How much living space do you need?

There are 7 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 170 times. The latest Post () was by SpaceNut.

  • Although I’d feel claustrophobic in an apartment 10 times this size, to be fair, this one was designed as a guest room or very short-term living quarters.


    With that perspective, I love the inventive and (naturally) minimalist use of every bit of room.


    ‘A Box of Surprises’: a Rotterdam Apartment That’s Only 74 Square Feet (Gift Article)
    Two architects in the Netherlands made the most of the tiniest of spaces, “maximizing absolutely everything.”
    www.nytimes.com

  • We stayed at an EasyJet hotel (EasyHotel) in Amsterdam near the Arena, over a decade ago. It was larger than a capsule hotel room, but it still felt claustrophobic to me. They played every trick to keep the claustrophobia at a bay: the room itself was maybe 3x3 m, the bathroom box was behind two glasses that went from the floor to the ceiling. The wall opposite to the door was entirely made of glass, and couldn't be open. The room had ventilation on, but only when guests were in the room and inserted the access key (card) into a dedicated slot, turning on electricity in the room for A/C and lighting. Thank God, we had to sleep there for one night, only. It was cheap and clean, but I am not sure if I would repeat the experience. I couldn't definitely live in a space like this. It may be cheap, but the amount of money you'd spend to stay outside of it as long as possible wouldn't make it viable as a stable living situation, imho!


    Some pictures from the Internet below:

  • I’d need a big window too, UK Man . Preferably not facing someone else’s big window! The tiny 7 sq meter place in the article DOES have a big window, with a nice city view, but there was no photo showing the living room itself. Large enough for a couple of folding canvas directors’ chairs?


    serafina , I would have had exactly the same reaction you did, to the closed-in, clothes closet feel of that place you stayed overnight in Amsterdam. Ugh!

  • Accommodation in Amsterdam is achingly expensive these days and there always seems to a huge space compromise to be made and with the tiniest of bathrooms that you have to manoeuvre around in to use them.

    I started to stay in Haarlem to save money, though there’s a couple of very good hotels by Sloterdijk station that offer much better value for money than downtown.

  • Speaking of windows, I never had a bathroom with a window here in Argentina. I am very very tempted to make one, even if it violates the city regulation.

    It says that there could be no window along the wall that separates two properties. At the same time, we are on Floor 2, and the property next to us cannot be built taller than what they are, so it is not like we are going to have our window shut by a wall someday. I have read that this is also for privacy reasons, but I am sure there must be a way to create a window that will ensure my neighbor's privacy. I would just like to be able to ventilate naturally a humid room like the bathroom. I am not interested in looking at my neighbors. Besides, I can already do it from my terrace

  • Although I’d feel claustrophobic in an apartment 10 times this size, to be fair, this one was designed as a guest room or very short-term living quarters.


    With that perspective, I love the inventive and (naturally) minimalist use of every bit of room.


    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/0…baDucd8eYW&smid=url-share

    I wonder what would happen if they started to fight each other and had a hard time moving to another place.