Hi everyone! It’s Courtney. A few weeks ago my mom shared the happy news that my sister and brother-in-law bought their first house. Kylee will share more about that soon, but for now she’s busy settling into the new place and caring for a brand new puppy.
I also have news to share. For the last three years I’ve lived with five of my closest friends in rental homes. We learned a lot together—how to manage life on our own, cook meals, and even how to deal with spiders without calling our dads. You can take a tour of the living room from our first house here. I’m grateful for the time I spent living with these wonderful women.
After graduation last spring we knew this year would bring changes and that we’d be searching for new places. My search happened to begin right when my sister found her townhouse. The layout turned out to be ideal: a bedroom with an attached bathroom on the entry floor. That’s where I’ll be living.
I’m thrilled to start this new chapter. For years I’ve shared rooms—first in dorms and then in rental houses—and I even still sleep in a bunk bed I share with my best friend from first grade. Sharing has been fun, but I’m excited to have a grown-up space of my own.
I did discover a challenge the first time I saw the room: it’s tiny. So small that our initial reaction was, “Can a bed even fit in here?”
The listing photo makes the room look larger than it really is. Instead of backing away from the size constraint, I began to consider the benefits of living in a small space. Those advantages have become the foundation for my design choices and have me excited about what’s ahead.
Three benefits I love about small spaces
1) Small is cozy. The smallest rooms can also be the coziest. A compact room encourages warmth and intimacy.
2) More impact for less. Every piece I bring into the room makes a noticeable difference. Simple additions and careful choices create strong visual impact that might be lost in a larger space.
3) Less stuff. Moving into a small room is a great opportunity to pare down. Limited space forces you to focus on the things you truly love and need.
I have plenty of plans for this room, many already in motion. The newest development is a bed that arrived this week—so exciting! I’ll be sharing the process and all the details as I make progress.
Illustration credit: Rebekka Seale Illustration
What are some things you love about small spaces?