Our home is relatively small (1,100 square feet, family of four with two pets). We have been in this cozy space for three years, and living in every configuration out there. Along the way I’ve found that the only real solution to us using our space well is to make sure that each space works double duty. Or, in the very least, that the spaces we are living in most frequently, work for our whole family. This seems to shift seasonally, as our needs do. Functionality is the name of the game. And that’s what brought about our most recent change… selling the couch, turning our living room into an office/dining room/ reading space/yoga area.

Yes, all that.

We started with assessing what our family needed most. What do we DO most often. For us, the answers are always Eating and Moving. But the other pieces that were coming into play were schooling, working, and reading. The cold months are here, and, evidenced by the snow-fall this morning, they’re here to stay a bit longer. We gravitate towards this room, all day, because it’s where the fire is. We are also homeschoolers, so having a table top and a reading area is paramount. I am also upping my work load and goals, so my work space being accessible, warm, and able access quickly to write is high priority. On top of all that… we don’t have a dining room. But we eat every meal together, and wanted desperately to be around a table. So moving the dining room into the living room (while not ideal, obviously) has ended up working SO well.

I wanted a room where we could snuggle as easily as do headstands. A space where I could work and still help with words my oldest is struggling through and math my youngest is working on. We wanted a room that encouraged us to be together, moving, and interacting. We found that making this space really work triple (quadruple?) duty has ended up being exactly the right fit for us in this time. And, I am kind of loving the aesthetic as well. It’s thoughtful and tidy, everything has a space, and we are snuggling up on the floor with books and rolling around on mats. Here are my top three tips for making your small space work best for your family.

One:

Make a quick list of what your families biggest needs are for space. Is is open space? Play space? Work space? Game space? Homework quiet space? Workout space? Dining space? Prep space? Crafting? A place to read and snuggle? Or something else! The needs are so unique to every family.

Then take that list and see where there are crossovers. Could playing and reading spaces overlap? School, dining, and game table be one? Could you do do yoga in the same space you also workout and watch movies? Figure out how a couple of these can work together. And be creative. Don’t let the ideas about what a space “should” look like limit what they can look like. Could you use pillows and poufs instead of a couch? They’re movable and can be easily tossed aside to change a movie/cuddling/reading space into an open workout/yoga room. Be a bit creative!

Two:

Think multi functional furniture pieces, and smaller scale. How big of a table do you need? Is that the priority, or is a table and a reading area more important to you than a big table. If you can scale down in size some traditionally big pieces (tables, couches, desks, etc.), you can be more efficient in your use of space. For example, I dream of a big long family farm table. I’d love a 12 seater to work on, spread out, host big parties, on and on. The reality? Our home can’t hold that. Not unless I change our living room into solely a dining space. And that would mean no office, reading, cuddling, yoga space. So we downsized to a table that just fits our family of four. When we host, our friends don’t ever seem to mind being on the floor, spreading out, and eating buffet style. We all interact, connect, and chat, regardless of table size. But our space is now far more functional for our needs. As a family, we only have a desktop computer and a kindle that we use for netflix. So having our office space accessible to everyone makes total sense for us, we can all use the family computer and work on it together. It won’t make sense for every family, but we aren’t rearranging for every family, we’re rearranging for this one. Sure, your house might have been sold to you with a “formal dining room” but if you never use it, what’s the point? Maybe that can become a gymnastics room! Or an office! A playroom! Or music space, or reading room. Don’t feel trapped by what you think you should do in a space.

Three:

Forget about what other people think. Is everyone comfortable without a couch? No. That’s ok! Will people think it’s a bit weird to have your dining room in your living room? Yeah. And my office accessible to my kids? Yes, totally weird. I get it! But? It works for us. And it comes back to a family mantra we lean into regularly: “If it’s not a problem for anyone in our family, it’s not a problem.” (obviously, this is just for stuff within our family, not, like . . . the world!). Just because it wouldn’t work for every family, and it isn’t what you see on pintrest, doesn’t mean it can’t work really well for you. And bonus? Everything is movable. If you move your table into your office (who knows, maybe that’s your jam!) and it’s too weird, not functional, and you hate it? Move it back and consider yourself awesome for the deep clean that always comes with rearranging.

One priority for me is that we have space, in most every room, to put down a mat and move. To wake up, move, with a quick flow that gets my blood pumping and my heart open. This means there are yoga mats stowed in our movement room (I’ll show you that another day!) and our living room. It means that when I’m tired of standing at my desk I can turn around and open wide.

Family Health is something I am so passionate about. And I have seen the undeniable benefits of having spaces that encouragement movement – squatting, crawling, playing together. I’m slowly working on making our home more movement friendly, while still fitting my design aesthetics and deep desire for a cozy, cozy, space. I want a home that feels like you could walk in and snuggle in with a book and tea as easily as you could run through ten sun salutations and open your heart wide.

If you’ve been following my Instagram at all you’ve seen that I’m on a journey to wear clothes that I feel comfortable, movable, and great in. My style has shifted to one that also encourages movement. This workout outfit, with a sweater tossed on, is what I wear for a day at school. This outfit with some boots and a cute jacket is what I wear for a date. I want to be able to bend, move, run, and play in whatever I wear. I’m slowly curating a wardrobe that reflects this, and I’ll keep sharing about it, and what I find that I love most.

This sports bra is from Athleta, it’s medium support but I put it through HIIT and Strength training and loved it. These leggings are EVERYTHING. They have pockets on the side, and also come in a grey that is gorgeous. I tuck mine under my heel like a stirrup but I’m pretty sure they’re not designed for that, I’m just a shorty and bought the regular length instead of petite. You can find them here.

Here are a few affiliate links to some of the most used, and favorite items in this space.

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