Small Home Tours: Lis and Husband in 690 Square Feet

Sometimes I forget what it was like before I had kids . I remember when my favourite blogger had kids and I felt like all she posted about was them. I could not relate at all! And now I am that person who always shares about her kids. So I am pleased today to share the small home of a young couple Lis and her husband from Washingon, D.C. I was so touched that a couple hoping to stay in their small space when the eventually have a family wanted to do a home tour here. Lis mentioned that she would like to connect with other like-minded small space dwellers. How lovely is that! Please enjoy their 690 square foot apartment tour below…

Who lives there?

My husband and I, for now.

Tell me about your choice to live small. Was it a conscious decision or did it just evolve?

 

When we first met, my husband had the dream to live in a tiny home. As time passed, we realized that tiny might be too challenging for our family goals and decided to go for a small home instead. We initially tried a studio apartment and it worked really well. But, because we love having family over (most of our family lives far away) we felt the need for more space.  When we decided we wanted kids, we debated staying in our condo or moving. But with some research, we found people like you who were making  small living work as a family and we decided to stay and enjoy the simplicity and financial benefits of living small with children. We’re truly grateful for having found your blog. It’s been an incredibly encouraging resource.

When we first met, my husband had the dream to live in a tiny home. As time passed, we realized that tiny might be too challenging for our family goals and decided to go for a small home instead. We initially tried a studio apartment and it worked really well. But, because we love having family over (most of our family lives far away) we felt the need for more space.  When we decided we wanted kids, we debated staying in our condo or moving. But with some research, we found people like you who were making  small living work as a family and we decided to stay and enjoy the simplicity and financial benefits of living small with children. We’re truly grateful for having found your blog. It’s been an incredibly encouraging resource.

Is there a piece of furniture or accessory that you couldn't live without that makes living in your space easier?

We love our expandable table and the versatility of our couch ottoman because it has storage and we can move it around to make our couch a sectional. But what we’re really looking forward to getting is a Murphy bed that we’ll place where our desk currently is, once we have kids. And of course, I love all our bins and shelves that help with storage. Also, having a washer and dryer in the apartment is a godsend (we had to share 2 washers/2 dryers with about 100 other people on the floor of the old apartment we lived in).

What is something you love about living small? 

 Having less to clean and less to take care of! We find that we don’t serve our things, they serve us. We went a little crazy (for us) buying decor when we first moved in and realized it’s not necessary! We are now on a big minimalism kick, and are cutting things down to what we REALLY love, has emotional significance for us, and what we plan to keep forever.  Once things are no longer meaningful or useful, we make sure to donate or sell to someone who might enjoy them as well. Additionally, I love that I end up outside more often than I would otherwise. It helps me have a different relationship with the city I live in and enjoy the parks and shared outside spaces that are available to everyone. 

What is something you hate?

Not being able to have as many family members as we wished to stay with us when they visit. We’ve had 3 visit when we lived in our studio and it worked well. but more space would allow us to have more people stay with us. And since our family is big, the more the merrier! We wish we also had a space for a small backyard, and a designated space/room for my husband to create music (he plays guitar, makes electronic music, and DJ’s for fun and teaches as a side gig. He has to hide the equipment when it’s not in use and it takes a long time to set up). In the future, I think we might wish we had personal space for the kids to play, and make more noise away from us! ha

What are you planning for your space to prepare for a baby? 

As I mentioned that we are into minimalism so we’ve been decluttering quite a bit! I absolutely love organizing and decluttering. We’ve also started to look into what baby items we’ll choose to have and planning the layout changes we’ll make. Initially, we plan to have the crib in our bedroom and we’ll move some things around and get rid of our bench to make space for it. But eventually, we’ll place our desk that’s in the living room into our storage room and replace it with a Murphy bed  to make space for more kids in the bedroom. 

One of the reasons I started this blog was to have a positive space about living small with a family and hopefully have people let go of the shame associated with it. Thank you soooo much for being so open with your beautiful home and life. Is there anything you would want to say to someone who wants to stay in their small space but are nervous or feeling external pressure not to?

I think it’s important to take into consideration what our loved ones say because they mean well, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to choose what makes sense for your family. And that’s a beautiful and responsible thing to do. Living small requires flexibility, adaptation, and sacrifice, but it also highlights what truly matters in life, and it can make everything more meaningful. It’s also important to remember that most people in the world live in places North Americans would consider small. So it’s truly a matter of perspective and making choices that honor your family’s needs, priorities and values. 

I asked Lis to share some sources for a few items in her home that I thought you might be wondering about.

Source:

Rounded Bottom Wood Crates - Target
Extending Dining Table - Ikea
Wicker Cabinet - Clever Ikea Hack of Glueing Wicker and trim onto this Ikea Billy Bookcase

Thanks again for opening your beautiful home to us Lis!

If you'd like to share your small space here on the blog please email 600sqftandababy@gmail.com with some photos of your (under 1200 square foot) space.