I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, that I participated in Nourishing Minimalism’s Home Tour Interview series, which will likely go live on their webpage in a week or two and then I will post a link for you to read it if you are interested. The interview was a series of questions regarding Simplifying and accompanied by some photos of our home, some of which you will see below. This blog post shows you more photos and discusses them in more detail.
We are currently renting a three bedroom townhouse with a small courtyard. We have been living here for approx 1.5 years.
Please note, that I have clearly cleaned including vacuumed these spaces for the purpose of taking clearer photos, however our home is not immaculate all the time and I have no problems with my children playing and creating at home. The aim is to have spaces set up that are easy enough to maintain (re-set) at the end of the day.
Downstairs: This is the main kitchen/dining/living area. There is also a small laundry room (and my children’s cleaning station) and an outdoor paved courtyard. We keep most of our potted plants out there as we don’t have a garden but have managed to set up a compost bin and worm farm.
Kitchen– In this picture you can see some little succulents in pots on the window sill, a stainless steel stove top kettle, a bread bin, a glass cake stand which I only bring out when I have baked something, a coffee machine and a glass water drinking station for my children to access. Below the sink is a wooden stool that my children use when helping out in the kitchen. It’s the same wooden stool that you can see used in the bathroom space below. If you are wondering, the coffee machine is a pod machine that we were gifted but we use a stainless steel refillable pod. The large fridge is second hand as we did a fridge swap with someone who wanted our smaller sized fridge.
Living/dining area– this space has been changed several times. In this picture you can see my children’s art table. The white bin underneath the table was a thrifted item that I painted white (use to be green). This bin contains recycled items for art projects. The cushions on the couch, the coffee table and the desk are all second hand items. When I say second-hand, most of these items have not necessarily been purchased, but given to us or we have done a swap with someone else. We all (including my children) use this desk downstairs for different things. In the warmer months, it is too hot to work upstairs, so this becomes the main work space. Next to the desk is a low cabinet that holds all our games and puzzles and on the top is a fish tank and a small television and indoor plant.
Play space– this is the same wooden play shelf that my children have used for years. It’s the shelf that my dad made when my youngest was approx two years of age. In the colder months, we bring out a large floor rug just in front of the play shelves for comfort as the tiled floors can get cold in Winter.
Upstairs: See previous post Independence in the home-bathroom space for more info and photos of what’s in the drawers and cupboards. This is a child-friendly, low waste bathroom.
Main bedroom– the bedside table, arm chair, cushion and on the opposite side of this room (not shown in the photo) is a chest of drawers and all of these items are second-hand. I repainted all of the handles on both the bedside table and chest of drawers to modernise them a bit as the handles had an old rusted look.
Right around the time that I needed to send through photos for the interview was the same time that my children (my eldest more specifically) wanted to trial having her own room again. We may or may not keep the spaces this way, depending on how my children go having their own space over the next couple of weeks. If we change it back, they will just have beds and books in their shared bedroom.
Previously the second room was being used as an office/spare bedroom for guests if needs be but also where some of my children’s work (Montessori type) materials were being held and used. We have just relocated some of those items for now.
This photo was taken when my children shared a room, but it is the same set up in each of their closets. You can read my previous post Independence in the home- children’s wardrobe update. We keep clothes to a minimum and store out of season clothes in a box in their cupboards. We aim to shop second-hand but not all of their clothes are.
Do you want to see any more photos, such as the outdoor courtyard, linen cupboard or laundry or maybe something else such as our pantry or kitchen drawers? Do you want to know what Montessori materials we are still using at home? Let me know in the comments section below or send me an email.
Edited July 10th 2018– My Home Tour Interview with Nourishing Minimalism is now available for you to read HERE
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