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72F with blue skies this morning.
I was out of bed by 9AM and off to the tower as soon as the coffee was done.
I caught Fernando in the office and waited until he was done with a resident, but got to see him.
He apparently never got my messages.
Still, everything went well!
He's having an AC unit installed, and he gave me my keys today!
I also now know the logistics of the move... parking in the yellow loading zone right in front of the building, and going in through the trash room doors to the freight elevator.
I have to go to City Hall to get a pass for the garage... tomorrow or Monday.
And I have to call a woman today to set up renter's insurance.
I asked about a cat, and he said it was $10.00 a month, but didn't act like it was a big deal, so I'm just gonna get Prowly in there, and then talk to him after the fact.
We went back up to the unit, and walking in I was struck once again by a feeling of dread at how small it is!
However!.. he did point out that the kitchenette has a space for a mini-fridge built into the base cabinet!
He was saying how that was a silly idea, and it's much better that they provide us now with bigger fridges, but I don't like that fridge they provide... because it's too tall and bulky... and i DO have a mini-fridge.
So we borrowed a tape measure from a bucket of maintenance tools in the hallway, and I measured the space.
Back home, I measured my fridge, and it will fit!
And I lived out of that mini-fridge for 8 years, so I'm fine with it!
Okay, so tonight after work I brought a tape measure and went straight to the tower to measure my apartment for real!
Then I came home and crunched the nubers with my furniture measurements... going back and re-measuring some of that stuff.
And it turns out the schematic is overly optomistic!
In reality all my shit takes up slightly more of the available space... which creates problems.
For example there's room, lengthwise for the whole desk and that dresser, but the cat climber, in it's normal orientation, is 2" too wide to fit between them!
Also the desk will overlap the radiator by a good 7.5 inches!
And on the bed side, the night stand will overlap the radiator by 5.25 inches!
That's nearly 13" of total overlap, but the radiator, with it's hookups is 29", so... only 16" of radiator will be unblocked.
Still... it's just a radiator, it doesn't really care.
And it is set back a bit from everything, but... still gonna be pretty damn tight, right near that window wall!
Things widen out as you get away from the wall, because the desk gets narrower and the night stand's only so long.
There'll be 4 feet 8 inches of space between the main run of the bed on one wall and he desk on the other wall.
The desk chair's not gonna have a whole lotta space around it.
I mean, if I'm in it, i'm not in bed, and if I'm in bed, it fits under the desk, but...
everything's gonna be a lot closer together than I first imagined!
With the bed, rocker, and table, there still be two feet of clearance in front of the kitchennette... which is enough, but... still tight.
My mini-fridge door will have more than enough clearance to open up, however, so that's good.
The one saving grace of such a cramped studio will be that, without the bulky ass fridge i there, everything will be pretty low to the ground.
Table, bed, desk... even the dresser is only navel height.
The cat climber has a high perch, but most of it's girth is the same height as the other stuff.
And the ceiling height is 8.5 feet... which is half a foot higher than the highest one i this house, so the space above that bed, desk, & table level is gonna feel more open and have a flow.
A mirror on each of the side walls, indirectly reflecting that front window, should also help to dispell any sense of claustrophobia.
And that front window is pretty big!.. and the view, especially at night, is GREAT!
Great veiw of the paramount theater and it's lights, the cars on main street, the trains on the elevated track, the river flowing over the dam, and lots of distant lights!
So... if those blinds are open, especially at night, and the lights are low in the flat... then with those mirrors... it's gonna feel pretty airy and slightly magical.
Same should be true during the day, once the sun is out of the east, and the blinds can be opened for the rest of the afternoon and evening... cuz there's no privacy issues on the 11th floor in a business district!
So yes... I do have misgivings about how small this flat truly is?
But no... I don't think it'll drive me mad!
Rather, I see this as a challenge... to turn a small space into something that's extremely efficient, but also comfortable, and psychologically harmonious.
I know from past experience that empty volumes of space feel smaller than when they're furnished... and blank walls feel smaller than ones with decor.
As long as you don't go over board!
Tall, imposing furniture, and/or over crowded walls, crammed with decor, do make a small space feel smaller.
But if you do it right... cut up all the space nicely, with everything on the floor setting back to the walls above a certain height, and with the walls cut up into visual spaces with reasonable gutter space between one frame and another...
And if the different corners of the room make sense... like one area to focus on this task, and another area to focus on that one...
Then you get a space that looks and feels different depending on which corner you're in, or whether you're sitting or standing.
And that all makes it feel bigger, psychologically.
This is my challenge, but it's also worth keeping in mind that, small as it is... it's still a lot bigger than a camper, or a van, or a cardboard box under the train bridge!
I'm only moving because if I don't, the sheriff will come with his boys, kick me out at gunpoint, and throw all my shit out on the street!
And in this extremely hostile housing market... this studio was the only place to go!
While I was with Fernando today, he got four calls from people looking for studios, and told all of them, none will be available until November!
I was extremely lucky to get this place when I did!
Because there's just nothing out there!
But I'm determined to make this work... and with Prowly!
And God willing, someday I'll graduate to some place with a little more breathing room!
But until then... the challenge is to make this tiny place a happy home, and I'm gonna do it!
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