Home Interior: Rule Breaking

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Someone (let's call her Susie O) wants to cancel her subscription to the interior design magazine she receives monthly.  Susie O is tired of design magazines featuring <u>huge</u> homes, sometimes even in "small space" specials.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"A 20 foot long kitchen island?!?" she exclaimed one day.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">[Expletives omitted]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"So?" said I.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"My <em>house</em> isn't even 20 feet wide!!" Said she.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">[More expletives, followed by some muttering, omitted]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thinking this was hyperbole (twenty feet seems awfully motor home small), I asked Hubby to measure the width of the townhouse during commercial breaks of Hawaii Five-O.  And wouldn't you know?  Our house is 20 feet wide - exactly.  Seems Susie O is right: a 20 foot island is ridiculous for her & I.  Why bore you with the details of how wide the townhouse is?  I think the townhouse is officially a "small space".  You won't find a post about my 20 foot island or giant sectional sofa.  Instead, this post marks the first in my "Small Space Suggestions" section.  I'll tell you about some "Small Space Rules," how I follow them & when to break them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First issue: furniture scale.  <a href="http://www.styleathome.com/homes/small-spaces/5-small-space-myths/a/33888">Style at Home Magazine advises </a>small space owners not to buy shrimpy furniture.  Instead, buy full scale furniture and simply scale back on the number of pieces:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img align="middle" alt="bachelorette-living.jpg" border="0" height="606" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/bachelorette-living.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="550" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.styleathome.com/homes/small-spaces/small-space-interior-bachelorette-pad/a/30258">Style at Home: Tania Sarracini's Home</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's a good suggestion, that I tend to follow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the dining room, we have just a normal sized table and chairs (and <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-i-need-helicopter.html">currently a canvas</a> - who knows when I'll get around to moving it - three days and counting).  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjdjJhXSD7_HiLE9MpS4ZeVLv067JejBF5PXZtCgQ_02uY7xX8jpjtY2bL7YtVKRRNKAhkIk0AjbRGmW9I9NLtVk4faoKweV-32yuo24kKg2yLt3E4-5k84zUt1Z6mJhW6W2j4-thWi5I/s1600/341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjdjJhXSD7_HiLE9MpS4ZeVLv067JejBF5PXZtCgQ_02uY7xX8jpjtY2bL7YtVKRRNKAhkIk0AjbRGmW9I9NLtVk4faoKweV-32yuo24kKg2yLt3E4-5k84zUt1Z6mJhW6W2j4-thWi5I/s640/341.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeravHtPD63Ru9ywEShC-7DjloAHIH285UJiB6Po1hTkp6aSFooE7KuudOOjmbluzXkv9WYHE-ceAWQJhWHjnyzK69F09c91Md4mNgQ_GU7TamR8fFVPGCwPIu81NPodI9E7QMoJI93Ezq/s1600/310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeravHtPD63Ru9ywEShC-7DjloAHIH285UJiB6Po1hTkp6aSFooE7KuudOOjmbluzXkv9WYHE-ceAWQJhWHjnyzK69F09c91Md4mNgQ_GU7TamR8fFVPGCwPIu81NPodI9E7QMoJI93Ezq/s640/310.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the bedroom we have just nightstands, a headboard and small chest.  No dresser or armoire - we try to keep all of our clothes in the closet (shoes, purses & coats do live elsewhere).  But the bed is a King Size and the headboard, in person, is quite large and even more dramatic than in photos.  We went full size with the furniture - we just have fewer pieces.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNmKrkX7s4EUmU3u2i1Icuhv4inevBDk-_g7mBC8uB4lrTq9sRvYQ31fwTNV-J-B4yLQxDwBrDxlcPhVcDMJoPudcd93qXfxfDltQq_drsi-Bj9OBXMclF8Us0hQSQ3-xap6qnrrhH5H-/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNmKrkX7s4EUmU3u2i1Icuhv4inevBDk-_g7mBC8uB4lrTq9sRvYQ31fwTNV-J-B4yLQxDwBrDxlcPhVcDMJoPudcd93qXfxfDltQq_drsi-Bj9OBXMclF8Us0hQSQ3-xap6qnrrhH5H-/s640/038.JPG" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBKaHkYlKwCQ1o5MY9H3z4TeDw-mZKHdvr0TSiziU4-_-vh8BWCTg8OVKppm9qIuSSMv6CTvsHLXHVcL92tBIPYD9xwouzkpjQEIqkmgcXgM3oANFvG6sDyCF20DYQuGEM-XMG65CzbPO/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBKaHkYlKwCQ1o5MY9H3z4TeDw-mZKHdvr0TSiziU4-_-vh8BWCTg8OVKppm9qIuSSMv6CTvsHLXHVcL92tBIPYD9xwouzkpjQEIqkmgcXgM3oANFvG6sDyCF20DYQuGEM-XMG65CzbPO/s400/029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhooGG4CUH-bHithPROC6jppBZPatVyw0y8n1tOqmIhAngHxLectd2VruQf7pciNUMknMKhlTHcp6GneMMaE2DDAVfE3oeQbwMYaKJ5BM74aDit57P3l9D7JNA2mdk07b6IOo7wkhURnf4/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhooGG4CUH-bHithPROC6jppBZPatVyw0y8n1tOqmIhAngHxLectd2VruQf7pciNUMknMKhlTHcp6GneMMaE2DDAVfE3oeQbwMYaKJ5BM74aDit57P3l9D7JNA2mdk07b6IOo7wkhURnf4/s400/031.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have you ever even seen this angle?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, we do tend to pick full sized items, but sometimes we can't just go without.  Sometimes dropping a piece of furniture from the floor plan isn't an option.  Take for example the two chairs facing the fireplace (I move them seasonally).  I really needed a table to put a cup of tea on, but a full sized table pushed the chairs too far into the room.  So, I found this adorable little handmade, vintage stool the other day (at a flea market) and I re-purposed it as a table:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsZbFdenzeZpNQ4N8I4KM9fa5KynklJTRCHuId5gak6bUxQuveg-w4cwh7qODL-rSdeTJ9HsUeOZSwK7IcUr7O2U5Cf0-dn6MOFiVHlNoi339IR5LUHjxEJjW1wiMAskow23sDHcNileU/s1600/163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsZbFdenzeZpNQ4N8I4KM9fa5KynklJTRCHuId5gak6bUxQuveg-w4cwh7qODL-rSdeTJ9HsUeOZSwK7IcUr7O2U5Cf0-dn6MOFiVHlNoi339IR5LUHjxEJjW1wiMAskow23sDHcNileU/s640/163.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I am searching for a gorgeous pair of vintage teak chairs to replace this pair.<br />These chairs may of may not have been purchased at a grocery store.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, although we follow the common advice: don't buy teeny furniture, sometimes we just HAVE to mix in a few smaller scale pieces so the furniture works for us.  </div>

Small Space Suggestions: Furniture Scale

Someone (let's call her Susie O) wants to cancel her subscription to the interior design magazine she receives monthly. Susie O is tir...