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Living large

By on September 28, 2012
One of the challenges of modern living can be the small size of apartments. I first encountered this when I moved to Tokyo, where square footage is most definitely at a premium. In Vancouver, where I currently live, people often complain about the shoebox-style apartments. These diminutive domiciles have something in common with some larger rooms in more spacious homes: an open-concept space that has to serve multiple functions. There are several ways that an open-plan space or compact studio apartment can be optimized for comfort, style, and practicality.

The challenge with open-concept spaces is the loss of boundaries and clearly defined zones. While you can enjoy the simplicity and in larger cases spaciousness, it can be challenging to ground and focus your activities. I’ve often seen such spaces turn into a messy conglomeration of disparate objects and messy arrangements. There needs to be an organizing principle even if the space is going to have an open ‘feel’, or you might find that different aspects of your life bleed into one another.

The first order of business is to decide on the functions to take place in the room. Will you be eating and working in the same room? Eating, working, and sleeping? How will you be ‘living’ (ie relaxing) if there isn’t a separate living room? Deciding on the number of zones required will help you start to ponder practical ways of organizing the space. Consider whether some of the spaces serve more than one function – for example, a dining space can double as an office space (but do note the warnings in the last paragraph).

There are a few ways you can delineate different zones. Area rugs and carpets are among the most efficient and unobtrusive, as they are outside of our usual focal points but are still clearly picked up and give a clear understanding (literally) and boundary of a certain space. The style, size, or colours of art on walls can also help create a distinctive atmosphere in certain sections of a room (having it be theme-appropriate to the area’s function is even better). Varying the colours of different walls, and sectioning off areas with curtains, screens, or plants, can also do wonders.

While living in a home is by nature an act of permanence and stability, small spaces can challenge one’s attachments. Any space will only comfortably hold as much as it will comfortably hold – smaller spaces cannot hold as much, so people living there need to be very clear about what is most important to them. These circumstances provide the opportunity to be more selective of what books, art, decorative objects, and other material possessions are kept. Cramped quarters breed a sense of wanting to bust out of from external constraints, of feeling restricted by circumstances and having more to express than circumstances will allow. It is therefore vital to highlight only the most important possessions on a scale that’s appropriate to the size of the room.
 
Furniture that can transform and move helps to support living in confined spaces. A little desk on wheels can be pulled away from the wall to reveal a chair that gives you a sense of support as you sit between the desk and the wall (you never see a successful CEO sitting with their back to the door and desk up against a wall). When your work shift is finished, the desk can be pushed back against the wall and work-related material put away, signaling the end of that shift or work day. Otherwise, it is all too easy to put in loads of work time and not enough living time. Similarly, a sofa bed or other hideaway bed (some are better than others from a Feng Shui perspective) helps to clear the space so that something used around seven or eight hours per day doesn’t fill the room 24/7. There are also great storage units that double as seating – if the contents are kept organized, such pieces can help you to keep more than meets the eye and thereby keeps your space more streamlined and attractive.

There are a few important issues to keep in mind when living in compact lodgings. A dedicated eating area is of prime importance: do not eat at your desk, on the sofa, or in your bed (occasional snacks are ok, but not meals – unless it’s breakfast in bed on a Sunday). There needs to be a proper dining area, so if there is only one table and it is also used as a desk, all work items should be cleared prior to dining – this is a form of hygiene, like washing your hands before you eat. Similarly, if you are sleeping in a multi-function room, having information-dense materials stored away is key. Computers should be closed and powered down (electronic items should be as far from the bed as possible regardless), and books and papers should be properly stored away. Book cabinets and other storage units with closed doors can minimize the potential for information overload.

Whatever the size of your space, may it support you fully and seamlessly.
 
Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.markainley.com

About Mark Ainley

Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.senseofspace.com and www.markainley.com.