The Not So Big Duplex

Mom's been wanting to see pictures of the inside of our place for a while. It was painted in dark colors when we first moved in (even the ceilings), So I painted everything brighter: white ceilings, chartreuse and yellow and white walls. Plus a big piece of corrugated metal on the living room wall to reflect more light.

A couple of years ago I checked out The Not So Big House from the Urbana library. In the book, an architect called Sarah Susanka describes houses that are more efficient and livable rather than bigger. Chad and I like efficient things (the bicycle, for instance; the public library, for instance). I don't remember a lot from that book except that Susanka wasn't a fan of high ceilings. Browsing the shelves at our local library a couple of weeks ago, I came across a sequel called Creating the Not So Big House. I read it from cover to cover (there are a lot of pictures). I learned that, as I'd suspected, our not so big duplex is pretty great. The one thing I'd change about it would be that I'd make the half-wall that divides the dining and living rooms shorter. That way, even when sitting down, one would have a "long sight line"--which makes small spaces feel roomier. I wouldn't get rid of the wall completely, because Susanka taught me that, if I did, I'd have to put the couch farther away from the table in order not to feel like the living area was crowding the dining area.

I can't tear out walls since we're renting this place. But our very kind landlord likes the new, bright colors.

The blanket that we're using as a headboard was given to me in Korea. And if you look closely at the second view of our bedroom -- doorbeads!

The guest room (as yet unimproved) doubles as a laundry-drying room. No reason to use a clothes-dryer when you live in the desert.