Cohousing-L Mailing List: Storage - a another view

[Chris ScottHanson (chris]

Another view of storage...

I moved to England in 1972.  The first house I rented had four 
bedrooms, but there were NO CLOSETS anywhere in the house.  It was just 
my wife and I, before kids, and this was a relatively new house, less 
than 10 years old.

We converted one of the 4 bedrooms into a good sized walk in closet for 
clothes and dressing.   Another became the guest room (for all the 
friends who had to take advantage of our living in England).  The third 
became simply storage - boxes and an normal american accumulation of 
junk.  Obviously the 4th was our bedroom.  The English tradition (this 
was 1972) was not to own much stuff, and what you did own went into 
furniture, like an armoire.

A different way to look at it.

Chris

On Nov 21, 2004, at 12:05 PM, Sharon Villines wrote:

> On Nov 21, 2004, at 1:53 PM, Eileen McCourt wrote:
>
> > Something
> > Sharon mentions that might work for me is to eliminate my one bedroom
> > and have only open space except for the bathroom and closets.  I am
> > wondering, Sharon, if you created a studio apt or still have a 
> > bedroom?
>
> About halfway in a pretty much square apartment there is a division. 
> On one side the closet containing the washer and dryer/utility closet 
> and a walk in clothes closet stick out about 8 feet. On the other the 
> enclosed bathroom and HVAC/hotwater heater closet stick out about 6 
> feet. So I have a living area and kitchen in the front connected by a 
> 10 foot wide opening. So there is some division and I'm considering 
> making that opening a smaller archway so you don't see into bathroom 
> all the time. I have one of our handicapped accessible units so the 
> door opens out, not in.
>
> > The reasons I can think of for having a bedroom is to hide stuff in 
> > (as
> > in close the door on the mess), and for those times (about 12 times a
> > year) that I have houseguests that want to stay with me, rather than 
> > in
> > the common house.
>
> I have lots of shelves for storage. I built in one whole wall of 
> shelves -- nice cabinet quality and have several free standing 
> bookshelves. This helps a lot. It means I can store whatever I want in 
> attractive boxes, in the open. Although I also have lots of books.
>
> When people first saw my apartment I was surprised how many of them 
> said "Oh, you'll have to make your bed. I couldn't live this way." I'm 
> a habitual bed maker -- I make it as soon as I get out of it, so I 
> never thought of that.
>
> Having the bed out in the open means I spend much more time on it. I 
> use it as a big desk when I'm working and watching TV. I can put out 
> all my books and papers or needlework supplies. I also have several of 
> the babies and toddlers who spend time here and we can all be on the 
> bed. That way I can read or knit and still be close enough to pick up 
> their rattles or tickle their bellies when they get bored.
>
> The children actually miss the bed when they are away. One 
> two-year-old boy's grandparents were here for a week so he hadn't been 
> to visit. One day when they were walking by, he opened the door, ran 
> in, and crawled up on the bed. His grandmother come in very apologetic 
> that he had been so rude. He was sitting in the middle of the bed and 
> refused to even acknowledge her presence. I had to explain that he had 
> been spending time there almost very day since he was born so he was 
> "homesick." I said I would bring him home in 15 or 20 minutes. She was 
> very dubious and went home to tell the boy's mother that "some woman 
> has taken him away."
>
> I also change the uses of the various areas of the apartment often -- 
> often enough to confuse occasional visitors who think they are in the 
> wrong place when they look in the door. The flexibility is wonderful.
>
> Sharon
> -----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
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