Space in living spaces, and its affect

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I finally got rid of a coffee-table that I have had propped up against the wall (right in front of a small door leading to a storage area with very low clearance) since I moved into my apartment over two years ago. In order to dig out the coffee-table, I had to move a cot and an exercise mat over against a couple file cabinets I have. That small shift in space changed the feeling of the room dramatically for me. (Now I want to find another place to put the cot and the exercise mat, since leaving them in front of my files is not an option.)

I don't think of myself as particularly affected by the way my environment looks. There are limits on what I will tolerate, of course, but it's not as important to me as my aural environment. But now I am thinking of how much better I feel in an uncluttered environment, where there are well-placed spaces. The wall that was exposed by moving that coffee-table actually looked beautiful to me, which came as a surprise.

(Reorganizing my apartment will probably be another task for my upcoming vacation.)

― Al Andalous, Friday, 17 October 2003 16:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Having finally completed the basic outlay of my new apartment this week, I feel you. Rooms sometimes look great with nothing in them. You put stuff in them, they shrink, get darker. I can't think/work in a cluttered place, but sometimes I just procrastinate by tidying. My dad's mildly OCD, so I try often to avoid being that ridiculously tidy and uncluttered.

Plus side: My new sofa rocks my fucking face off.

― adaml (adaml), Friday, 17 October 2003 17:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, we've been selling some furniture for our move, and it's weird how much space there is now. We sold our couch, so we moved these two armchairs into the living room so that we'd have somewhere to sit to watch TV, but now the front room is just this big open space, and it's kind of cool. We could have a dance party if we wanted.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 17 October 2003 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I am a bit obsessed with Design, though I suppose this could easily be seen as a joke since I mostly just read my Metropolitan Home & Elle Decor magazines (and others for free at the bookstore), watch shows like Trading Spaces, and I took that one interior design class at the art museum this summer. But anyway, I think about it all quite a bit. And I am still thinking I might go back to school some day and sort it all out.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 17 October 2003 17:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I am also obsessed with design in theory but in practice I sit on the couch and let the beer cans and dirty underwear pile up.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 17 October 2003 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I understand, teeny. I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of our stuff so that our next space (in Chicago) will be less cluttered, at least until we can buy more stuff. I am a magnet for trinkets and items that can only thrive stored in a closet.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 17 October 2003 17:49 (twenty-two years ago)

effect

(/pedant)

I love space. I wish I didn't need...stuff.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 17 October 2003 18:05 (twenty-two years ago)

There's also this aspect to take into consideration, if'n that's your kinda thing.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 17 October 2003 18:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn, that's right. I made sure to sort out affect/effect before I posted, and then I went ahead and got it wrong anyway (because I re-wrote my original subject heading). I really hate when English behaves this way.

― Al Andalous, Friday, 17 October 2003 18:38 (twenty-two years ago)

nickalicious, I am a little reluctant to even look at rules of that sort. I'm more interested in observing my own responses to things, although it might not hurt to get ideas from a system like feng shui, at some point.

― Al Andalous, Friday, 17 October 2003 18:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah that was just a random feng shui link. I had a book on it once that was mostly rubbish, but it gave me a lot of great ideas.

I do think it's very important for one's livelihood that their home be uncluttered and conducive to energy-flow though; just that the "rules" laid out in most modern feng shui writings are hyper-focused. And on bullshit.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 17 October 2003 18:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I want to reach a nice semi-cluttered balance. I hate clutter in general, but also I want something more cozy than the most modern minimalist designs. I like for space to be interesting. I especially enjoy filling up space with books and cds and records... I like the variety of color. I just don't particularly like cramped spaces or things falling on top of my head when I open the closet door.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 17 October 2003 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

six years pass...

wall-to-wall carpeting is one of those things that sounded really good when it first came to prevalence but i think it totally ruins living spaces and sucks the energy right out.

― ('_') (omar little), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 19:17 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, rugs are way better.

― landover menace (kkvgz), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 19:19 (fifteen years ago)

Also, regarding space, knocking out walls is awesome.

― landover menace (kkvgz), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 19:19 (fifteen years ago)

Totally disagree, sorry. I love carpet in bedrooms, it feels so much cosier.

xxp

― franny glass, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 19:20 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, rugs are way better.

They can be a major fall risk for people with limited mobility, though.

― Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 23:46 (fifteen years ago)

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