Surprising Discovery on Small Apartment Field Trip

In preparation for downsizing once we move to Prairie Hill, members and prospective members are thinking about how much space we need. We've been playing around with room dimensions, arranging space within the floor plans, and looking at what others have done. Several weeks ago we took a field trip to three different small apartments in Iowa City, all between 500-550 square feet. Compared to what most of us are used to, this is very small indeed!

First we toured two high end studio apartments at the Vine on Gilbert Street. Each was one big room plus bathroom and closet. A fold down bed allowed the space during the day to be more open. The kitchen was along one wall and windows provided a generous amount of natural light. Clearly a person could live comfortably in either of these two apartments, close to the center of town and within walking distance of most amenities. Thinking theoretically, I  had to agree that an apartment like this would work for someone like me, but I missed the cozy feeling of a home.

Then our field trip moved on to Quinn Dilkes' small (540 square feet) apartment at Ecumenical Towers, just down the street. Quinn lives on the 8th floor. Her large windows to the south give plenty of light, and although this apartment was the same general size as the two we'd just viewed, it seemed much larger. And it was cozy!

 Though the photo above is a little dark because I was facing into the window, it shows the feeling of comfort and ease we got in Quinn's living room.

 The kitchen was bright and spacious for so small an apartment, with plenty of storage space as well as closets. We are also very impressed with the two large closets in the entry hall.

And the bedroom (again, sorry for the darkness of the photo) was a comfortable size with plenty of room for Quinn's desk and computer, a large closet, and a roomy bed.

I don't think I was the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when I saw this last apartment on the field trip. It showed that small does not have to be austere, and it made me excited about getting into my own small home at Prairie Hill in the near future.