Brigette

I was just reading a NYT article about micro apartment living in NY (see article here: http://tiny.cc/1ql3kw) and I wondered if the trend is the same in London. Now I know the flats are usually smaller but I am specifically talking about apartments that are small but not shoddy as in this (http://tiny.cc/etl3kw ) this ( http://tiny.cc/yvl3kw ) , ( http://tiny.cc/9xl3kw ) and this http://tiny.cc/7yl3kw

I think the key is to find affordable places in big cities for singles who want to live in the city but cannot afford the gigantic prices. I thought it was an interesting read but wasn't sure if that kind of option was available in London.

rebeccajo

I'm sure the locals can give you an idea if there are specific projects in London comparable to those in the article. I'm not the person who can give you that answer.

But -

As part of my "research/fantasy" of a future life in the Big Smoke, I've spent countless hours on the internet "looking" at flats in London. I do this on estate agent websites, like Foxton's. There are loads of new builds/rehabs in London, but I haven't found any of the very tiny ones like those in the article. What I have done though, is try to imagine myself in those 500-700 square foot flats. And I've researched decorating and storage ideas for small spaces.

The conclusion I've come to is that you can make a tiny space a great home. It takes research, a handyman and a real willingness to part with your "stuff". I've seen the "room divider" concept (as shown in the first photo you linked) in photos of London flats. I've learned about corner bath sinks and beds built on storage platforms. I've also discovered tiny kitchens - such as these:

http://www.elfinkitchens.co.uk/

I'm rambling. I guess my opinion is you might need to "do it yourself". And it would be worth it if you wanted to live in certain area.

Pom_Chch

Hello!

I quite like the idea of micro apartments. Living in London at the moment it doesn't seem there's much of it around. Single professionals are still opting for house/flat shares to keep costs down since rent prices in London are high. I don't know of many single people who rent studio apartments because the cost is not realistic. For example at the moment my partner and I pay 1200 pounds per month for a two double bed flat in zone 3. I saw an ad for a studio flat in the same area for just a little less. It was furnished to a very high standard but I still thought it was extortionate and not something a single professional could afford. For those people who are single and want their own space rather than sharing I think it's a great idea, but the cost would have to be reasonable for people to go for it.

Brigette

rebeccajo,

Thanks for the info. Like the site you provided. I'll definitely keep it in mind.

Pom_Chch,

so sad that it's not available in London. I think it is an interesting concept. When I first get to England I will be staying with family until I get myself on my feet. The idea of sharing with someone after living with my family is out of the question...so I guess I'll have to make do.

Hopefully the concept once built will catch on in London and I'll have something to look forward to. Of course cost is the key and I think the concept of doing it is to provide affordable housing in the city

MissBetty

I was very intrigued by your post and I really loved the pictures - how blooming clever too!

I used to work in London but could not afford to rent/buy there on my salary so I used to commute in - easy for me as I did permanent nights and was always therefore going against the traffic but it was still quite tiring and a pain in the winter!!!

I did find the following article which might interest you?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...its-micro.html

It does seem to be mainly aimed at students but you never know what you might be able to dig up with a bit of Googling lol! Good luck!

the troubadour

The brave new world where we who are not members of the super rich elite are all living in pods,in the worlds bigger cities.

MissBetty

I think this is ok for students and young people who don't have a lot of money but want to live in a big city. When I worked for the NHS I lived in nurses' accommodation, which was a bit run down, but it was cheap, in central London and I was having far too much fun to care! When I did buy a property I went for something affordable on the south coast and then commuted in, worked well for me and I was done with big city living by then anyway After 10 years I transferred to a local job, I think its just best to go with the flow and do whatever suits you and what your needs are at that particular stage of your life.

robin1234

Well, there are buildings in London with studios this size, holiday rentals (the type of place you might rent if you are going to London for a couple of weeks on a business trip, too.) We've stayed in one such, very nice location and good weekly price, a couple of times in West Hampstead. It's much like a hotel room with a micro kitchen. All the basics of a kitchen without much in the way of work surfaces! I've often thought, could I live here full time? If you can liberate yourself from 95% of your accumulated possessions, why not? And I believe that 95% of my possessions are not needed and do not contribute to quality of life. I guess one thing you'd have to reconcile yourself with, you do not have room for guests to stay, they would have to stay somewhere nearby.

dunroving

I'm not sure I could handle living in such tiny places as these, but I do like the idea of "space efficiency". When I look around my own house, there is a lot of floor space that serves no real purpose (my entry hallway could be about a quarter of the size, the upstairs hallway a half of the current size). I have a large double bedroom that only gets used maybe a few weeks a year when guests come.

I have missed having the space of my US house and "yard" (a "garden" is a vegetable patch in the US, for those who don't know ). It wasn't especially big by US standards (single storey ranch, about 1200 sq feet plus a carport, on about a fifth of an acre). But when I think of my former living room (about 20 ft long), I didn't actually use half of it (all of my functional furniture, telly, coffee table were in the far end).

Bigger houses cost more to heat, property tax/council tax is higher, they take more effort to clean, etc. But then as a previous poster said, where to put guests?

I think adaptable spaces have a lot to offer, something like you find in boats. A friend had a condo on Topsail Beach NC that had bed spaces tucked into the wall of the hallway, fold-down tables etc. Why do you need a dining table and chairs to be sitting there in extra space you have to heat 24-7 when you only sit at the table once in a blue moon? Why do we need separate living and dining and kitchen areas?

A lof of our vertical space is unused too - I like loft beds and built-in cupboards and shelves that go up to the ceiling.

I guess the answer is to build your own house (or adapt an existing house) if you have the money, which maybe avoids the purpose of the idea of saving money by using less space ...

robin1234

Exactly. It's not just floor space that is often wasted (sq. ft.) but space between the floor and the ceiling (cu. ft.) When you stay in a holiday rental, the furniture is usually cheap & functional, a few IKEA pieces for instance. Now, if you owned that space and were a keen amateur carpenter and cabinet-maker, just imaging how you could make the best out of limited space. For instance, build the bed up near the ceiling with desk, or seating or storage beneath it. A boat is a good example of maximum use of very limited space.

WEBlue

Some great ideas here for modifying small places!

The husband & I always try to fill unused wall space, such as in hallways, with bookshelves. A relative of mine built bookshelves all the way to the ceiling all over his house with a rolling stepstool to reach the higher shelves. Seems to me this saves on heating/cooling costs due to the increased insulation the books provide ... though of course the downside is it increases the dusting work needed.

Nowadays people are moving away from paper books to ebooks, but the idea of building lots of shelves into one's unused wall space would allow at least some of us to make do with a lot less floor footage. My husband has 5 huge filing cabinets taking up "home office" space. I keep wishing we could rig up some solid built-in shelving to hold all that material up out of our way, with maybe a ladder to access it.

robin1234

What dusting??

WEBlue

Haha, I know! I do avoid it as long as I can, but eventually the spiderwebs get way too obvious to ignore & I have to run the hoover attachment over the books.

sallysimmons

Or moving out of the cities altogether. Nothing could persuade me to live like that just to be in London when it's easy enough to get there if you want to (of course that's easy for me to say since I've been back 5 months without ever even thinking of a trip to London )

I know it's more environmentally friendly and more ideologically sound to want a smaller home, but I like having space to breathe. I work from home, so this is where I spend all my time. Plus we have guests constantly and I couldn't bear to have them on top of me.

I admire people who can organize their lives that way, but I know it would make me stir crazy.

Brigette

I think that's why its catered to the young or young at heart I'm so surprised you haven't been to London yet.