In the midst of a competitive San Francisco rental market in 2018, I signed a lease on a tiny studio unit. The location was perfect: carless commute, plenty of delicious restaurants, and proximity to Golden Gate Park. One small thing: I needed to learn how to live in 196 square feet. Though friends describe me as a minimalist, this would be a challenge.
There’s a sticker shock response you get when you tell someone you live in 196 square feet of space. Not as large as when you tell them you live without a refrigerator, but an emphatic response nonetheless. I’m not here to tell you how to live: you are entitled to live how you want. I’m here to share what I learned in 4 years bounded by 196 square feet.
My favorite effect of a small space is the mental calculation required before purchasing and accumulating anything. In a larger home, you can buy something and determine where it will fit later. In a small space, there’s no room to accumulate extra things by accident. With square footage at a premium, you cannot buy something without explicitly wondering where am I going to put this? The default fallback cannot be let’s throw it in the garage for 3 months before we decide.
In fact, the calculation is reversed from let’s buy it and figure out where to put it to how much space will this take up and do I need it? The end result is a home equipped only with what’s necessary, items with high utility-to-space ratios, and an allergy to accumulating waste.
Floor plan of 196 square foot studio drawn by child.
Rearranging large items in a small space presented a puzzle-like challenge. Certain large items can’t be avoided — the bed is an obvious one, but there was only one place in the studio for the bed. My bicycle, on the other hand, took up an enormous percentage of space in my studio but I needed it. Non-negotiable. It sat against a wall until I realized it was eating up extra space, so I ordered a vertical bike stand and it instantly saved me enough space to add a bookshelf and other storage. With enough iterations over time, a small space grinds towards peak efficiency.
It took several configurations before I found the layout that worked for me, but there is a clear bedroom (full sized bed), living room (mini sofa, ottoman, and coffee table), kitchen, and office (equipped with standing desk). There’s even a space for yoga, stretching, meditation, and indoor workouts.
The downside to a small space is the inability to host friends or family. While I’m not trying to throw massive gatherings, being able to comfortably host a small group of friends for a night is impossible. Luckily, there are public spaces to combat this issue. The small space encouraged me into long walks with a friend or placed me in the backyard for long bouts of reading. But, hosting the occasional poker night to take money from my friends (and see them!) would be nice.
I’ve come to the realization that I don’t need tons of space to live happily. A small space necessitates creativity around furniture arrangement. Live simply, then lavishness becomes a nuisance. These 4 years in 196 square feet remind me of my minimum requirements: healthy sleep, access to social networks, the outdoors, and a comfortable space.