Murphy's Law

The thing that made this very small apartment livable was my Murphy bed. Without it I would have had a living space that was dominated by my bed. It was my mother’s idea initially, and truth be told, I thought she was nuts. But a little research and a nice gay man I met at a party, who had a Murphy bed of his own and swore that it was the greatest thing that had ever happened to his apartment, changed my mind. I looked in the city, but the Murphy bed showroom here was overwhelmed with bad reports at the Better Business Bureau. My Murphy-loving pal had ordered his directly from a website based in Florida (I think), and had it delivered to his home.

Lacking a doorman and the nerve to attempt self-assembly, I drove out to The Original Murphy Bed headquarters one day to order my new bed. I don’t remember the sales pitch or the level of Murphy I opted for exactly, but I am pretty sure I took the middle road, neither the cheapest nor the most extravagant Murphy with the simplest cabinetry. (I use the mattress I already owned.) A few weeks later it arrived in a van with a man, who assembled the whole kit and caboodle in less that two hours. (For the record, a reasonably handy person could assemble one her/himself.)

I love my Murphy bed. I have no idea why there isn’t a Murphy bed in every apartment in Manhattan. Hell, NYU should invest heavily in the Murphy Bed Company and have them installed in every dorm room in the city. As Arianne Cohen pointed out in a recent article in New York magazine, “With Manhattan’s real-estate market peaking at an all-time-high average of $1,083 per square foot, the necessary 28.125 square feet of space for a full-size bed now holds a net worth of $30,459 ($31,022 in Soho; $31,612 on the Upper West Side).” $30,459! I promise, Murphy bed dozing is nothing like sleeping on a cot, as some people assume it must be. And having lived in an apartment with a loft bed for a year, it is an infinitely more appealing solution. Admittedly there’s nothing suave about suggesting to fold the bed out of the wall during a make-out session with your latest crush, but that is the price you have to pay when trying to make the most of a small space.

Small, But Not Minimal

Back in 2014, I came across this tiny apartment on Refinery29. I loved it right away because it shows that small-space living doesn't have to be minimalistic or impersonal. Today, I saw that the very same apartment is now for sale (for more than half a million dollars!) Of course, like any apartment for sale, the place has been staged with fewer belongings for an airier look. I thought I'd repost it here as a reminder that small does not have to mean minimalist. This apartment, which was also featured on Curbed.com at the time, really feels like someone's personal home—filled with antiques, collections, and art.

Check out the difference between the staged and unstaged living space below, and my original notes on the design below that:

The "bedroom" and "dining room" both fold away. This view of the living room shows the apartment with the Murphy bed and the dining table both folded away. It looks a lot like any New York City apartment's living room to me, which I like.

See the Murphy bed unfolded below.

Storage Beds For Small Homes

My bed frame is a hand-me-down from my parents, more specifically from my mom, who had it back in her single days in New York City in the 70s. First, I'd like to say that any bed frame that lasts nearly 40 years and multiple moves (at least 10 by my count) was a fine investment--so thanks, Mom!

The bed is a wooden captain's bed (a combination of solid wood and plywood) with three large storage drawers embedded in one side. The platform is split into two pieces, making it easier to move. Those three drawers give us almost as much storage as an extra bureau, without taking up any additional storage space, and because they are built into the bed, they're much easier to use than some makeshift under-the-bed storage.

I think anyone living in a small house should seriously consider either a Murphy bed or a storage bed--if you don't, you're underutilizing a serious amount of floorspace, people! Storage beds are also great for guest rooms because you can store the bed's linens in the drawers and leave your guests the bureau drawers to use. In kids' rooms these handy beds can store toys.

The only drawback of my bed is that its a double, and I'm considering an upgrade to a queen, so I thought I'd investigate the world of storage beds on the market today.

Gothic Cabinet Craft still makes a model very similar to my mom's old bed: the Queen Captains Bed with 6 Drawers, $589. Yes, you can opt for drawers on two sides, doubling your drawer space. I'm tempted to go this route because I know I like it.

I've also long been drawn to IKEA's Malm storage bed (I've even blogged about a similar model before here). My sister's roommate had one of these, and while it doesn't give you the dresser-like storage, it gives you a ton of space to store unwieldy things you don't use everyday, like out-of-season clothes, luggage, Christmas ornaments, and the like. It also features IKEA's slat-platform, which I have discovered I like very much. At $449, this is definitely a contender, though I fear it would be a bear to move, and I also hesitate to invest in any more particleboard furniture from Big Blue.

Pottery Barn's Stratton Bed with Drawers is another handsome model, and it's made from hardwood, which I like, and the option to add a headboard is nice. Harder to like is the $1,699 price tag--gulp!

CB2 offers a sleeker, more contemporary storage bed that is also made from real wood and plywood with hi-gloss white lacquer finish. At $799, The Stowaway is also pretty competitive price-wise.

A spendy-but-sophisticated option is Room & Board's Wyatt Bed ($1,799), which has an upholstered frame and headboard and one massive drawer that pulls out from the footboard. It's not for me, but if you wanted an upholstered look, this, or West Elm's Pivot Bed ($1,399, below) would be your best bets.

The Little House on 10th Street

This tiny apartment has been my home for the last three years, and I will be moving soon. Clocking in at a mere 277 square feet, my home is truly little. But it has been a wonderful place to live and I will be heart broken to leave it behind. It is the first home I owned. It is the place I have lived the longest since I arrived in New York eight years ago. It is a space that is filled with my life.

Many of people couldn’t imagine living in my shoebox and wouldn’t care to dream of folding away the Murphy bed each morning, but I have always been happy here. My friends have always remarked that I, “made the most of the space,” shaking their heads at the bed in the wall and the half-size fridge, but no one has complained about the Murphy bed out loud — at least, not yet. This apartment was christened with a house warming of more than thirty people, each guest pressing elbows with the next: people spilling into the halls. I’ve had dinner parties of up to eight guests around my coffee table, and I even cooked a full lobster dinner for friends one February night. (Everything smelled like shellfish for a week afterwards despite multiple moppings.) Lobster wasn’t the end of culinary ambitions in a kitchen fit for munchkins, at one point during my unemployment, I ran a make-shift catering business out of my miniature kitchen, using the fire escape as extra fridge space.

Houseguests while not out of the question always did have to share my full-size bed (including my mother when she stayed). I had three people sleep the night only once, when I had my sister in my bed and our 6-foot tall friend Mandy curled up on my love seat sofa. My old roommate even lived here with me for a week while he sorted things out with his life.

I have had so many good days here and so many friends to enjoy them with. So much fit in to such a small space. But it was enough. It was an embarrassment of riches: This little house in the city that I could actually call my own.

Built-In Storage Headboards

I'm constantly thinking about how we can use our space better and how we can accommodate our storage needs (right now we're pretty maxed out). One idea that I love is building out storage around the top end of a bed. The space at the head of the bed is often under-utilized, and adding storage there eats up very little usable floor space. Whether it's a custom cabinetry commission or something built from IKEA shelving, this is a great way to add storage to a small space. Maybe we'll invest in our own someday in the future! 

I've gathered a few images of bedrooms with built-in storage headboards; here the are:

This room from Better Homes & Gardens features built-in storage that goes from floor to ceiling and even covers the top of the doorway. Here the wall behind the bed appears to be padded and upholstered, which is a nice detail. I also like that there's a bit of breathing room between the bed and the built-in nightstand.

In Remodelista editor Julie Carson's bedroom, the storage is actually recessed into the wall--a clever way to pack storage into a space you can't normally access.

Another on from BHG, this is a guest bedroom designed by Eddie Ross appears to have a built-in made from IKEA cabinetry. I remember seeing this one in the magazine, but I can't find the details for the how-to on the site.

Featured on the One Kings Lane blog, this bedroom is in the Whitney Leigh Morris's "tiny canal cottage." Here the built-ins not only work with the bed, but also with windows to the outside. One detail I love here is the cutaways in the shelving that let's the sleeper access the nightstand.

A third BHG space, this room's built-ins are more wardrobe-like--a great solution for a room without closets. The pop of pattern from wallpaper behind the bed is a nice touch.

Last is the bedroom from my favorite small-space apartment, featured in Dwell magazine. Here the cabinetry surrounds a Murphy bed, for the ultimate space-saving bed-and-built-in combo.

Small Space Inspiration: Windsor Terrace

I read dozens of interior design magazines every month, and after pages and pages of home inspiration, it is rare that a house or an apartment really strikes a chord with me. This month's issue of Dwell grabbed my attention with its small spaces coverline. Inside I was disappointed to find that many of the "small spaces" were actually people's guests houses or other auxiliary structures. However, one apartment really caught my attention.

This one-bedroom apartment in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn belongs to a family of three (soon-to-be four), and it has completely changed my thinking about where we might live next. This apartment makes me believe less is more. I love the renovation solutions this couple employed -- and the spirit that guided that their choices. You can read the full story on Dwell.com.

A floor-to-ceiling sliding wall panel divides the parents' "bedroom" from the main living space.

Custom built-in cabinetry hides the couple's queen-size Murphy bed. (I am a BIG believer in the magic of Murphy beds, by the way--and I speak from personal experience.) 

The Murphy bed in action!

A view from the bedroom looking out to the living area.

The apartment's kitchen is a clean and simple galley design. I love the idea that you can splurge on materials like a marble counter, if you opt for a smaller space. 

Find more of the space after the jump.

Teeny Tiny Apartments

There's an interesting article in the San Francisco Chronicle today about a new residential development of "micro units" (studios measuring less than 350 square feet). While the design looks fresh and modern, the article's secription doesn't sound like the best use of the space. The article refers to two-burner cooktops and mini sinks. I managed to have a four-burner stove with an oven and a full-size sink in my little studio on 10th Street, which makes me wonder why they couldn't have fit in here. I also think staging the spaces with sofa beds is a little silly--I don't know anyone who'd opt for a sofa bed as her day-to-day bed. Do you? What about a Murphy bed?

Digest 1.23.15 - Small Space Edition

A winter storm is brewing outside, I have a cup of nice, strong coffee, and my little guy is lying quietly next to me on the couch after waking up: It's a pretty great morning. I've got so many things bookmarked right now, that I am going to make this round of links all about smalls-space—and include some photos for a change!

This garage-turned-tiny-house in Berkeley, CA is not exactly my style, but oh, it is awfully cute. The inhabitants used all the classic small-space solutions: A Murphy bed, a folding dining table and chairs, and a day bed with storage for a couch.

Erin Boyle, of the blog Reading My Tea Leaves, has a new book, Simple Matters. In conjunction with the book's release, she has 14 tips for small-space living up on A Cup of Jo. I loved seeing how she and her husband reconfigured their one-bedroom to give their daughter the bedroom (a very common move for us New York City dwellers). Here's a link to the same apartment before the swap, if you're curious.

Minimal-chic Japanese brand Muji exhibited a trio of tiny, pre-fab houses earlier this year in Tokyo. Inhabitiat shared photos and information about the project. Designer Jasper Morrison's "Hut of Cork" (above) was my favorite of the three. Wouldn't it be great if these went into production?

Finally, Fast Co. shared a truly micro-house designed by two Polish students. When closed up the mobile, tiny houses measure just 33 square feet. That's a little small for my tastes, but I liked the plywood-clad interiors and the clever use of space, including fold-down elements like a bench and desk.

Digest 7.27.18

Happy Friday! Here's a list of 10 things that have caught my eye recently, including the sweetest little 19th century house (above) and some thoughts about living a sustainable life. Enjoy!

This little house has me wanting to plan a trip to Beaufort, SC.

Alison and her adorable family on Cup of Jo!

A directory for the "ultimate cabin stays."

These are some ideas to steal in this studio renovated for a couple (though I would have kept the Murphy bed!)

The Tiffin Project. I wish my employer would do something like this in our cafeteria!

A zero-waste quilt kit.

Cast-iron care from one of my favorite bloggers.

This gorgeous (not small!) apartment is just down the street from me in Jackson Heights.

Love this air-drying rebellion.

And speaking of undies: Lingerie recycling.

One more thing: If you're looking for a way to help reunite families that have been separated at the border, you can donate here, to help cover travel costs for parents and children.