There was a guy in Japan who'd got it down to an art.
When not in use, his oven and kitchen counter top could be folded into the wall..and the wall hid an alcove that worked as his bedroom, which naturally was a bunker bed.
Cabinets went up to the ceiling, which had a shelf running where the molding should have been, for extra storage..
Chairs opened out into sofas and dinner tables folded into office desks..
No internal walls, except for the bathrooms. The bedrooms were recessed and hidden. Different areas were marked by mats and multipurpose units.
Why is this bad? I'm reminded of that exchange between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in Romancing The Stone: "Those were Italian!" "Now they're practical".
Yes, this house is practical. It's as much space as they need. Not as much as they want, but as much as they need. I hate to tell my fellow Americans this, but the days of all of us having McMansions that are 2/3 bigger than we need are over. This is perfectly practical and comfortable for a young couple, a one-child family, a retired person, or a pair of roommates. I, for one, salute these people for getting themselves out of debt and making a rational choice.
Welcome to communist Eastern Europe, where I grew up, and where tiny shitty apartments in disgusting "projects" where de rigeur.
ReplyDeleteMalthus is dancing in his (tiny) grave?
ReplyDeleteparticularly highly organized, creative individuals need only apply.
ReplyDeleteSmall apartments can be a fun challenge.
ReplyDeleteThere was a guy in Japan who'd got it down to an art.
When not in use, his oven and kitchen counter top could be folded into the wall..and the wall hid an alcove that worked as his bedroom, which naturally was a bunker bed.
Cabinets went up to the ceiling, which had a shelf running where the molding should have been, for extra storage..
Chairs opened out into sofas and dinner tables folded into office desks..
No internal walls, except for the bathrooms. The bedrooms were recessed and hidden. Different areas were marked by mats and multipurpose units.
It was futuristic and kinda neat...
Why is this bad? I'm reminded of that exchange between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in Romancing The Stone: "Those were Italian!" "Now they're practical".
ReplyDeleteYes, this house is practical. It's as much space as they need. Not as much as they want, but as much as they need. I hate to tell my fellow Americans this, but the days of all of us having McMansions that are 2/3 bigger than we need are over. This is perfectly practical and comfortable for a young couple, a one-child family, a retired person, or a pair of roommates. I, for one, salute these people for getting themselves out of debt and making a rational choice.
Yurts...tents...domes...vinyl huts...mobile homes...converted railway carriages...here they come.
ReplyDeleteI've always had a fantasy to live in a mountain house on stilts overlooking a waterfall.
I catch my own fish. I shoot birds and trap and eat small ugly creatures. The cute ones I tame (isn't it always like that?) and learn their lore.
I forget what English sounds like.