Interior Imagery and Lifestyle ...CONTINUED

The Fundamentals of sucessful living

For me, successful living is about having the things around you that make you content. The things that enable you to be who you are - at any time of day or night, and the things that no one understands. Your living space should be a world in which you make no apologies. For me, moving from a one bed flat with a spacious, and separate, living room, a comfortable kitchen and a beautiful bathroom, to a studio apartment with downsized rooms in every sense, is going to really test my theories on living successfully. How will I fit all these 'things' into my new space? Perhaps the answer is *you might not be able to*

A minimalist approach to small living

Sounding very materialistic with all my jibberjabber of 'things', I look around me to see that actually, I'm not talking about about physical things like pieces of furniture, more so the ambiance created around each area I have created for different activities.  I mean, right now you find me sitting on my bed with my laptop resting on a small hard blue suitcase, containing photographs, memories and inspiration.  My coffee cup is perched on the floor next to my origami lamp and a small pile of books props open the door to this otherwise empty room.  Everything is white or cream.  It is a tranquil haven where I can sleep and rest with no distractions. My laptop rarely comes in here, however with the wind and rain howling around in play outside, this is the warmest and cosiest rooms of the flat.  You see what I mean?  (but come January, my bedroom will become my living room, and vice-versa. How will I work this)

These thoughts reminded of Tenzin Palmo's radical change in living arrangement when she climbed up 12,000 feet in the himalayas and lived in a hut for 12 years alone meditating, I look around and wonder what I would take with me to live in such a small space.  She took religious books, she slept in a meditaion box, and she grew her own food in the little garden she made for herself. Thinking also of a scene in (500) days of Summer, where Summer lets the boy into her flat for the first time, and yes, it is a whole flat, but he sees origami birds hanging from a bonsai tree, and an apple resting on a bowler hat. A picture of Ringo Starr.  The scene lingers as he takes in all the things around him, the little details and fragments of her inner beauty on show. Things that to the invidual mean everything, to distant purveyors of her space, it may be strange, but it makes her who she is.  

How have you played out your space - that shows who you are? What makes you smile when you walk through the front door?

Brought back to my question of "How will I fit all these 'things' into my new space?" I would be a fool to not consider furniture options... a mezzanine bed perhaps, a la the girl in the film 'The Science of Sleep', or a pull down from the wall bed, like in 'What Happens in Vegas'? 

Folding bed from Sellex

What about a writing desk?  Could I make do with my suitcase on the bed, or shall I consider something a little more... exciting/ surprising/ practical?

 The Long and Short of It: How Big is Your Desk?

 

 

www.crateandbarrel.com

These desks are 'space saving', the floating one (above - middle) I have just found on www.apartmenttherapy.com (which has so many ideas and gorgeous pictures) and I think it might be a winner, I wonder how good I am at diy? maybe I could make it myself...? Perhaps not.  However the leaning desk looks very do-able too. We shall see come January which I shall choose to sleep in and work from.

Successful living is all about how you make it yours, and how you enjoy the space, and not even how much space you have, or how many dinner parties you can throw... it is a private and personal decision to work with your living arrangements and to adapt yourself around your constraints. I am excited to be taking on this challenge, and just hoping I don't fold the cat away into the bed...