Living Small

The world may be full of endless possibilities, but houses are a finite space. You may want a huge kitchen with an open space floor plan. One might dream of a den, workshop and mudroom. But you might also live in a small 2 bedroom home with just enough space for the day-to-day. Tiny homes are great on instagram, and often more difficult in real life. They force you to focus on the things you want, and let go of the rest. This little home in Ipswich is a great example of how living small can be exactly what you need.

With a small space you only have so many choices, and that does not have to be a bad thing. Knowing that there wouldn’t be much wiggle room in the design, we chose to focus on cabinetry accessories to make the space more functional. All the base cabinets here have rollout trays, which means you aren’t losing items in the back of your cabinetry. The island isn’t large, but there is a seating are in the kitchen with room to hangout, leaving the island free for extra prep space.

When it came to design, there weren’t many options. The space is limited, and as much as we would like that to be different, it doesn’t matter. The space is the space. You can fill it with all kinds of dreams and things. You can control the parts that flow through the space. However, you can’t control the space. It will always be a small kitchen, you can’t change that. Once you know what your parameters are, you can work within them. You can figure out exactly how to move forward.

It’s easy to dream big. It’s hard to dream big in small spaces. Hard, but not impossible. With a little acceptance and creativity, you can make any home right for you. Not every home requires a grand entryway with a guest bedroom and office. Often the right size is what you already have. With a growing family, it’s unknown how long this house will be able to contain all the love, but they will be squeezing every last drop out of it.