Lately, the concept of home has been on my mind. Jeff and I live in an old, arts and crafts style bungalow. It has beautiful woodwork, plaster walls, and all of the charm (and frustration) that comes with older homes. We've done our best to make it our own, and we love it. It is also quite small. Not terribly small. But small. Especially in comparison to what many people who live in areas with better real estate prices or lower property taxes or more space in general are used to. Since becoming pregnant, we've fielded several comments regarding the size of our home, with the message being that there is certainly just not enough space here for us to be comfortable, especially once the baby is here.
But here's the thing...I just don't agree. Truth be told, I've always loved smaller homes. Our home is warm and cozy and we use EVERY SQUARE INCH of it. There is no "company only" room (I used to date a guy whose mom had a special room in her enormous house that no one was allowed to go in, and I never understood the point of it, this strange perfect all-white room that no one ever used). Yes, we've had to come up with, um, rather creative solutions to address our lack of storage (peg board is amazing). And yes, another bathroom would be lovely, as would some extra square footage in the kitchen, where we seem to spend most of our time. But is it worth it to risk being house-poor for a few extra square feet? Would we use the extra space? Or would it just be more space to furnish, more space to clean, more space to take time away from the things that fill our lives now, mainly each other and friends and books and brewing and cooking and soon enough, baby tending? I suspect that, as with many things in life, more is not necessarily better.
We've assessed what we have, and we've decided, that for now, small is what works for us. This decision makes me feel calm and at peace and grateful for my (small) lot in life. I'm also on the lookout for more creative storage ideas, so if you have any, send them my way.
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