The Pulp - Living Smaller

They say everything is bigger in Texas; I have to say they are right! But we aren't they only ones who like things big.

Here's a home in Tusla, Oklahoma for sale for $4.2 Million. It has a 6 bedrooms, 11 baths, pool, sauna, gym, movie room, tennis and basketball courts and an elevator. It is 14,000 sq. ft.

Now, is this really necessary? Do we really need a room for every task? The sleeping room, the sex room, breakfast, lunch and dinner room, the pantry, butler's pantry, the kitchen, beverage center, bar, his toilet, her toilet, urinal, his shower, her shower, shoe closet, media room, living room, family room, gathering room, hearth room, game room, outdoor living room and the list goes on and on...

I would say if you are Oprah, then yes, you need a very large house to accommodate your guests and parties. Most people don't need as much room as they think they do. Remember, someone has to clean all that square footage! As George Carlin says "A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff."

Having all these rooms and out buildings is an internal approach to life. If you have the pool, tennis courts, media room, sewing room, spa, gaming room, and gym, then you don't ever have to leave your home. You are missing out on being apart of a community and socializing. Just maybe, we are contributing to our kids being so entitled and lazy. They never want to leave, it's too good at home.

Also, it's making us fat! We have to have a refrigerated drawer or under counter refrig in the living room, so we can get drinks, instead of getting up and walking to the kitchen 10' further to get it. We have made things too convenient.

If you are in a house you can't afford or are looking for a house, keep the following in mind:

1. Get rid of stuff first. If you have a storage space you rent then you have too much stuff. If you have box on top of box and you don't even know what you have, you have too much stuff.

2. Think about the kind of space you want to live in and the kind of family you are.

Is it serene?

Or active?

Maybe the whole house isn't one or the other but you can have spaces in the home that reflect each individual that lives there.

3. Think about the spaces you use the most and are most important to you. Kitchen, Living, Bedroom, whatever. Those should be the spaces that you should maximize square footage in. If you spend all your time in your kitchen, then why not make it an eat-in kitchen or have an open living plan, where the main area of the house is open.

Here's a great eat-in Kitchen!

Open Plan

4. Don't waste space on rooms you don't need or use. Analyze each space and whether it is important to you. Prioritizing is good. Turn another space into something you will use. Make that formal living you never go into, a study or craft room. Make your spaces multi-task oriented.

This Bathroom seems to be a very inefficient use of space

The Guest Room - Do you really have guests? Is it worth adding on to your home and spending $30,000 for guests you only see at Thanksgiving and Christmas. You could pay for a hotel for 6 nights @ $200 a night for 25 years. Is it really worth it? There are people that having a guest room is essential and then I say- go for it!

The Living Rooms - Do you really need two or three living areas? Having these multiple rooms divides a family. This allows less interaction between you. Yes, it is great for the kids to have another room to play in but isn't it good to know what your kids are up too.

Do you really need a bath tub if you never take baths? Especially a jacuzzi? or a $10,000 aromatherapy bath tub? (I would say yes, because I love taking baths!) Don't use your tub for a cat litter box holder (sorry Nan) or a dust experiment or dirty clothes hamper.

Do you really need top of the line appliances if you don't cook? You can get good appliances that fit your home without wasting money. I love to cook, but I am not Julia Childs, so I don't need an Aga.

AGA

Do you really need a pot filler in the kitchen? You are going to have to empty the pot filled with water at some point. Are you just trying to save yourself that one trip? You know it is a good workout to lift a pot filled with water and walk 5 feet.

Yes, I am being a bit harsh, but you really need to question your decisions. Is it a status thing? A need to acquire thing? Everyone has different needs or has a past memory that has shaped their idea of what they need. You can really get a great house by condensing the spaces you don't need or don't spend time in. Say no to McMansions!

Here's some great small spaces!!!

Great Banquette in Kitchen- My favorite!

Perfect Nursery! This was a breakfast nook turned nursery.

Chic Living Space (the TV is too high though)

Cool idea for a closet

~ Brandy

(Thank you Diane for some of this great advice!)

"What Were They Thinking Thursday!!??" - Your Office Chair is Making You Fat

Watch this

The office chair has come a long way and it's time to start benefitting from science. We spend hours a day sitting at work which can cause back problems, aches and this just in, it makes you fat and like everything else in this world, may cause cancer. A cheap office chair is only going to compound these side affects.

How many of your office chairs look like this:

or this:

No wonder your back always hurts and your elbow has a weird twitch sometimes. You are probably sitting at work like this:

It's great to save money and not buy the most expensive things, but your office chair is not something you should scrimp on. You spend so much time sitting at work, invest in a good ergonomic office chair that keeps your spine in a "s" curve. It will make your whole body feel better.

Here are some examples:

Herman Miller Embody Chair

Herman Miller Celle Chair. These are what we use at Studio B, and they come in fun colors!

Can you guess which one is who's?

The Knoll Generation Chair

The Keilhauer Sguig Chair (Brandy's Chair)

Some other great companies that have Ergonomic chairs are Herman Miller, Knoll, Steelcase, Human Scale, Haworth, and Keilhauer.

No need to go crazy and buy something like this:

or this:

I don't think I would ever get up if I had this!

Even if you have a great ergonomic chair, it's important to take breaks. Get up and walk around. If your office has a grass area, step outside and get some fresh air. Work standing up whenever you can. Park your car farther from the door so you have to walk more.

Or you could invest in one of these Steelcase Walkstations

If you aren't in charge of office chair selecting and purchasing, share this blog with your boss. He or She should invest $800 - $1,500 per chair and the more you buy the less expensive they become! Hopefully they will see the importance of having a good office chair.

~Jessica & Brandy

PS Notice picture captions are now beneath the picture. We did it for you.

"What Were They Thinking Thursday!!??" - 3's A Crowd

One of the most common mistakes people make in buying furniture is not buying the right size. With all the over-stuffed gigantic couches that are for sale, it's hard to find one the right size.

Bigger isn't always better. You don't always need 5 people to sit next to each other. It's actually better for conversation and overall feeling to have people sitting across from each other not side by side. So, you need a smaller sofa and maybe some chairs.

Let's take a look at some over-stuffed living rooms.

This room is really cool but it has way too much furniture and it is the wrong scale.
This couch is too big for the space as well as the coffee table. The fireplace should be the focal point and it is not because it is too crowded.

Now let's take a look at some furniture that is the right size and layout.

This a great example of keeping the fireplace the focal point. The low bench opposite adds seating without blocking the fireplace and making the room feel crowded.

Notice the scale of the furniture. These sofas are the perfect size for this room.

A small room calls for smaller furniture.

A great furniture layout to stimulate conversation

This is a really great example of a very small room. They chose a smaller sofa and then used a clear coffee table and side chair. Adds seating without taking up visual space and makes the room feel less crowded.

I hope this helps you decide what size furniture your place needs. Just remember: Bigger isn't always better. Create a comfortable furniture layout. Choose furniture that is the correct size for the room it's going in.

~Jessica

Canopy of Color

Putting color on a ceiling can be very scary. But with no risk there is no reward. You just need to make sure you follow some simple rules.

The first rule is that you must have ceilings that are high. A house with 8' ceilings is not going to look good with a color unless it is really light. Too dark and the ceiling will seem lower.

Second rule, you have to commit to it. If you are going to paint your ceiling, the rest of your room better be in top notch shape. Everything needs to be planned and intentional. If your room looks bad to begin with, throwing color on the ceiling is just going to make it look worse.

And third, TEST first! Paint a small patch above the crown before you paint the whole ceiling. Live with it for a couple days and then decide.

Notice that in most of these pictures, the walls are left white or very neutral.





And if the walls are painted a color too, keep the furniture neutral.

Here are some really fun designs! If you want something like this, it's probably best to hire an artist. If not done right, these could look really bad.

If you are more cautious about color on the ceiling, you can just try a neutral other than the typical ceiling white.

Are you brave enough to put color on the ceiling?

~Jessica