Comments on: Why Furniture Is More Evil Than Google

By: NunyaB

NunyaB — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:57:04 +0000

Great thread. Please post a photo of your furniture-less apartment in Portland; some of us need the inspiration.

Did you sell the furniture on feebay or give it away, or something else? Details!

By: theo

theo — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:38:31 +0000

Great Post! This is something that we do a lot of in my apartment. Although perhaps for different reasons. You’re right that furniture makes a place harder to clean, and keep clean. For us, it comes down to clutter and usability. We like our spaces to be a usable as possible.

My friends and I share a four-bedroom apartment. My bedroom has a matress on the floor, a LOT of pillows, a small dresser and a small night-table next to the bed in the corner. It’s a big-bedroom, so we have plenty of floor space for slumber parties, yoga, chit-chat, wild-sex, and ritual.

All our bedrooms are like this, and the only furniture we have in the rest of the apartment is a kitchen table with some chairs (primarily for friends who aren’t spry enough to feel comfortable on the floor). Our desks in the study (All of us are involved in non-profit, organizational, and computer work. Our desks vary by our personality, but they’re all pretty spartan. And book cases. LOTS of book cases. (I count eight of them in my head)

Our living room is a ginormous pile of pillows. The TV and DVD player are on the floor in the corner. We pull them into the middle of the room when in use, but the rest of they time they’re out of the way.

It’s a great, simple way to live!

By: Web 2.0 Update: Internet Happenings

Web 2.0 Update: Internet Happenings — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:23:57 +0000

[…] takes a radical approach to purposing her home over at Sufficient […]

By: Twila Marie

Twila Marie — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 11:20:59 +0000

How simply fascinating and refreshing! I live in a very small 2 bedroom home with my 16 yr old son. It was built in the 1800’s, before the “closet era”. By that I mean that there isn’t one single closet in this house! There was also only one cabinet in the kitchen, and it supports the large, antiquated porcelain sink. (It’s an exact match to Drew Barrymore’s kitchen sink in “Riding in Cars With Boys). I’m remodeling the house by myself, one room at a time, and I’m doing it according to what suits my personal needs, instead of conventional methods. It’s been an interesting ordeal at times, as I try to maximize the use of a minimum amount of space. I have to applaud your ability to live with such sparse belongings. I can’t help but sit here and think of all the time, money, and backaches I’d save myself if I could do the same. Go You!

By: Nicholas Butler

Nicholas Butler — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 11:13:56 +0000

Ahmen Brother, sing it from the roof tops. I came to this realisation after IKEA. WhenI realised that our house was quite a bit like but not quite our friends houses. All our houses looked a little bit like an IKEA catalogue.

I would love a level of minimalism though my better half if she sees a shelf she clutters it end to end with books, nik naks and nuggets. sigh.

As with Chris there is now also the Child Factor which adds a level of , shall we say , random acts of dis organisation.

What even more amazing, as you point out, is we dont actually need all this “STUFF” but we seem to insist on collecting ever more of it.

Thanks for the post and yes I am a subscriber.

Cheers to Chris Brogan for pointing out your post.

Im off to the Dog house. .bye.

By: Chris Brogan...

Chris Brogan... — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:52:55 +0000

I live in a big one room loft. With two kids. So, we have a lot of flexibility of design, but not a lot of cleanliness. Kids come with a natural ability to eject things from their “proper spot” at a rate 4x the speed I can put them back. Add to this a lack of interest in putting them back after the third recovery, and you’ve got my home in a nutshell.

But your home sounds dreamy, and the post was really fun! : )

(and I’m a subscriber).

By: Small spaces are a preventative measure « Life on the road

Small spaces are a preventative measure « Life on the road — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 03:20:16 +0000

[…] is an interesting read. Sufficient Thrust is a smartly named place where I read a piece about having no furniture. I understand and appreciate her point that ‘things’ (i.e. furniture) can become […]

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 03:06:02 +0000

Pray tell, why get larger and larger places if you have no plans for filling the space? I love small spaces (cars, apartments, etc.) because it prevents clutter. It would seem that with larger places comes larger… piles of clutter (due to having no furniture to put things in.)

For me small spaces is a preventative measure.

By: PurpleCar

PurpleCar — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:20:05 +0000

“Google only costs you your soul; furniture costs real money”

I love that line! Hysterical.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:23:01 +0000

I can see that if you’re not in your apartment very often, then having a very spartan setup would be nice. But, if you like to entertain (which, while not for everyone, many people do enjoy), you like to lounge in front of the TV on a rainy afternoon and watch a movie with your spouse (or your kids), or you want to not have back problems (which sleeping on the floor can definitely contribute to), then some furniture is good. I have all of the basics as far as furniture goes - living room sets, dining room furniture, nightstands, etc., but my “formal” living room also houses my PC, one of my upstairs bedrooms has been converted into a dressing room (much more relaxing to have no clothes in the bedroom!), and my coffee tables (they’re actually two square tables that we put together) also are used as desks and dining tables.

I think that for anyone who is a homebody, and who enjoys spending time in their home, having comfortable, useful furniture is a must. While not everyone needs a formal dining room, mine is also used for projects that I might want to spread out and leave out for a couple of days. That’s hard to do if the only large surface you have is your floor (and you have pets).

I applaud you for doing what works for you, but realize that it’s definitely not for everyone, especially those who actually spend a significant amount of time in their homes (not including working from home - which I also do).