A Stylish Piano that Fits!

When I was a child and dreamed of what my home would look like, there was always a baby grand piano that not only sounded great but also looked amazing in my living room.  When I decided to try living in a small space I was sure I would have to give up on that dream and live with a small keyboard perched on a metal stand (like you’d see on a rock concert stage).  While this may not sound like a big deal to most people, to a person who is a musician and loves a clean, modern, but warm esthetic in her home, this was a very big deal.

But after some researching, I found several possible solutions and chose one that works perfectly for me! I wanted to share this information with you.

Before I continue, let me first say that I did not consider any acoustic pianos for my space. This is not because of the size of the space — there are many “apartment size” acoustic pianos — but rather because I live in a condo and I just can’t risk disturbing my neighbours.  I didn’t want to limit my creativity (it could strike in the middle of the night!) by not being able to play at certain times of the day. Therefore, I needed a piano that would allow me to use headphones.

So, I went shopping with the following criteria: must fit well in my small space, cannot be acoustic and must look great. What did I choose? The Roland DP-990.

The Roland DP-990 with its cover open

It’s perfect for me and I love it in my space. The following are the key reasons:

• It’s less than 12″ deep so it doesn’t stick out from the wall and look like it’s taking the entire space. The scale works perfectly in my place

• It has really clean lines that fit with the modern items in my condo and feel like they belong in an urban setting

• The finish is beautiful in polished ebony

Looking like a sleek console table

 

• The top of the piano closes, completely concealing the keyboard, making it look more like a console table for times when you don’t want the piano noticed or played

• It sounds great when I play it like a regular piano and also sounds great when I plug the headphones into it

I love the Roland digital piano I bought but I did find others on the market that would also be suitable for a musician in a small space.  The price tag on those were much higher than I paid for mine but if it’s within your budget, there are stunning options out there for design buffs and musicians alike.

I’ve tried to hold back on using the line I’m about to use but I just can’t do it anymore: a stylish piano that fits in my small space is music to my ears!

Size Doesn’t Matter — But How You Use it is Key

If there’s one time I can honestly say size doesn’t matter it’s when I’m referring to my living quarters.  But when you’re dealing with a small space, how you use the space you have is critical to your home’s livability.  I’ve realized just how true this is since I’ve been living in this small condo and nowhere has it been more apparent than in the heart of my home; the kitchen.

If you were to look at a floor plan of this condo, the kitchen would seem like a decent size, by condo standards. It’s an L-shaped kitchen with a breakfast bar. Pretty standard. But there are a few things that are completely wrong in this space and have made this kitchen practically unusable for me. As a result, here’s my list of things to look for/adjust in a small space kitchen.

1) Appliance Scale. In my case the kitchen has a standard depth refrigerator. This is a big problem because it sticks out just far enough to prevent me from fully opening the cupboard door adjacent to it. This basically makes that whole section of cabinetry useless.  A counter-depth refrigerator would easily fit in this space, make the place look less crowded and give me access to that cupboard and all the storage possibilities it brings!

2) Corner Cabinets. Space is limited in this kitchen and wasted space is unacceptable. In this kitchen, there are two bottom cupboards that go way back into the corner. I’m not a tall person and cannot reach to the back of these cabinets so there’s a lot of space that is not usable at all. As it turns out, you can buy a special kind of shelf that works perfectly in a space like this. Shaped like a half circle, it slides to the very back of the corner cabinet and is easily pulled out to access the things that are stored back there. I found mine these at Lee Valley Tools and I love it. The best part is that, unlike many other shelves like this on the market, this one can actually be easily added to existing cabinetry. Trust me on the easy part. I am horrible with tools but I installed this one by myself on a Sunday morning!

I’ve realized that in a small space, the kind of cooking that gets done in a large country kitchen is just not going to happen easily. But the right tools and a few easy space saving tricks are definitely a good recipe for small kitchen success.

The Small Space Experiment — 2.5 months and counting!

I am in an interesting position right now. I’ve known for a while that I want make the move from a large home to a smaller place but, let’s face it, wanting to make the change and actually making the change are two completely different things.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to “try before you buy”?

Just as thought popped into my head, an opportunity presented itself! I was offered a 12-month contract in Toronto.  Normally when I have a contract like that, I fly there during the week and return to my house on the east coast on weekends.  But this time I decided to take a different approach.  My brother agreed to stay at our house and my husband and I packed four suitcases and made our way to Toronto.  We’ve rented a condo with just one bedroom and a den.  For the past two months we’ve been staying here with only a few of our items from home.  We were worried that we would miss all of our space and all of our things. But so far, that has definitely not happened! We’ll see how it goes but so far, so good.

What surprises me most is that we own many things that are still sitting in our house out east but we have only come up with about two or three things that we’ve missed! In fact, when I was at our house a few weeks ago, I brought extra suitcases so that I could collect a few more “necessities” but as it turned out, I had a hard time finding anything that I really needed to bring back with me.

I’m thinking that at the end of this experiment we are going to have one massive yard sale! Of course, once we see those items again and are actually faced with purging them from our lives, we may have a completely different opinion. As I said, it’s early days so we’ll see how it goes!  You just know I’ll keep you posted.

My “Go Anywhere” Desk

I spend a lot of time in front of my laptop. Whether I’m working or just surfing the Net, my laptop is my tool of choice.  Given my laptop’s importance in my daily life, it’s critical that I find a suitable place both to store and use my computer. This has been a challenge since I don’t generally like being confined to a desk and sitting the laptop directly on my lap gets very uncomfortable due to the heat from the machine.  But recently I found what I believe to be the perfect solution!

A few weeks ago I was browsing in the gift section of a favourite bookstore and I found this very cool laptop desk.  Like the traditional lap desks designed to sit comfortably on your lap for writing, this one has a beanbag-like bottom that fits perfectly in my lap.  This not only allows me to sit comfortably when using my laptop, it also protects me from the heat of the computer.  What makes this laptop desk even more practical is the fact that the top opens to reveal a storage compartment for my laptop and work files. When I’m not using my computer I can put it inside the desk and stash it out of site.  The handle lets me carry the laptop and accessories from one location to another with ease.

I love finding products like this! They work well for me for several reasons. First of all, I don’t like working in a confined office setting. I prefer to sit in the kitchen or living room — sometimes even on my bed when the mood strikes. This kind of product allows me to do that.  Secondly, and perhaps most significant given my current desire to live in a smaller space, this desk allows me to have a functioning office without having to have a separate office space in my home.  With my laptop desk I can sit on any available seat in the house and, instantly, I’m in my office! Working anywhere? Works for me!

Small Space. Big Life. What?

In the past few years I’ve adopted a bit of a motto. “Small Space. Big Life” is what I’ve been using to express my desire to lighten the load of “stuff” in my life. It started when I began to feel like the things I’d collected were holding me back from the big life I’d dreamt about. When I say big life I’m not talking about fame or wealth (don’t get me wrong, a bit more money would not go astray) but rather about being in a position to experience the joy of the moment.

I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in a small town where I was unable to go out and get my hands on all the things I saw on television and in magazines or if North American culture really breeds consumerism, but I’ve spent a lot of time trying to acquire the things that I envisioned as being part of my fabulous life. The only problem is, I focused so much on getting the things that I pictured in my perfect life, I lost sight of the key elements that made the life in my head so fabulous: spending hours relaxing around the dinner table with family and friends, sitting at the piano singing and writing music, spending my days at a job I love without worrying about how much money I’m making. Instead, I have a beautiful dining room in which I eat only twice a year because I spend most of my time working to make the money required to keep up with mortgage and crazy heating bills that come with a big home. I own a piano but it collects dust because, when I do have time off, I have to try to keep up with the housework and general home maintenance. I have a large house but I’m happiest when I’m curled up in a comfy chair in a room that is about the size of my cubicle at work.

I’ve realized that having less might actually help me have more of a life! For me, that starts at home. I love being at home. But I now firmly believe that I can be happier in a smaller home. Less space to clean. Less stuff to dust. Forced to be more efficient. This is step one on my path to a big life and I’ve decided to share my thoughts on this journey right here.

In the coming weeks and months I hope to share with you some of my ideas and discoveries on how to have a big life in a small space. Whether it’s sharing my experiences getting rid of some of the things I once thought I couldn’t live without, ideas on how to better arrange things in a small home or reviews of products that work well in a small space, I hope I can bring some inspiration to those of you out there who, like me, think it’s time to take a new approach to life.

Small space. Big life. I’m ready.