Small doesn't mean boring. This third bedroom has always been a 'boy' bedroom. For several years, it was for my older son. As babies were being born, he'd share his space with someone small. It became necessary to take the closet door off (note the Walmart 'curtain') to fit a crib or toddler bed in there.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Small house living; third bedroom
Small doesn't mean boring. This third bedroom has always been a 'boy' bedroom. For several years, it was for my older son. As babies were being born, he'd share his space with someone small. It became necessary to take the closet door off (note the Walmart 'curtain') to fit a crib or toddler bed in there.
Small house living: one more bedroom
Before I was married, my mother gave me a 'hope chest'. It looks so 70's in this photo; I suppose that's because I got it in 1980!! It has been a big help holding special keep sakes safely through the years. When trying to make the most of space, I've found it necessary to purge things from time to time. I used to keep every single wedding invitation and graduation announcement for friends and family. The chest simply cannot hold those plus all of my special baby items and my other treasures given to me over the years. It's been a big blessing; if you can fit it in a bedroom, it's wonderful to own a cedar-lined chest like this one.
Small house living; four daughters in one bedroom
Small house living: upstairs hallway
Small house living: bathrooms
This little lovely is in my upstairs bathroom. It's a road-side find. We spray painted it white and it fits in so nicely to my perriwinkle blue bathroom. I can stack up a whole lot of toilet paper on that lower shelf and my little plant is doing nicely under the window.
When hubby redid the bathroom, he didn't have sufficient funds for matching towel bars. He didn't want to 'make do' so he didn't get any! But, at the time, I had six kids who needed places to dry their towels! I found this over-the-door 'rack' and figured I'd use it till we had the finances to get nice towel bars in the bathroom. Well, 12 years later, and we're still using the door rack! These are the three youngest kids' towels. Somebody gave me a pretty doilie many years ago and I wasn't sure where to use it; I tacked it on the top rack 'just because'.
Small house living; storing boots, coats, and shoes
Small house living: the kitchen
Hubby and I moved into our three bedroom townhouse in March 1991. We had three small children and the house was plenty big for all of us. Nine years later, we had three more children and the house was a wee bit more crowded but we made it work. Son #1 has moved out so there are only seven of us in our house. I'm pretty sure the area of our house is 1200 square feet which includes a second floor and a basement.
We have very little counter top space. I had to be judicious with what I allow to sit on there!
In fact, I have to be really choosy with how I stash things inside the cupboards; we're really cramped for storage in this room. I use a crock for holding my large utensils. Not only does it free up the precious little drawer space I have, it is handy dandy for grabbing a stir spoon or a knife when I need them quickly.
When I got married 30 years ago, I determined that all my small appliances would be white or 'cream' coloured. It makes things look uniform and clean, I think. I have a toaster oven, a blender, a KitchenAid mixer, and a food processor sitting on my cupboards; all white and all used weekly if not daily. When canning season is in full swing, I simply move the appliances off my counter tops and stash them on the other side of the room to allow space for my cooling jars. I am able to roll out pie crusts and pizza crusts on either my kitchen counter or table top; the fact that I have very little space has not really hindered me or my daughters from baking or cooking for large groups. Did the reader note what is NOT on my counter top? I never cared much for cannisters on display so they are tucked inside a cabinet. I tried to take a picture of them but, in small house reality, I simply could not get a good picture since there isn't sufficient room for me to squeeze in front of the cabinets and snap a good photo!
My pots and pans are crammed into one cupboard right beside the stove. They are hardy pots. .
The next photo shows my dishes cupboard. I wanted to show off my idea for displaying family photos and drawings but not cluttering up the kitchen fridge or wall space. I tape the odd photo on the insides of my cabinet doors. It makes me smile when I reach for the dishes and it reminds me to pray for family and friends when I see their faces.
My husband designed this corner shelf for my daughters. They usually put up a miniture winter village in our kitchen and, as their collection grew, their need for more 'real estate' did. He put these shelves up for them and I get to use them the rest of the year for my pretty tea sets. It's a win/win!
Even though we have a cramped kitchen, when a kind neighbour offered their piano to us, we gladly squished it on an inside kitchen wall. Hubby put hinges on the piano bench so we can store a few music books in there; very handy and a good idea for making room in small spaces.
We homeschool in our kitchen too. I have made it my policy for the 21 years to buy as little as possible and 'make do'. Right now, only my youngest two are still homeschooling. But, this is about the same amount of text books and notebooks we'd have on hand when we schooled three at a time.