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Archive for the ‘Small Spaces’ Category

Pavement as Park…

Posted by Andrew Wagner to Architecture and Design and Home + Garden and Materials and Places and Small Spaces on 10 November 2009, with 4 comments so far.

In early October I was in San Francisco. The Sunday before heading back east I ended up going to the Axis cafe with my family, which includes a three year old niece, a seven year old nephew, and a soon-to-be two year old nephew (Happy birthday tomorrow Samir!). Needless to say, this particular brunch was a bit hectic. It was a beautiful day and the kids were dying to get outside and everyone seemed restless. After a long wait for our food and strained conversation (everyone was really hungry) amongst eleven across a huge table we made our way outside. The kids ran as fast as they could out into what would normally be the street but in this instance was a remarkable little park.

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Posted in Architecture, Design, Home + Garden, Materials, Places, Small Spaces | 4 Comments »

How Small Were Our Spaces

Posted by Katherine Sharpe to ReadyMade News and Small Spaces on 1 October 2009, with no comments so far.

In the projects section of our October/November Small Spaces issue, we included bite-sized stories about the tiniest habitations you’ve ever hung your hats in. We solicited the stories over Facebook, Twitter, and at this blog. Here’s an expanded version of what RM readers had to say about livin’ small.

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“I lived in a camper for about a year and a half while I traveled with the Big Apple Circus. If I stood up straight, my head touched the ceiling; my arm-span allowed me to touch both walls; the head-clearance while in bed was a mere five inches. I didn’t always have running water or electricity, but having people close by (~125 of them), really helps out in nearly ANY situation. Having to pack and unpack many, many times per year really reduces your need to acquire things, but also maximizes your creativity in such a cramped environment. Astroturf on the steps leading out made it “front-yardy” and plastic flowers that over-winter made it even more homey. I used the TINY toilet/bathroom as a storage for kites, rain-gear, etc., but otherwise mostly lived OUTSIDE rather than in!”—Ryan Gray, Cambridge, MA

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Posted in ReadyMade News, Small Spaces | No Comments »

Crowdsourcing the Cottage Garden

Posted by Katherine Sharpe to Art and Environment and Food + Entertaining and Gardening and NYC and Small Spaces on 1 October 2009, with 4 comments so far.

The first time I saw Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray’s work, a giant “Window Farm” installed in the front window of the New York City art and technology center Eyebeam, I knew I wanted to write about it.

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Luckily my editors obliged, and I was interviewing Britta and Rebecca several weeks later, for the sidebar to my piece about plastic beverage bottles as a building and engineering material (”PET Rocks,” ReadyMade, Oct/Nov ‘09).

The idea behind the Window Farm is simple (the impressiveness of the monumental-sized version at Eyebeam notwithstanding). Riley and Bray, two Brooklyn-based artists who collaborate on projects that bring the power of social media to bear on environmental problems, came up with the idea after reading on Michael Pollan’s New York Times blog that one of the best things people can do for the environment is to grow some of their food at home.

“There were all of these catty comments from New Yorkers complaining that they live in tiny New York City apartments and can’t possibly grow any food there,” says Riley. She remembers reading that and thinking, “‘Come on, guys. There’s got to be a way.’”

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Posted in Art, Environment, Food + Entertaining, Gardening, NYC, Small Spaces | 4 Comments »

A Space-Saving, Classy Perch for Cats

Posted by Katherine Sharpe to Pets and Small Spaces on 19 August 2009, with 1 comment so far.

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Love cats, loathe carpet-covered cat roosts. Are you with me?

At This Old House’s The Hardware Aisle, Meghan Dockendorf writes about wall-mounted cat beds. Thought this was a great idea, and one that reminds me both of our Small Spaces issue (out in October; we are working on it now), and our post about Mr. Sambolini a while back.

Akemi Tanaka’s “Curve” cat bed is available on Supermarket.

Posted in Pets, Small Spaces | 1 Comment »

The Smallest Place You Ever Lived

Posted by Katherine Sharpe to ReadyMade News and Small Spaces on 16 July 2009, with 13 comments so far.

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October may seem like a long way off, but here at ReadyMade H.Q. we’re getting down to the business of putting together our October/November issue, the annual Small Spaces offering—one of my personal favorites. We’re working on features showcasing people who pack a lot of style into a tiny area and a roster of projects that will help you make all your square feet work harder for you.

We also want to run some of your own reminiscences about living in a tiny pad. Whether you used a closet as a bedroom, kept your shoes in the oven or simply bumped your head on the same insanely low doorway every day, we want to hear about it.

Take this prompt:

What’s the smallest space you’ve ever lived? Tell us about it.

…and tell us in the comments section below, or send us an email directly. Excerpts from our favorite responses will end up in the October/November issue of ReadyMade.

Image credit: bunchofpants, on Flickr

Posted in ReadyMade News, Small Spaces | 13 Comments »

Small Spaces, Urban Outfitters Style and ReadyMade Style

Posted by Katherine Sharpe to Small Spaces on 10 July 2009, with 2 comments so far.

This just in: Urban Outfitters has announced a contest called “The Small Time.” Upload a one-minute video of your small space and what you’ve done with it, and submit it by August 3rd for a chance to win a $1000 Urban Outfitters gift card.

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We believe this may be a case of stars aligning, as we’re finishing up the August/September issue of ReadyMade now and turning our heads to October/November, our annual Small Spaces issue. If you live in a small space and have ideas about how to make the most of what you’ve got, don’t let Urban Outfitters have all the fun. Send those ideas to us, too. Andrew Wagner is still seeking a few interesting spaces and examples out-of-the-(shoe)box thinking to call out in the pages of RM.

Image: Urban Outfitters

Posted in Small Spaces | 2 Comments »