Living in a Small House

Living in a Small House

Now that it has been exactly 10 years, I think I have become a professional in settling in a small house. 

First of all, I have to say that it is actually more expensive to move to a small house. Why? Because you build rather than buy ready-made. It is very important to save space, to utilise every inch. You make that expense once and then you are happy that you can use every space. 

Our house is about 75 square metres. The living room, as far as I know, is 24. The kitchen is almost non-existent. Maybe five. I really don't know. What I do know is that apart from the kitchen cupboards, we have built cupboards above the sink and above the fridge. Because the extra stuff is not in the centre. The things we use the most are close at hand. 

Now I will only write what we have done so that you can get an idea. Because now houses are getting smaller. Especially in Istanbul...

We took the kitchen door off. It's small anyway, no need for darkness. We opened a tiny window between the kitchen and the living room so it wouldn't be dark. I put the flowers there and they like it. The flowers are happy, I am happy.

I had my daughter's bed and wardrobe custom-made when she started primary school. There were six drawers under her bed. It could hold all the stuff. This year we changed it again. A chest of drawers, a bed with six drawers that can be opened and a tiny desk. 

In the unused corner of the living room, we built a cupboard with a mirror on the side. When we painted the walls the same colour, the big cupboard disappeared. All our books, board games and stuff are there. (There is a lot more, but I don't want to show my mess)

I would also like a stylish bedstead, but the base is our saviour. They even say ‘can there be a 180x200 cm bed in a small house’, but we could not give up its comfort. The base takes a lot of stuff. Since we have to separate summer and winter due to lack of space, it is very useful for us. Even very thick coats are there. We take them and put them back again.

Wardrobes, dressers; all of them were made according to the room. Imagine an L-shaped room and four wardrobes facing each other in that L. It couldn't fit any other way. Actually, I had so many ideas, but it didn't work out. I couldn't make my wife accept it. Now she regrets it. Since it would be expensive to return to her in this state, I gave up.

Call it an obsession, but since I don't like to see the door to the master bathroom, I open the cupboard door at night when I sleep, it looks like there is another room behind. In fact, since there is a mirror in another cupboard, it becomes a tiny dressing cabin. Now when you think about it, don't imagine something like in films and TV series. 😊 

Since the shower cabin in the master bathroom is very small and not used, we had it removed and replaced it with a cabinet up to the ceiling. Toilet paper and paper towels are kept on top, and shoes are kept in the lower cabinet. 

Since we also have a washing machine and tumble dryer in our bathroom, the cupboard is small. That's why we built a cabinet with mirrored doors from the sink to the ceiling. It holds everything. Since it is not very deep, it is never tiring on the eyes. 

I am aware that when I tell it like this, it will be thought that the house is a ‘cupboard cupboard’, but it is not like that.

We also had the TV unit made by us, again millimetre by millimetre. 

The sofa is L. It also opens up to become a bed and has a box spring underneath. Although I'm obsessed with changing it these days, I'm stopping because it's useful. 

Apart from an L armchair, there are two armchairs. Our table doesn't open, it's 80 by 130 cm. We have six chairs. That's it. 😊

Since the house has underfloor heating, the carpets that mums love are gone, replaced by tiny carpets that can be washed in the machine. I even call them ‘rugs’. 

When I buy something, I give the old one away. Let's say I buy a dinner set for six people, the other one goes. The same goes for trousers and glasses. 

Nevertheless, when I look around the house, I see what has accumulated. The things that are kept in case we use them... Every three months they go. Then I couldn't figure out why and how it accumulates. 

Since we moved in 10 years ago, every wall was a different colour and these colours changed every two years. Paintings, puzzles... I can't tell you how full it was. Not my eyes, but my brain, my soul was getting tired. This summer the house is grey. The whole house is one colour. There's nothing on the wall. I'm surprised when I look at it.

I put the round mirror in the living room at the kitchen exit, even it made the kitchen look wider. Now the dominant colours in the living room are: Khaki, paper bag and grey... It's as if it wasn't the house that had different colours in every corner a few months ago. I don't think I'll ever hang anything on the wall again, we'll see.

I found a solution for the jewellery. They are on transparent hangers on the wall in our room. 

A dryer is a must in a small house. We couldn't get comfortable with two in one, so we bought them separately and they are on top of each other. Because there is nowhere to hang laundry. 

I'm sure there are some I forgot, but I promise, I'll write as I think of them. You can already see the whole house on my Instagram account (www.instagram.com/sebnemseckiner). If you want to look at it for ideas, in the videos section...

They like it for now. Next week I want to write about ‘marriage’. Kismet. It can change at any moment. Being a Gemini requires this. 😊