Living in Small Spaces

Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: I thoroughly enjoy browsing through this book. The interiors (mostly quirky little London flats) are glorious in their honesty, neither immaculately designed nor over-designed. These are obviously places in which humans actually live, where people have made the most of what they have, unlike the impressive but antiseptic, stuffy overkill you often find in the pages of House Beautiful, Elle Decor or Architectural Digest. This book is expertly organized with great philosophical detail; there's also a short section on constructing practical furnishings in the back. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Not Quite What I Thought It Would Be
Review: This book, lavishly illustrated, better serves the home, condo, co-op owner than the renter. Too many tips call for structural changes or renovations not allowed in rentals. Like many such books, I don't think the authors really know what a small bathroom is and that most apartment kitchens are the Pullman type.

I am always looking for strategic ways to shelve books. This is addressed; however, the solution is to have shelves above doorways, up to the top of a two story room for example. This is fine if you only want to refer to the books when you move in or out of your dwelling. I want the books accessible. Also in kitchens, many of the "space savers" left you with no clear counter space.

I gave the book three stars because I think it is well formatted and has an unusual number of color illustrations. I do not think it is too practical for the average user.

Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: This is a wonderful book. I bought it over a year ago when I first purchased a condo, and have referred to it many times since. The pictures are helpful, and the principals discussed assist in original planning. A must-read for anyone with a small home, or anyone who wants to use any amount of space efficiently.

Rating:
Summary: I recommend it to all my friends with small homes
Review: This is a wonderful book. I bought it over a year ago when I first purchased a condo, and have referred to it many times since. The pictures are helpful, and the principals discussed assist in original planning. A must-read for anyone with a small home, or anyone who wants to use any amount of space efficiently.

Rating:
Summary: Moderate to expense ideas....
Review: When I bought LIVING IN SMALL SPACES by Lorrie Mack I thought I would discover clever ways to store "stuff" in small spaces. The cover says Mack is a journalist and stylist, but she must be a designer too, or know one since LIVING is a design book. Anyone interested in developing these ideas better be prepared to lay out cash and/or engage in hard work.

For example, Mack shows a clever way to add storage in an antique armoire by installing hanging wire baskets on the undersides of the shelves. Assuming you want to make permanent holes in the shelves of a very old piece, you will have to purchase the hardware (probably not terribly expensive, but finding wire baskets that exactly fit the undersides of the shelves in your piece may be time-consuming) and drill holes for the hardware while standing on your head if the shelves are fixed.

The book contains a number of beautiful illustrations of out-of-the-ordinary kitchens designed around very esoteric architectural elements. Some of the kitchens are located in older housing where oddball elements are the norm. Other kitchens have been specially built in newer housing or heavily renovated housing. There are shelves over the stoves and up the walls behind the sink or under the sink when a window has been installed the full length of the wall behind the sink.

Oddly, there are some scenes in this mostly photo-journal that seem to come from large ornate homes. Picture the secret pantry for glassware hidden on either side of a bowed-Palladian window looking out on what can only be described as a garden at the Cloisters in NYC. The room is round, and the walls consist of a series of cupboards hidden in the paneling.

Mack shares ideas galore for lightening a room. Knock a hole in the roof and create a skylight where before only a low ceiling hang. Or better yet, take out the entire apex of the roof of a long narrow hall and turn it into a workshop or office with natural lighting. Knocking holes in the roof and walls does not help with storage, but it sure lets the light in.

One section of the book is dedicated to living in one room. Mack shares a number of ideas for dividing a room into separate spaces to create the sensation of multiple rooms. These single rooms divided into many spaces are tastefully decorated with a designer's expensive touch.

This is a beautiful book and if you're clever you can probably find ways to copy some of the ideas without breaking the bank. I think the biggest contribution the book makes is to "free up" one's thinking about how things "ought" to look.

Rating:
Summary: Moderate to expense ideas....
Review: When I bought LIVING IN SMALL SPACES by Lorrie Mack I thought I would discover clever ways to store "stuff" in small spaces. The cover says Mack is a journalist and stylist, but she must be a designer too, or know one since LIVING is a design book. Anyone interested in developing these ideas better be prepared to lay out cash and/or engage in hard work.

For example, Mack shows a clever way to add storage in an antique armoire by installing hanging wire baskets on the undersides of the shelves. Assuming you want to make permanent holes in the shelves of a very old piece, you will have to purchase the hardware (probably not terribly expensive, but finding wire baskets that exactly fit the undersides of the shelves in your piece may be time-consuming) and drill holes for the hardware while standing on your head if the shelves are fixed.

The book contains a number of beautiful illustrations of out-of-the-ordinary kitchens designed around very esoteric architectural elements. Some of the kitchens are located in older housing where oddball elements are the norm. Other kitchens have been specially built in newer housing or heavily renovated housing. There are shelves over the stoves and up the walls behind the sink or under the sink when a window has been installed the full length of the wall behind the sink.

Oddly, there are some scenes in this mostly photo-journal that seem to come from large ornate homes. Picture the secret pantry for glassware hidden on either side of a bowed-Palladian window looking out on what can only be described as a garden at the Cloisters in NYC. The room is round, and the walls consist of a series of cupboards hidden in the paneling.

Mack shares ideas galore for lightening a room. Knock a hole in the roof and create a skylight where before only a low ceiling hang. Or better yet, take out the entire apex of the roof of a long narrow hall and turn it into a workshop or office with natural lighting. Knocking holes in the roof and walls does not help with storage, but it sure lets the light in.

One section of the book is dedicated to living in one room. Mack shares a number of ideas for dividing a room into separate spaces to create the sensation of multiple rooms. These single rooms divided into many spaces are tastefully decorated with a designer's expensive touch.

This is a beautiful book and if you're clever you can probably find ways to copy some of the ideas without breaking the bank. I think the biggest contribution the book makes is to "free up" one's thinking about how things "ought" to look.