Living Small

I asked several real estate brokers I know – all specializing in city condominiums – what the size of the smallest unit they have ever sold. The answers varied, from a small 234 square feet “a tiny unit near Harvard Square”) to a relatively palatial 400 square foot loft in the South End (“but way too small for the couple that bought it”.) A few weeks ago I read about a tiny apartment in the Notting Hill section of London with a “coffin-sized” shower that sold for over $500K. When in college, I spent one summer living with a roommate in a dorm room that was under 200 square feet.

So, with the theory that you actually can live in a very small space, I measured the space available on our boat for the three of us to live, sleep, bathe, study, plan, read, cook and play. We have a total of 213 square feet, plus a back porch (the boat cockpit) of around 35 square feet (we can’t really count the space on deck since it is well taken up with lines, blocks, sails, kayaks, our tender and a mast).

What is it like to have three people share 213 square feet? Well, you run into each other surprisingly often – with us literally brushing past each other as I make something in the galley and Dave checks the engine. Or Amelia and I crossing over each other as we snuggle on the settee, her watching a video and I read a book. And you start to think of privacy in a different way, as much psychological as physical. Having your own little space in your head in your head is the key to living small.