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Tiny House Part 18: My Window

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I have one window in my apartment, which isn’t all that surprising given its size. It lets a good bit of natural light into my kitchen area, and is truly a blessing. Due to the construction of the building, the sill is quite deep. That makes it even better!

Obviously, the window is home to my little air conditioner, which though small proved quite sufficient this past summer. The way they built up around the unit not only sealed it in well but provides me so much privacy that I have no need at all for curtains or shades. (I’m pretty high up off the ground at this point.) 

That privacy meant I could do whatever I wanted with the window, so I pulled out a stained glass piece that had been in storage. Yes, the colors are more muted than most of the apartment, but not only is it a salute to my love of reading, it is also a gift from two very special people, one of whom has gone on home to Heaven. One thing I learned a long time ago is that surrounding yourself with things that have meaning can trump other rules.

Another thing that has meaning is the hummingbird that hangs to the right of the stained glass. This is my salute to both my mother and grandmother, who shared a love for the little flyers. The crystal that hangs to the left in the window was purchased to balance the bird. It’s very pretty and I’m glad I chose the right thing. It’s the 120mm Crystal Prism Suncatcher and it sells for $10; I paid more for the hummingbird at a craft show years ago!

My decorator friend installed the wooden shelf for me specifically for these two pots of hens and chicks, which originated with my grandmother. If you read Sometimes You Just Need a Do Over you have seen the long planter. These little guys aren’t flourishing greatly, like I wish they were, but they are still alive and I’m taking that as a win. 

Both of these planters came from Amazon. The long one is the Kipokalor 11.1×2.36×1.77inch Long Rectangular Modern Minimalist White Ceramic Succulent Planter Pot with Saucer. It’s minimalist, high quality, and exactly what I was looking for.

The small planter is actually from a set I bought in February to give as gifts.

These are a set of 12 Pcs White Bible Verse Succulent Pots with Drainage 3.15 Inch Mini Ceramic Flower Planter Pot with Bamboo Tray. I planted succulents in them and gave them to my ministry team as Valentine’s gifts. They were a huge hit!

The bottom shelf was decorated by my talented friend, who also made the little potted cactus for me. Everything else already belonged to me; she just knew how to put them all together. the stack of books includes some antiques from what was once an impressive collection. The glass paperweight was my mother’s and I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it. What I really wish you could see better is the peacock stone that sits between the books and plant. It’s bornite and it’s beautiful. Here’s an example I found online.

And that’s the window. We’re almost finished with the Kitchen tour. Thanks for coming along!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 17: Kitchen Counter

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As I’ve mentioned before, at first glance you’d think I have no counter space at all, but if you saw the larger photo of my kitchen area you know the washing machine butts right up against the kitchen counter and it serves me well as extra counter space. So does the dryer, which we’ll get to in another post. So here you go.

Major things first, my sink is huge and I’m so glad. I’d had concerns that I’d be stuck with something small. I should have known better; I’ve said more than once that they tried really hard to make this place as good as they possibly could for me. They weren’t going to let me down and not only gave me a great sink but a fabulous faucet. Second, isn’t this teak countertop amazing? It’s absolutely beautiful and allowed them to bring in a variety of raw woods elsewhere in the kitchen. Seeing them work on all of that was a revelation; wood has gotten so expensive!

They found the countertop at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and it’s a great example of the bargains you can find there. People assume these stores are filled with things that have been pulled out of demolished houses, and there is that, but there are also pallets of factory overstocks and other brand new items. This particular countertop was long enough that they used part of it here and part to build my microwave shelf, which you’ll see soon, and will still be able to make my sis a beautiful, large cutting board.

So, on the counter, left to right…

Fiberwise, by Melaleuca. Not anything you’re probably interested in, but when you hit menopause fiber becomes especially important as it helps with things like cholesterol. (Remember that TIA I had a while back? Right.)

Now, on the sink? That, my friends, is a stainless steel, Roll Up Dish Drying Rack and it is the bomb. I have it rolled out for the benefit of this picture, but I can roll or fold it up as much or as little as I like, or even roll it and store it. I’ve also discovered that if I fold it up in three layers it will hold my lightweight plate as it dries (otherwise the tall thing flops sideways). If you have a small kitchen, this thing is a great! It’s another of those items that I saw and thought, “Hm…” and have been very glad I purchased.

Two other things about the sink. I don’t use bar soaps much, if at all, but was given some soap samples recently. That little, cream-colored block you see in the sink stopper that sits by the Dawn? It’s one of those samples and I discovered that sink stoppers make great small-soap holders. The blue spray bottle is Dawn Powerwash and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s what I usually use to wash my hands, works great as a clothing pre-treat (especially with oil or grease) and of course is fantastic for dishes. It seems like it would be a waste of money, but I find that a bottle lasts a very long time; you just have to avoid the temptation to spray ridiculous amounts.

Dawn Powerwash Spray Starter Kit, Platinum Dish Soap, Fresh Scent, 1 Starter Kit + 1 Dawn Powerwash Refill, 16 Fl Oz (Pack of 2)

There are only two other things on the counter that I’ll link to. The trivet in the lower right corner of the photo was a gift and I use it constantly since I don’t risk putting anything hot on those wood counters. The plate on the plate rack is primarily decoration since the plate isn’t microwave safe. One day I’ll find a microwave safe plate I actually like and replace it.

The ZeroWater 6-Cup 5-Stage Water Filter Pitcher has been a fixture in my life for years. I don’t like our city water at all, and it’s best to filter minerals out of the water before using an electric kettle, so this stays on the counter permanently. If I drank my water cold, I would of course keep it in the fridge, but I’m one of those strange people who, while I can drink cold water, am just as happy drinking it at room temp.

And last you see one of my HoShip Silicone Spoon Rests. They’re food grade silicone spoon rests that are lovely, dishwasher safe, and store in a very small area. Highly recommended!

I hope you’re having a great day!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 16: Built In

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One of the big things about tiny houses is using every inch of space you can. In this case, because my apartment was going inside an existing metal building (a well insulated metal building), they were able to take advantage of a few deep and wide breaks in the framing to make me some built-ins. This one, as you can see in the photo, is at the end of my long shelf. Yes, the shelf runs right up to it, but I don’t care. Again, space is important!

So, the top shelf is kind of a hiding spot for glass measuring cups and that sort of thing; you can barely see them in the back behind the yellow cup I don’t use much. It is a nice tea cup, but I like the infuser on the blue cup from last week just a little better. The other big thing on that shelf is another of my favorite purchases.

I like toast. I like toaster pastries. I like (ok, love) bagels with cream cheese. So yes, I really like my toaster! It’s the iSiLER 2 Slice Toaster. It has extra wide slots for my bagels, multiple darkness adjustments, a cancel button, and an easy-to-clean tray. It also has a place on bottom to wrap your cord for storage, which is awesome for me since I don’t keep it out all the time. And it’s only 9.5 inches long by 5.3 inches wide by 7 inches tall – so it fits!

The second shelf holds sugar in a Kerr jar, a couple of books and a painted pineapple for decoration, and two glasses I got at the dollar store because they were pretty. “Pretty” is also what prompted me to buy the flatware you see in the glass jars on the bottom shelf, and “pretty” is why they’re displayed the way they are. They’re the Kitiok rainbow flatware set and I did buy them off Amazon. Unfortunately, they’re not available anymore and I’m not going to risk linking to a set I’ve not seen for myself. 

But if you like color like I do, you may want to look around and find a set that’s similar. I’ve had these for quite a while and they still make me smile every time I pull one out.

And then there’s just the crock with the larger utensils I hardly ever use. The odds are good most of them, like so many other unneeded items, will end up walking to my sister’s kitchen. For a while there, she just looked up and laughed every time I stepped in the back door to drop things on her kitchen island that I’d finally admitted I’ll never use (or could borrow them from her if I needed them).

Short and sweet this week!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 14: Open Shelving

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I said last week that I was determined to have open shelving. My dream was actually floating shelves, so I was beyond delighted when I realized that’s what was being built for me. They were also able to take advantage of the framing to give me two built-ins that you’ll see later.

These floating, open shelves are above my washing machine and the top shelf runs all the way to the far wall. I love how my decorator friend put my art on the wall behind my dishes. I am not at all gifted in this area and would never have gotten that far out of my box! This print in particular adds just the right touch behind my clear and white bowls. For the curious, it’s Claude Monet’s Sunset in Venice.

I found this print of Sunset in Venice on Amazon. It is slightly larger than mine at 16×11.

And for the record, one of my glass bowls sacrificed itself when I decided I needed to confirm the name of the painting. I now only have one clear glass bowl sitting up there. I am sad. (Not really, just disappointed in myself for dropping my phone on the stack of bowls while trying to take a picture of the small print instead of just pulling the frame off the shelf.)

My friend also created the floral piece on the bottom shelf, not only to add color but to help tie in the gold of the upper shelf’s baskets. When I was searching for those three baskets, I was hoping for yellow to match the stripe in the multi-colored basket, but true yellow is hard to find. After I’d dubiously decked out the top shelf and sent her the photo, she set about creating some gold accents that would pull the color further into the room. You’ve already seen one of them if you read the library post. She actually painted a medical dictionary (An intentional salute to my love of words) gold and laid it on the shelf as an accent piece.

All four baskets are of woven rope. The three oval baskets on top came as a set. The rectangle basket on bottom came in a set of three as well; you’ll see the other two later. All the baskets arrived squished flat. This is why some are more consistently formed than others; I only devoted so much effort to getting them properly shaped. Both styles are available in a wide range of color options!

The top three baskets contain, from left to right, cereal (Yes, I like cold cereal – dry, because I don’t like milk), whatever I need the second basket to hold at the moment, and my hair stuff (dryer, flat iron, straightening brush, combs and brushes…) You can see that, at roughly 13 by 8 by 8 they hold a lot. So does the basket on bottom, which is 15 by 10 by 10. It handles the bulk of my cleaning supplies, which you can see peeking out a little bit.

So, basket links…

CubesLand Yellow Baskets for Shelves Storage/Organizing,Cube Shelf Closet Storage Baskets Bins Set 3,Long-lasting &Skin-friendly Toy Storage Basket Bin,Stylish Room Decor Basket,Cotton Rope Basket

MINTWOOD Design 3-Pack Storage Baskets for Shelves, Playroom and Classroom Storage Basket, Book Basket, Decorative Storage Cube Bins, Woven Closet Organizers, Nursery Baskets, Rainbow

To the left of the rainbow basket is my glass jar filled with Arm & Hammer Plus OxiClean. I do have the same laundry detergent as a liquid in the rainbow basket, but these pods are my go-to. It’s my favorite detergent, and the colors are perfect for my house.

Finally, you have my paper towel holder and, hiding behind that, a small crock with my toothbrush and toothpaste.

And this has gotten long, so we’ll handle the other end of the top shelf next week.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 13: The Kitchen

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Yes, I once more fell behind on posting about my tiny house. Frankly, I knew what was coming and that it would take a lot of time to prep these next few posts. Ashamed of my procrastination? Undeniably. So, are you ready to head to the kitchen?

This part of the series will definitely be multiple posts, because there are tons of details in this kitchen.

The photo you see above is a close-up from a picture I posted earlier. I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but I had to convince them that I really did want white walls. This picture shows why. I knew I would be bringing in a lot of color in my art, storage, and accessories! Much of it, especially the art, came with me in the move and I can’t tell you much about it, but many items were bought specifically for this apartment, and I will happily share those details.

Another thing that took a little convincing, though not too much, was the open shelving. I specifically wanted everything visible, looked forward to using my necessities to decorate and not be looking at cabinet doors all the time. Playing off the teak countertop, which I’ll share in a better picture later, they brought in an assortment of woods for me and sealed them for kitchen use. I love it!

One comment I’ve received from readers and visitors is that I have very little counter space. At first glance, this is true, but it’s actually not. My washer and dryer more than make up for the shortage of official counter space. I obviously don’t put anything super heavy on them, but I really don’t deal with super heavy anyway. I have never felt confined in my tiny kitchen.

The rectangular frames you see to the right of the mirror? Yes, this is an old photo, but yes, they are still empty, waiting on me. I have everything I need to teach myself watercolor, but I’ve not done it. It seems like every time I even think about pulling the supplies out I find something else to do instead. Still, learning watercolor is one of my goals for 2024 and those frames are going to hang there, staring at me, until I follow through.

One thing I’ll mention while I’m here, since this is the only photo it appears in, is the towel that’s hanging from the top drawer. It was the result of a lot of searching! Things were different when I had a dishwasher; I could grit my teeth and put up with my kitchen towels that weren’t absorbent and didn’t dry anything. I mean, seriously. Why have a kitchen towel that won’t dry dishes enough that you can put them away?!

So, I headed to Amazon and began my search. My requirements were pretty detailed. First, I wanted a solid color, preferably orange. That ruled out a lot; no surprise there. This towel comes in 26 colors, one of which was exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted cotton. Also, the reviews had to agree that the thing really would dry well. If a towel wasn’t consistently praised for this one characteristic, I kept scrolling. Too, I wanted something small enough to be practical (this one is 12×12) and was really hoping for a loop I could use to hang it. I didn’t want to have to install a towel bar, but I wanted a towel to always be at hand.

So here you have the Homaxy 100% Cotton Waffle Weave Kitchen Dish Cloths, Ultra Soft Absorbent Quick Drying Dish Towels, 12×12 Inches, 6-Pack, Orange. (Don’t you love the highly detailed descriptions on Amazon? LOL!) The 6-pack sells for around $15. You can also get 4, 8, and 12-packs.

See you next time!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 11: The Bathroom Tour Continues

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So last week I talked about the pictures over the toilet. The frames are cheap things I picked up and spray painted. The mats are from the craft store. And, believe it or not, the photos were printed on a copier because budget was a huge issue back when I first needed them to decorate my work office years ago.

You’ll see that they built in shelves for me on the adjoining wall. The teal things on the top shelf are toilet paper rolls wrapped in tissue paper. My decorator friend recommended it as an attractive way to store extra rolls, and I adapted her plan readily because the tissue paper also protects the paper from absorbing the yuk that’s thrown into the air when you flush the toilet. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Google “toilet aerosol’ and prepare to cringe.) I also put the lid down on the toilet before flushing to minimize the impact. Studies show that the spray is twelve times worse with the lid up.

Knowing this has a lot to do with many of the details of this small room. Since taking this picture, I’ve pulled half of my towels. I only need a couple readily available, and that gave me an extra shelf for toilet paper storage.

This photo shows all of the built ins, and you can see I use baskets that hold and mostly protect a lot as well. The one on top contains my makeup and all that goes with it. The bottom one contains toilet paper in thoi photo, but when I moved those rolls to the other shelf I ended up using it for a variety of necessities that I wanted to keep handy. Because these things are stored in the bathroom, I need to remember to be extra scrupulous about things like cleaning my makeup brushes.

Random note: I took these pictures without thinking professionally. So yeah, the deodorant you see by the towels is Native and the little spray thing on the next shelf up is Poo-Pourri that a friend gave me. I never think to use it. I mean, you have to sort of plan ahead, you know? Still, if you do use it the stuff works great!

My friend made this peg rack to hang above the built ins. It was one of the many little things she did, or instructed me to do, to provide more storage and ready access to the things I need. Long pegs hold my towel, and the cotton T I use for my hair hangs fine on the decorative knobs she selected just for me. The two hats don’t get worn often, but store better here than anywhere else, and the jewelry you see is pretty much all I own after some serious jewelry downsizing. At one point, I had massive amounts of jewelry of all types, but now I mostly wear a sterling silver cross I was given a few years ago and just take down one of these pieces when an outfit demands it.

This medicine shelf is one of those ideas I would never have come up with on my own. I’d kept these things in a totally unattractive tote that literally fit nowhere. The day she showed up with this shelf the tote was sitting on top of my fridge, which greatly offended her artistic sensibilities. (I say that very tongue-in-cheek.) I would never have considered open shelving for these items even though I intentionally requested open shelving for the rest of the apartment. This thing is perfect. Once a week, I pull down my regular supplements and pills and go to my desk where I refill my weekly pills containers I told you about previously. If I need something, anything, I can get my hands on it easily, which was great when I cut myself a couple of weeks ago and needed a bandage.

One of the reasons this shelf works so well is the height at which she mounted it. Because it’s mostly above eye level, in this small room you tend not to notice it. Then she mounted my peacock picture beneath it, which also helps draw the eye away from the bottles and boxes.

I’ve had a thing for peacocks for years, but after seeing those peacocks during that cruise I’ve loved them even more, so this piece quickly found its home right here. It fits the theme, fits the wall size, and as a bonus it gives you something other than a white wall to look at while you’re seated. I laughed when she pointed out that detail, but quickly realized just what she was saying. It is an essential part of the decor.

We’ve made our way three quarters around the room. Next week we’ll finish off with the shower. Oh, how I love my shower!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 8: The Library +

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

The “+” comes before the library.
It seemed to be a good time to give an
overall look at the main room, so here goes.

In this photo you can clearly see the stained concrete I like so much. To me, it looks like well-worn leather. It’s a breeze to keep clean, which is especially good since I have access to a pool; coming in wet is not a problem. Another thing this photo reveals is the curtains I’m using instead of doors on both the closet and bath. The closet curtains don’t reach all the way to the floor since I ordered them long before I knew what my actual measurements would be. Eventually I’ll order a longer set or add something at the bottom, but for now they’re fine. The bathroom curtain is also short, but that was intentional as I wanted to leave a large space at the top of the doorway for airflow on those rare occasions when I have the curtains closed.

One last bit of randomness about the “kitchen.” Those white boxes you see beside the mirror are the same box frames I use elsewhere. The friend who spent several hours not only redecorating my tiny home but also making things (like the lamp and book easel on my desk) to use as accents in it, hung those there and gave me orders to fill them with art I liked. They mark a goal. My primary care recently told me, “It’s time to do something just for Tammy.” I took his advice to heart and, since I’ve been wanting to learn watercolor, I ordered some supplies. I am determined to not only learn, but to create pieces I feel comfortable putting in those frames.

Now the Library and, yes, I use the word loosely. You get two photos because I thought it would give a better idea of how everything fits together. Bonus peek at the bath included free of charge.

The first thing you likely noticed about my library is the small number of books. I wasn’t kidding when I said I did a hardcore purge in all areas. These physical books that remain are my essentials. The bulk of them being Bibles should not surprise anyone given my book Experiencing the Bible (shameless plug). The others I refuse to get rid of for one reason and another.

I shared previously that I’m an aphant (one who has aphantasia); people as high on the scale as I am can remember what people and places look like to a certain extent, but that knowledge is conceptual, not visual. Consequently, I need photos and that’s why pictures of my kids and grandkids take the primary position in these shelves. Even the parrots on the wall were photographed by my sister on my surprise cruise getaway. (No kidding. She literally scheduled with my boss and booked a cruise for my birthday. She’s the best!) They serve both as art and vacation reminder.

The blue basket on top is convenient for extra storage; right this minute it just holds my lighters and matches; it’s nice knowing I have storage waiting for me to use it! The flowers and the gold-painted dictionary were gifts from my decorator friend. She knows my love of words, so the dictionary is not just an accent piece but a nod to my passion.

If you’re wondering about the framed quote on the top shelf, it’s from Mark Twain. It says, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

Now, the reason I’m able to have so few physical books…

Bonus: You now know about one of my favorite authors.

I’ve lost pretty much everything twice in my life. The first time taught me a hard lesson and led to my getting my very first kindle as a gift from a friend who had upgraded. Honestly, I wasn’t sure about reading ebooks in the beginning, but learned quickly that I liked it. By the time that Kindle had died, I was carrying an iphone and started using the Kindle app. That was hard on my eyes, though, creating strain I didn’t need. (I tended to read for literal hours at a time. I still can.) So, after much research, I bought a Kindle Paperwhite that, a couple of years ago, I replaced with this Kindle Oasis.

I love this thing! You can tell by the wear on the cover that I use it a lot. As they say, it’s not the age; it’s the mileage. The Kindle Paperwhite (and Paperwhite Oasis) uses an e-ink that is very easy on the eyes. This Oasis also has adjustable lighting as well as the up/down buttons you see on the side. The regular Kindle Paperwhite did not have these buttons, and I would probably not want to go back to doing without them. And this e-reader is waterproof! So yes, reading in the tub is just fine.

So, to get back to my original point. I pretty much stick to paper books for non-fiction, which is what you mostly see on my shelves, because I mark those books up. I want to be able to come back and find things of note and relocate where I’ve recorded my thoughts on a topic. On the other hand, except for a few random non-fiction books, my Kindle is filled with fiction across a variety of genres. I don’t even know how many books I have on this thing and it’s nowhere near full. My TBR (To Be Read) list is massive, which would not be possible if I were limited to what I could fit in this room.

Since I’m on the topic of ebooks, here are some hints for those concerned about ebook prices. First, subscribe to BookBub. You’ll get alerts every day of books in your preferred genres that are on sale or free. A large number of my ebooks were picked up this way. Another thing I do is keep an ebook wishlist on Amazon. I update it any time I find a book I want to buy eventually, and every couple of days I’ll log onto Amazon and check out that list. If any have gone free or been marked down dramatically, I’ll hit the Buy Now button. So loading your kindle doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. You only need to pay full price when you want to read it today.

And that’s it for this week. Like last week, I’ve chosen to put all of the product links here, at the end of the post.

SMILE Weaver Peacock Blue Curtains (closet)

Deconovo Turquoise Curtains (bath)

Experiencing the Bible

Kindle Oasis

Huasiru Case for Kindle Oasis

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Tiny House Part 6: The Office

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

It’s probably no surprise, given I’m a writer, that the office area is the heart of my tiny home. There is so much to discuss, so many details of storage and use, that it will get more than one post.

Your first question is probably going to be about the desk. It’s not new; my son gave it to me after he inherited it from someone else. It is my absolute favorite of all the desks I’ve had through the years, and as you can assume from the fact that I’m the third owner, it’s well built. I like not having drawers beside me the way you do in traditional desks; I like to move around too much. With this layout, I don’t need them. I have plenty of storage up high and a great set of shelves that you’ll see later. When I started writing this post I thought I would be apologizing for not being able to help you find one, but I just tracked it down on Amazon! Well, I can’t guarantee it’s exactly the same desk, but it’s super close.

Made by Sauder, this L-shaped desk from the Manhattan Gate Collection is officially 58.74″D x 55.47″W x 42.52″H. Yes, I can confirm that, at nearly 60″x60″ it’s pretty big. In fact, more than one person tried to talk me into selling it and using a smaller desk instead.

I stood strong, however, especially since I not only love its functionality but absolutely adore the color (mystic oak, to be specific) and wanted it in my home. My decision has proven to be a wise one. This desk allows for a lot of storage, which we will get to, gives me room to spread out when I’m working with an assortment of references and resources, and it serves as my dinner table. I love it!

In the “office” photo, you can barely see my bed in the lower right corner. I said in a previous post that we measured everything down to the inch, and you can tell here that I wasn’t kidding. In my plan I had allowed what I figured was 1″ of wiggle room, and what I ended up with is exactly 1 1/2″ of space between my bed and desk. The desk sits a little off the wall to allow for electrical cords to drop down behind it.

I should explain the outlets. As you can see, the desk has an upper shelf. Given the probability of needing to use part of the under-desk area for storage, we decided to set the two outlets higher than usual so they would land in the gap between desk and shelf. If you’re able to enlarge the photo, you’ll see we were a little off on the left outlet. Fortunately, it’s permanently occupied by two cords and nothing is glaringly visible anyway. The other is my active outlet where I plug and unplug as needed.

The photos you see lined up on the desk ledge beside my active outlet are 5×7 prints from a cruise my sister and I took years ago. The frames are simple plastic box frames that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for next to nothing. I use the same frames, in various sizes, elsewhere in the room and you can catch a glimpse of two more in the office photo. They’re around the corner from the black and white art that hangs over my desk. One huge advantage to these frames is their weight. They all hang on pushpins.

Having aphantasia, with no visual memory of people and places, photos are important to me. I eventually want to get a digital photo frame that my kids can fill with pictures remotely. In the meantime, you’ll see several more photos as we tour my apartment. With only a couple of exceptions, I’ve been able to fill the place with personal artwork, pieces created by myself, my friends, and my family.

The black and white pictures that conveniently cover the shower access panel are two of those. That friend, Anna Davidson, is a wonderful artist who started out as an AOL online acquaintance and became much more. These are actually photocopies of old pieces of hers, but they’ve traveled with me from home to home for decades. They always make me smile as they bring back awesome memories of years spent talking, visiting each other, and writing interactive fan fiction with other close friends who lived around the country. She doesn’t have a website anymore, sadly, or I would lead you to some of her newer work.

And….this one is already getting long, so that’s it for this week. Meet me here in seven days and we’ll cover some more office ground.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 5: The Chair

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I moved with an office chair in tow. It had been serving ok, but there were some things I hadn’t considered, had failed to comprehend until I was actually living in my one-room apartment with my single chair. The reality was that in my previous apartment I’d reached the point where I hardly used it at all.

When you live in a larger home, you don’t think much about where you sit. You just get up and move if for any reason you’re uncomfortable. Without realizing why, I had taken to doing a large part of my work on the sofa. It didn’t take many days of living with my worn out desk chair to see the problem. It was wreaking havoc with my back. My budget was limited enough that I couldn’t purchase a new one right away, but that did allow me time to do the proper research.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I had a “New Apartment” wish list. (I still do, actually.) I put it to work where this chair was concerned, moving potential options onto the list and back off as I compared specs and product reviews. After many days of scouring Amazon and reading reviews, first deciding one way and then another, I finally settled on three that seemed best, and used Amazon’s feature that lets you “see” an item in your home. I quickly realized that two of the chairs I was looking at were too big for the space. That was a challenge I’d not considered, and I am grateful to Amazon for the help!

So I settled on this ergonomic office desk chair, and it was totally the right move!

There were certain things I was specifically looking for in a new chair. Clearly, I wanted quality. I also knew I needed lumbar support, preferably adjustable support, and I wanted arm rests that flipped up. This, of course, enables me to push it under the desk when I’m not using it; regaining those few square feet is a plus. Lower on my list, but still necessary, was the ability to raise and lower the seat and the option of letting the chair rock if I wanted it to. (I do. Often.)

So, the fun stuff. I’ve been putting together my own furniture for a while, simple things anyway, so I wasn’t intimidated by this project. When it arrived, the box was a little heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t carry it safely (I’m not 20 anymore.). It was packed impeccably, with every part clearly labeled with a letter (A, B, C) and it came not only with printed instructions, but directions to a YouTube video that took care of every question I could have possibly had. Bonus? Angels started singing when I pulled out the supply kit and saw a REAL allen wrench. If you’ve dealt with many self-assembly items, you’ll understand my joy. The thing has an ergonomic handle that made putting the chair together easy. I will not be loaning it out; it’s mine.

So yes, I put the chair together myself with no problems. I’d tell you how long it took, but I didn’t pay a bit of attention to that. Just know that at no point did I suffer any level of frustration.

My new chair has been a true blessing. It’s sturdy, has great casters, offers an adjustable lumbar support (See photo above.), and has those arms that swing up out of the way. It is comfortable even after hours spent hard at work doing all of the things. It’s my dining room chair. It lets me kick back while chatting on the phone. It’s great. Regardless of the hours I spend in this chair, my back is now happy.

Finding just the right chair when you’ll only have one to use is a big deal. I’m so happy I discovered the right chair on the first try! In case you want this one, here’s the link again. And once more I share the legal disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Next week, we start discussing the center of my home: The Office.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C