“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” —Wayne Dyer Eight years ago, on May 26, 2008, my life changed forever. After spending most of my Memorial Day Weekend cleaning the garage, I struck up a conversation with my neighbor. As I recall, we were lamenting the fact [...]
A tiny 900-square-foot house on a steep hill in San Francisco offers a bevy of clever tips and tricks for small-space living. Built as an infill shack between two larger buildings at the turn of the last century, this 900-square-foot San Francisco house is a model of small-space living, thanks to a renovation by Holey [...]
WHEN most people picture their dream home it’s hard to go past the six bedroom McMansion with seven bathrooms, home cinema and an acre of bench space in the kitchen. While it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of wanting that bigger place, with the spare bedroom, bigger yard, study or airy dining [...]
Living in a small home can make you creative in a hurry. If there’s barely a closet — let alone a spare room — organizing your space in an efficient way that still makes you feel at home can be quite a challenge. For many apartment dwellers, there isn’t the luxury of separate rooms and [...]
As you know for the last several months, I have been downsizing my 5,000 square foot home so that I can have a new, simpler lifestyle in a 1,000 square foot apartment in Center City Philadelphia. Many weekends have been spent with family and friends, figuring out how to fit all the things that matter [...]
Are you an "empty nester" wondering why you need all that square footage? As the Baby Boomer generation ages, many home owners are considering making a move to a smaller home. Especially since the housing market appears to be stabilizing and home sales are picking up. A smaller home means less maintenance and more time [...]
As Americans, we are obsessed with big things. The Big Mac, The Biggie Drink, The Super Size Meal, big-box retailers, The Biggest Loser. I could go on and on. Whoever said “bigger is better” was actually wrong. When it comes to a living space – sometimes smaller is more economically feasible and psychologically manageable. Especially [...]
At some time most of us must do it. Most of us consider it shortly after we withdraw from our labor for subsistence. We must make our change of days complete. It is a financially advantageous thing to do, we hope, and maybe a good thing too, we justify. That is downsizing, the dreaded act [...]
My parents are thrilled to live in the house where my sisters and I grew up. I enjoy visiting them and look forward to a time when my kids, as grownups, will come home to enjoy a place that’s familiar and inviting. But where will that be? I’ve started to wonder. Here’s why: Not long [...]
A seismic shift of stuff is underway in homes all over America. Members of the generation that once embraced sex, drugs and rock-and-roll are trying to offload their place settings for 12, family photo albums and leather sectionals. Their offspring don’t want them. As baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, start cleaning out attics [...]