space, the final frontier

March 18, 2007 4:41 PM

Living small in the city: The smallest, coolest apartment contest results. Out of the city: the Micro Compact Home.
posted by nickyskye (29 comments total)

Buddhist's are good at interior decorating a small space like Kenyon's are good at marathons.
posted by I Foody at 5:06 PM on March 18, 2007

It's hard to believe people actually live in those places, not because they're small apartments but because they're just sooooo clean and well organized and look like something out of an IKEA catalogue. The people who live there are probably the ones who set up the rooms that are shown in those catalogues. They are nice, nevertheless.
posted by inconsequentialist at 5:12 PM on March 18, 2007

This gives me such a powerful urge to destroy all the clutter in my house - and I don't by any means have a cluttered house. Very cool.
posted by Paragon at 5:12 PM on March 18, 2007

See also: the 1-meter building, five story, five foot wide home in London sells for more than half a million pounds, and the $335,000 Knightsbridge closet.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:21 PM on March 18, 2007

Rhomboid, I'm in crazy love with that five-foot wide house.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:34 PM on March 18, 2007

There's also the delightful Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, which I like better than the more antiseptic Micro Compact Home.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:36 PM on March 18, 2007

Bums, this made me think there'd been a new contest!

Despite (or because of) the fact that I live in a medium sized flat stuffed to the gunnels with crap, I'm absolutely fascinated by the skill with which these folk make tiny spaces practical and pretty. That said, I'm willing to bet they all have an enormous amount of stuff in storage elsewhere.
posted by jack_mo at 5:39 PM on March 18, 2007

Nice designs but they really confirms my resolve to never, ever ever live in an apartment. 450 sq feet? I'm not sure that I could deal with a space that small. I live in a pretty modest 1500 sq foot townhouse condo but I think that I'd go nuts trying to live in a space that was 1/3 that size.

Again, reasons to not live on either coast.
posted by octothorpe at 5:40 PM on March 18, 2007

Bums, this made me think there'd been a new contest!

There will be--later in the year. These are last year's results and they were posted before.
posted by dobbs at 6:16 PM on March 18, 2007

The second link reminds me of Andrea Zittel's work. On her site, I recommend going to "works" at the top, and then looking at her "Wagon Stations", "Homestead Units", "Cellular Compartments", "Pocket Property", and several other things (in the left hand bar).

A really wonderful and comprehensive exhibition of her work, including her tiny dwellings just went on display at MOCA in Los Angeles.

It's part of the new "Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution" exhibit at the Geffen. If "Feminist" and "Revolution" together in one sentence turns you off, don't worry, the exhibit is nothing like what you're expecting. It's really great.

The Pacific Design Center's got an exhibit on "Contemporary Prefabricated Houses" which looks interesting.

No, I don't work for MOCA LA :)
posted by redteam at 6:25 PM on March 18, 2007

I saw the winning space on HGTV's "Small Space, Big Style" (or whatever it's called). Damn ingenious. I just couldn't live that minimally, nor could I live with having to climb ladders for almost everything I owned.
posted by maudlin at 6:27 PM on March 18, 2007

(That is, David and Im's space).
posted by maudlin at 6:28 PM on March 18, 2007

I love this stuff. I wonder if these folks would be just as clever and creative in larger spaces, or if their innovation is driven primarily by necessity.
posted by brain_drain at 6:46 PM on March 18, 2007

The NYC/joint winner is really lovely. Can't warm to the Sandiego one but.
posted by jamesonandwater at 7:10 PM on March 18, 2007

For a home this small, why buy ground? Streamline it a bit, add some wheels, and you could have the Airstream Basecamp.
posted by cenoxo at 7:12 PM on March 18, 2007

Those who saw mendel's post on Francis Heaney's wonderful Holy Tango of Literature might well recall this lost opus:

SKINNY DOMICILE (Emily Dickinson)

I have a skinny Domicile—
Its Door is very narrow.
’Twill keep—I hope—the Reaper out—
His Scythe—and Bones—and Marrow.

Since Death is not a portly Chap,
The Entrance must be thin—
So—when my Final Moment comes—
He cannot wriggle in.

That’s why I don’t go out that much—
I can’t fit through that Portal.
How dumb—to waste my Social Life
On Plans to be—immortal—

Perhaps Heaney's Belle of Amherst ("Lamb-Free Hostel") was thinking of Edna St. Vincent Millay's lean demesne.
posted by rob511 at 7:21 PM on March 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hmm, and I was just thinking >600sf doesn't equal small. My present space is <200sf, and I'm about to move into a 320sf studio.
posted by aramaic at 8:28 PM on March 18, 2007

Interesting views, intriguing organization, some ideas I wonder about; but, they might be cool.

Rhomboid, that's fun, thanks.

Bury me not in a cube.

More and more, I need to see the Milky Way out my window to sleep.
posted by taosbat at 8:43 PM on March 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Even though I searched repeatedly for any previous link, after dobbs' comment I realised it must have been posted before here and finally dug up the previous MetaFilter post on the same subject, almost 2 years ago. Would like to acknowledge that now.
posted by nickyskye at 10:21 PM on March 18, 2007

These are very pretty, especially the winners. Though how the hell any of the couples living in these avoid killing each other, I don't know.

And I really, really like the #1 apartment, but I can't help feeling that its layout gives it an unfair advantage: it's nearly a cube (no partitions and giant ceilings makes it pretty easy to create a feeling of openness), with enough space off to the side to stack a bathroom and bedroom.

#4 and a bunch of the (lower ceiling) finalist entries really impressed me, though. And have increased my desire to construct some sort of mobile living space.
posted by reventlov at 10:46 PM on March 18, 2007

The micro compact home
posted by bunglin jones at 12:29 AM on March 19, 2007

well, that was stupid of me
posted by bunglin jones at 12:34 AM on March 19, 2007

I always like to see stuff like this. Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 7:01 AM on March 19, 2007

If only I could do something that nice with my 2000 sq. ft.
posted by edjo at 7:23 AM on March 19, 2007

Pretty cool stuff. They certainly do look like IKEA catalogue photos, though. It is likely that they have plenty of stuff stored elsewhere, though.

And that flash slideshow was maddening.
posted by drstein at 10:46 AM on March 19, 2007

I foody, I don't think students from Kenyon College are particularly noted for being good marathon runners, but native Kenyans from Kenya might be.
posted by Liosliath at 11:04 AM on March 19, 2007

Though how the hell any of the couples living in these avoid killing each other, I don't know.

I live in a 450 sq. ft. apartment and I love it, but I'd lose my mind if I had to share it with someone, even the love of my life.

It is fun to make everything in the apartment fit together and look right, and coming up with new attractive storage solutions is a great creative outlet for me. Because (as much as I try to avoid it) I inevitably continue to accumulate more possessions, it's like solving a puzzle that's always changing.
posted by amro at 11:15 AM on March 19, 2007

This is an excellent post for me to pore over while nesting in my new (fairly large) apartment. It's always so inspiring to see what other people do to stay organized - I'm rather awful at it myself.

Thanks!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 12:39 AM on March 20, 2007

Loved the additional links in the thread, thanks. My tiny (350 sq ft) Hell's Kitchen apartment has been home for over 20 years and I was inspired by the winners of this contest. I *really* want a Tiny Tumbleweed House, aww, they are soo cute and am really wowed by the 1 meter wide building in Brazil.
posted by nickyskye at 8:46 AM on March 21, 2007