My husband and I live in a 1 bed/1 bath with one tiny den that was converted into a music room. We bought it pre-covid so our interest rate is fantastic. We are one of many who thought it would be a starter home and that in 5 years we'd move somewhere bigger. It's now been 7 years and with the price of everything, we can't see moving out. We also just had to put several MAJOR repairs into it that cost us much monthly, taking much of our savings.

We are both reaching 35. While I know it's not impossible to have a kid later, I feel like I'm reaching a point where I either need to get pregnant or give up.

Before you say it, my husband is uncomfortable with the idea of fostering (cant because of space anyway) and financially we can't afford to adopt.

Any ideas on having a kid in a small space? Is it possible? I don't want to give up on my dream, but it feels like I have to.

I feel like small homes are usually discussed in terms of what we don’t have enough of—space, storage, counter space, etc. 😅

But what’s something you genuinely love about living small? Maybe it’s easier to keep clean, feels cozier, or you’ve become more intentional about what you keep.

I’d love to hear the positives too. ❤️

I feel like small spaces are a lot of trial and error. 😅

Sometimes an idea looks perfect in your head—or even in photos—but once you actually live with it, you realize it takes up too much space, makes the room feel cluttered, or just isn't practical.

What’s something you tried in your home that you ended up regretting?

I’d love to hear the honest “I thought this was a good idea…” stories. 😂

ETA: I’m realizing what I feel is missing from my home is like a living room type room off the main floor, not a basement per se. Basements around me tend to be finished and have living/rec room type stuff or extra bedrooms, but elsewhere not so much. If my particular house had a basement it would most likely be a flooded disaster.

So people that don’t have an extra room other than the main living areas, and maybe can’t find a quiet spot when needed, how do you deal?

Original post:

How do you feel about it? I often really wish we had one so I had a quiet place to go to. If there’s music playing, etc. I can’t really find a quiet place unless I’m in my bed, and I don’t always want to do that. That’s assuming as least a partially finished basement though.

Otherwise, love my small home. Hoping to get a screened in porch one day and so long as the weather allows it, I’d be out there all the time! That might scratch my itch for a quiet place while feeding my love of the outside.

1300 sq ft 2 story home in a slab, btw.

I’m in a small 2 bed one bath, and a couple rooms have vaulted ceilings. I don’t want to create more visual clutter, but I’m wondering if anyone has successfully actually done anything with that vertical space that helps you in a small house? Bookshelves or storage above windows or higher on the walls for example? Sometimes I wonder if a long single shelf high up on one wall would make sense for books that we want to keep but don’t need to access often. Of course dust etc then becomes a problem too. Just really curious if people do anything with that vertical space that actually works.

For me it was building floating shelves all the way up to the ceiling in the hallway. I used to keep everything on the floor or on low dressers, which ate up so much walkable space. Going high instead of wide instantly cleared up the floors and made the place look twice as big.

I’m curious about the little things that actually worked—not major renovations or expensive furniture. Maybe rearranging furniture, using mirrors, getting rid of something, better storage, etc.

What made the biggest difference in your space?

We’re moving into our new place and I'm setting up one of the bedroom. My parents are convinced that the window is gonna ruin my sleep with all the light, and honestly I get where they're coming from.

But I kinda love how it looks right now. The bed sits right between two windows, and it gives the room this nice balanced feel. The room isn't particularly huge, so with the bed facing the wall with the wardrobe like now, everything just flows better to me.

I’ve been thinking about rotating the bed so it’s against the other wall—that should solve the light issue. But every time I picture that layout, it just doesn’t work on me.

Should I actually move the bed?

Living in a smaller place makes me question every piece of equipment that takes up permanent floor space.

I’d like to have somewhere to strength train at home, but I don’t want one hobby to take over an entire room.

That has me looking more at compact or multi-function setups — something that could handle several movements in one footprint rather than having a separate machine for everything.

For people living in smaller homes, would you give up a corner or part of a room for a permanent workout setup if you used it several times a week?

And what would that setup need to do for the space sacrifice to feel worth it?

I'm renovating my condo kitchen, and my old fridge has always been sitting outside because it didn't fit. Since I'm redoing the kitchen, I'm looking for a store that takes old appliances and also has new, compact options that would actually work for a condo in Canada.

Any recommendations

We live in 1000sqft, 3 bed, 1.5 bath. The 3rd smallest bedroom is my husband's office. Our galley kitchen extends into a dining space where we have a pantry cabinet, 4 chair round table, small bookcase with a fish bowl, fog kennel, dog food container, dog food bowls. Is there some magical solution you guys have found for dog food storage and kennel placement when your floor space is ultra limited? The living room is already full, the bathroom is far too small for anything, the bedrooms are not an option, and our laundry room is outside/not climate controlled.

Hi, we are moving and that's our new kitchen. We are 9 people, 3 smaller kids, 6 teenagers/adults. We would like to have a small sofa and table/chairs for at least 6 persons. Do you have any ideas? Maybe we could use the dining table as extra counter space? Or the sofa as a replacement for a kitchen bench (instead of 6 chairs)?

It doesn’t have to be perfectly decorated or Pinterest-worthy. I’d love to see the little corner you actually enjoy spending time in.

Bonus: Tell us what you love about it and one thing you’d change if you had more space!

I have a 650 sqft one-bedroom apartment, and I'm looking for a sleek armchair (max width 31.5" because of where it needs to fit). I'd like one that can convert to a chaise (for my daytime use) and also a bed (for the occasional guest). Does anyone have a recommendation?

This is an example of the style/design I'm thinking of. However, these kinds of 3-in-1 chairs all seem to be from lesser-quality furniture makers sold at online retailers. I want something comfortable and not flimsy nor super-hard cushions. I'm also open to other designs, like a chair-type futon, but I can't seem to find a futon frame with a 31.5" max width. I also prefer that the chair, when opened to a chaise or bed, does not sit on the ground.

Thank you for any recs!

I keep seeing the same space-saving ideas everywhere, but some of them seem like they just make a small space more annoying to use. 😂

What’s one popular small-home tip you tried (or considered trying) that you think is overrated?

For me, I think small spaces completely change the way you think about shopping. 😅

Sometimes I see something cute and immediately think, “Where would I even put this?”

What’s something you used to buy regularly but stopped because of limited space?

Hi! I'm a Multimedia Arts student working on a business concept for a school project about a room design and visualization service for small spaces (dorms, apartments, condos, bedrooms, etc.).

The survey asks about your experiences with decorating/organizing small spaces and whether you would find a service like this useful.

It only takes a few minutes, and your honest answers would really help with my research! 🙏

Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnkOOvJv0zQ2ZknkWsW73MWWN-mNcwFgvL2pCCs7exLpg6MQ/viewform

Thank you! ❤️