Mostly Moved In

I moved in about two months ago and have been working on some of the small details: interior trim, shelves, shades, etc.  I'm happy to report that I DO NOT FEEL CRAMPED!  In part, that is due to my strategy of only moving in the things I need for the space I have available.  Trying to downsize from my old cottage by just emptying the old place (800 sf plus attic) and trying to stuff it into 420 square feet would have resulted in an entirely different outcome.  So please enjoy the following photos and consider what's done and what is yet to be finished:

Not much new on the outside, except that the porch is functional.  There is still plenty of
of work to be done here to add storm doors and acrylic panels to close off the space
into a semi-greenhouse.  This will act as an airlock and give some free heat on
sunny winder days.  Next spring, I'll swap out the acrylic panels for screens.

All furniture is a place-holder for now.  The table will be slightly larger and square;
the chair will become a love seat (the table and love seat will swap locations); I'll get a proper
media cabinet, and replace the green storage tub with a chest.  The insulating blinds on those
large south side windows keep the warmth in during the winter and with the top-down feature,
they keep out solar heat gain on unusually warm September days while leaving a view out the
upper part of the window.

I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to fit my computer desk.  Luckily,
it nestles in nicely under the stairs so I can work comfortably
from home.  I have a 20"x30" folding table that sets up to the
left of the desk if I need more horizontal space.

Detail of the CD shelves that are built into the wall.
This also shows off the diagonal tongue-and-groove
pine over the door vs. the lightly stained plywood
which makes up the large panels.  I hate drywall:
the plywood makes it easy to securely fasten shelves
and paintings anywhere on the wall with fewer studs.

Coming soon: a curtain to cover the pantry shelves to the left of the fridge.
A door here would swing against the wall and preclude adding a
coat hook/shelf, which is also on the to-do list.  It's hard to see in this shot,
but there is no cabinet under the sink--it's just open to maximize
 room for trash, recycling, and cleaning supplies.  A curtain is also in the works there.

Ben's perch gives him a commanding view of the
diminutive space.  The hanging dish drains act as
permanent storage for my every-day dishes--it
saves time to not put them away and take them
out repeatedly.  The racks drain into the sink,
sort of like a European kitchen.

Imagine a row of shelves above the toilet for
towel storage and the stuff that usually belongs
in the bathroom.  The frame on the left encloses
the medicine cabinet.  A traditional mirror wouldn't
work here since the toilet is located where you would
stand to see yourself.  But when you  are in the middle
of the room and open the door, a mirror on the inside
of the door swings into the perfect position.  

I LOVE this shower, especially in warm weather.  Flow control on the left lets me soap up and turn off the water to avoid getting the room all hot and humid before I rinse off.  There is no guesswork about finding the perfect temperature because the knob on the right controls that precisely: set it and forget it.  It's a little unusual to have towel racks on the door, but it works.

I try to use as much of the wall cavity as possible.  This shows
the back side of the tongue-and-groove.  Same think in the
closet, too.  That's a home-made shower rod: one 10' piece of
copper pipe for $15.  Wish I'd been able to bend it smoothly,
but I didn't figure that out.  The 36" x 40" area inside the shower
curtains is cavernous compared to most bathtubs.

This mid-size washer is perfectly sized to fill up
my drying rack plus a few shirts hanging
on hangers to dry.  I haven't used a dryer since
college, so this is no hardship.  I'm working on
a curtain to cover this doorway (or should I go
with some hippie beads?)  Yet another curtain
will hide the two water heaters (for domestic
and radiant floor heat).

I have a room-darkening blind ready to hang once the air
conditioner comes out (any day now!)  The counterweight is
designed to provide a soft close for the hatch as well as to
hold it open and out of the way.  The door will even stay open
45 degrees to funnel air-conditioned air downstairs on a hot day.

The shelves along the side of the attic are designed to
hide banker's boxes underneath as my module of storage.  Some day, I may build a  platform to raise up my foam
mattress 8-12 inches.  That would provide some more
storage, and there is just enough headroom for it.  I may
not feel it's necessary. Note the room darkening blind
on this side--I love the side rails that exclude virtually
every once of light!  (Photo was taken at 5 PM with
full western sun on the window.)