelter into your very own “home sweet home.”

The first step in retrofitting a smaller space for your unique lifestyle happens before you move — when you’re deciding what to keep and what to toss. Our parents couldn’t throw anything away, but we are shaping up to be a disposable generation. “I’ve found that boomers have no problem hearing that a piece doesn’t fit,” says Studio J owner and interior designer Janice Hall. “They say ‘no problem, we’ll get rid of it.’”

MAXIMIZE

Make value your first criterion, both sentimental and monetary. Cathy LeHew, productivity consultant and professional organizer for Space Matters, a residential and commercial organizing company, says “Go into a room and do the ‘disaster test.’ If you have a flood or fire, what would you miss most? What is the thing you would grab on your way out the door? What cannot be replaced?”

After prioritizing your stuff, determine whether these pieces are functional. “When you’re downsizing, always keep in mind: function, function, function,” says LeHew. And multi-function beats single function. “You don’t want just a pretty end table,” she explains. “You want end tables that have drawers.” Furniture stores geared to urban living, like IKEA, offer furnishings that work hard for their tiny bit of real estate — coffee tables with shelves and drawers, beds with built-in storage underneath, footstools that not only provide extra seating but also open up for storage.

It’s critical that you choose pieces with a smaller footprint, now that you have less square footage to spare. Flat screen TVs, compact or multi-function appliances, nesting end tables, dining tables with leaves and gate legs — all are designed to be generous on function but thrifty on space.

Hall points out that most sofas and armchairs from yesteryear were built smaller than contemporary pieces, so an antique settee or French open armchair won’t monopolize your minimal living area.

LeHew also suggests going vertical — climb the wall with bookshelves instead of appropriating valuable horizontal footage for your book collection. Where possible, Carol Pipes of Carol Pipes Interior Design advises that clients tuck chests of drawers inside closets for more open floor space in their bedrooms.

Like your furniture, often your rooms must also serve dual purposes.

One of Hall’s clients had an underused formal dining room. “We ended up also using it as a library/reading room,” Hall says, with the table serving to spread out books and papers. “Replace the books on the buffet or credenza and you’ve got your dining room back.”

Bryan Mueller, the owner of Closet Factory in Richmond, helps boomers make maximum use of office and den spaces. By hiding a Murphy bed in a custom office solution or bookcase unit, clients can accommodate grandkids and other overnight guests without losing valuable space 365 days a year.

Too much furniture can obviously congest your living space, but clutter can just as quickly deplete the openness in a room. Rather than covering every available surface with family pictures, Hall suggests grouping them in one spot. This turns clutter into a collection. LeHew recommends using pictures or knickknacks as an aesthetic device to visually break up shelves or bookcases packed with books or CDs.

Better than finding a place to display all those dust-collectors, why not store them away? “If you don’t see it, it doesn’t bother you,” says Pipes. “People get agitated if there’s too much clutter around.” But with less square footage comes less storage space.

In addition to making existing closets more functional, Mueller can design custom storage to fit anywhere in your house and meet your particular needs. “We’ve even created clothes closets in garages,” he says, “to allow clients to store offseason clothing out of the way and in spaces they otherwise wouldn’t use.” One homeowner took advantage of wasted space under her stairs by building six-foot drawers to store her dining room table leaves and other oversized accoutrements.

ORGANIZE

Less storage space also means staying organized. Pare bed linens to two sets per bedroom and store them in each room’s closet. Pipes even recommends putting towel bars in guest bedrooms so shared bathrooms don’t become cluttered when guests are visiting. To organize things that routinely go AWOL — gloves, hats, cellphones, keys, even hard-to-store pantry items like bagged pasta — LeHew advises clients to use clear plastic, overthe- door shoe organizers with lots of pockets.

Adjusting to a smaller space certainly requires adjusting your priorities. But the sooner you simplify your life, the sooner you can turn your attention to the reason you simplified things in the first place — enjoying your newfound freedom.

Freelance writer Terri L. Jones, who lives in a space-challenged 1,100-square-foot bungalow, couldn’t have been more pleased with this assignment. How often do you get to do your job and get free interior design advice in the bargain?

The new breed of small and multi-function powerhouses

Like everything else in our lives, boomers want it all when it comes to our appliances. While we may need appliances that are small and space-efficient, we’re certainly not satisfied with a stripped-down model. As a result, appliance manufacturers are turning out top-of-theline products in smaller packages as well as with split personalities:

LG LCD TV/refrigerator.

Make your kitchen double as an entertainment center — without wasting counter space — with this combo refrigerator/ TV/weather and information center. Chosen as one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things”! 26.2 cu. ft. Available in titanium only. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $3,799.00. http://us.lge.com/index.jhtml

GE Profile™ Advantium® oven, 120- or 240-volt.

Uses light to bake, broil, brown, roast, microwave and grill, delivering oven-quality food four to eight times faster than conventional ovens. Can be built-in as a wall oven or installed above the cooktop for ultimate versatility and space efficiency. Available in white, black, bisque and stainless steel. Estimated retail prices: $789-$2349.00 (depending on power, installation options and color). www.geappliances.com

GE Spacemaker® built-in dishwasher

Measures a space-efficient 18”W to fit into the tightest spaces. Four wash levels. Estimated retail prices: $549.00-$579.00. www.geappliances.com

Maytag™ washer/dryer.

Washer measures a slim 23 ”W; dryer is only 1/4” wider, but these small units easily handle empty nesters’ everyday- sized loads. Both appliances are front load and can be stacked. Available in white only. Estimated retail prices: $699.00-$599.00. www.maytag.com