Size doesn't matter, says psychologist and psychoanalyst Domhnall Casey - as long as your living space is right for you then its dimensions are irrelevant. But spending prolonged periods in a small space can affect psychological well-being if clutter gets out of control. "If you are tripping over things it can cause frustration and frayed tempers. If you are sharing, it can lead to stress, bad relationships and may even eventually manifest itself as a physical illness down the line," he says.
Studios, bedsits and small, one-bedroom apartments can sometimes provide as little as 300 to 400 sq ft in which to work, rest and play. With limited, if any, storage space, possessions often have to be pared to a minimum and large or bulky items can be out of the question. Mark Pankhurst lives with his girlfriend in a first floor one-bedroom flat on Pearse Street in Dublin 2 which is tiny at 272 sq ft.
It is the largest of seven flats in the building. The bedroom has a double bed, enough space for a chair and a wardrobe at the foot of the bed, leaving a narrow walkway from the window to the door. The livingroom is wide enough for an armchair and a small shelf unit leaving enough room to open the door to the "smallest bathroom imaginable".
"It takes one trip to the shops to make the place look cluttered. It's necessary to move furniture around to get into some of the cupboards - and the wardrobe won't open fully because the bed is in the way," he says.
Storing big items is impossible: "I still have a lot of stuff left at my parents' house that we simply have no room for. There's no way we could get a microwave or anything like that, there'd be nowhere to put it."
Washing and drying clothes can be a problem with whole weekends lost "battling for time on the washing machine".
"There's a washing machine and dryer in the basement shared between all of the flats. The place looks like some kind of trouser jungle after a big wash with jeans hanging over the doors everywhere you look. "On the positive side the rent is low, we pay almost half of what some of our friends are paying and the place is ideally situated only a 15-minute walk to work and the city centre."
Dublin rents are £500 to £1,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, depending on location, and studios usually cost from £450 and £700. Bedsits, which are largely in converted buildings, can be got for as little as £60 per week, but are often low-standard student type accommodation.
Studios vary from the minute to the spacious, arty penthouse but are generally 340 sq ft to 360 sq ft with a one-room multipurpose living area, a small adjoining kitchen and a small bathroom. Bedsits tend to comprise of a single room living area with a separate bathroom.
Studio apartments don't come on the market that often. On average they cost between £100,000 to £125,000 to buy. At the moment Hooke & MacDonald has studios in Talbot Mall, in the Irish Life Centre, Dublin 1, for £100,000 and Sherry FitzGerald is selling studios in Dalcassian Downs in Dublin 9 for £110,000 to £115,000. The advantage of studios is that first-time buyers do not have to pay stamp duty if the property is under £150,000, even if it is second-hand. According to Johnny Lappin of Douglas Newman Good, studios can be a good way of getting an affordable starter home. "They are more easily within grasp of someone buying on their own. They are a stepping stone to larger properties and are also popular with people who want a base in the city centre but don't want the expense of a two-bedroom apartment."
One bedroom apartments usually cost from £140,000 to £170,000, depending on location, but a one-bedroom in Temple Bar would cost about £200,000. Some developments have storage units, generally 6 ft deep by 3 ft wide, in the basement that cost from £5,000 to £10,000. Many developments also have bicycle storage areas.
There is a dearth of one-bedroom apartments and studios now coming on the market for rent and sale, says Ken MacDonald of Hooke & MacDonald.
"There were a lot more one-bedrooms and studios in the early 1990s but the planners got restrictive. There is a misguided theory that too many small apartments leads to the deterioration of the overall complex. Thousands of young people have got on the first rung of the ladder in areas like the Quays and Gardiner Street, areas which would never have achieved the level of home ownership they have if the one-beds and studios were not available. The feeling is that these small apartments are in some way inferior but the only way they are inferior is in size. The average is 400 sq ft, which is not that small if it is well laid out and designed and the best use is made of space."
Making the best use of your small living space can hinge on a clever use of furniture and colour says Lee Fleming of LMF Property Management and Design Consultants - a one-stop shop for letting, managing and furnishing apartments. "Futons are good for studios because during the day they can be used as a sofa and at night you can sleep on them. Day beds are also good because you can strip them of the mattress and the divan and use them to sit on during the day," she says.
Other godsends are drop-leaf tables, folding chairs, low pine chests that can double as a storage or filing cabinet and computer laptops which are infinitely less bulky than full-sized PCs. There are many things you can do to save on space. Some ideas include clip-on lights that cost about £5 or £6; Japanese screens to hide and divide; hanging rails that suspend calico and wicker baskets for filing papers, magazines or odds and ends; a clothes line that can be used to dry clothes at night and to suspend storage baskets by day.
A final word of advice: "Keep colours bright, neutral and warm. A great colour we use is Dulux Harvest, a sunny, bright yellow, which is cheerful. Pea green is also very good as a backdrop to a living, working, and sleeping environment."
emorgan@irish-times.ie
