I am living a life of extremes right now. I’ve spent the last six weeks in a very large, luxurious home on the edge of the desert in Arizona. There are three large bedrooms all with en suite bathrooms and walk-in closets, an enormous ‘great room’, media room, etc. I’m not complaining – it’s been great – but it isn’t how I’m used to living and was certainly not possible in London, UK.

On Saturday, we’re heading to Mexico for six weeks to live in a small bungalow near the ocean with no air conditioning and fairly basic amenities. After our time in the land of air conditioning, SUVs and golf courses I have been a little apprehensive about how we’re going to adapt. Then I spent some time getting inspired by how much some creative people are able to make of tiny spaces. Here are some of my favourites:

Paul Elkins Tiny Mobile Shelter
“The shelter is lightweight, water tight and able to collect rainwater, and includes an area for displaying and selling handmade wares.” (Text and image from Apartment Therapy)

Gary Chang – 24 Rooms in One
“This room — the “maximum kitchen,” he calls it — and the “video game room” he was sitting in minutes before are just 2 of at least 24 different layouts that Mr. Chang, an architect, can impose on his 344-square-foot apartment, which he renovated last year. What appears to be an open-plan studio actually contains many rooms, because of sliding wall units, fold-down tables and chairs, and the habitual kinesis of a resident in a small space. As Mr. Chang put it, “I glide around.” (Text from the New York Times)

Tiny Apartments in a Hong Kong Housing Estate
Michael Wolf has documented many of these small 100 x 100 spaces. Some of residents make better use of their space than others. (Photo by Michale Wolf)

Living in a Yurt
“We talk all the time about living with less; Dave lives in 706 square feet with off grid power, a composting toilet, a shower and a full kitchen and didn’t give anything up at all to live in comfort and style. When you live in 706 square feet you don’t need much to run it; he collects water from his roof, power from the sun and wind, heat from sustainably cut wood. He spends about six hundred bucks a year for his propane barbeque, gas for his chainsaw and log splitter and that is about it.” (Text by Treehugger, Yurt image by Bill Janis)

Update!

Supertramp’s Bicycle Caravan

Via Twitter GoldenGus has pointed me to a really cool, alternative use of small space. “Jacob aka ‘Supertramp’ is embarking on a voyage around London exploring the concept of micro-sized living; inspired by a more minimal, fluid and socially aware approach to future living, the project seeks to promote and inspire leaner, more livable life forms … His new mobile house doubles up as an agency and a social facility point, offering a unique, intimate and conversational platform where people will both inspire and be inspired.” For more on this project visit Nell Osbourne on Posterous (which is also where the image is from).