Skip to main content

The Transformer Table

Image
By
Our new table transforms itself, and our view of furniture

Here is our new table

It has 3 modes. Friends mode: Seating up to 6 for dinner or board games.


Couple mode: Great for the two of us. Or for doing some writing while looking out at the view.


99% mode: Most of the time we don't need a table, so it folds away. Storage in the side drawers.


Best of all it allows the space to be multipurpose. Ordinarily a traffic area (between the kitchen, other rooms and the balcony) it can also be a spacious area for the two of us, a table for 6, or an expanded lounge area if we push the lounge furniture back.

How it transforms homes

Traditionally each room has one purpose. TV room for TV; bedroom for bed; study for studying; the dining room for the dining table.

When furniture is cleverly designed, spaces can be multifunctional and we don't need so many rooms.

It's one of the key concepts behind tiny homes. One of the architects from The Tiny House Company showed me this heat map - indicating how long people spend in the various parts of our house.


With so much space rarely or never used it makes sense to have a smaller home with places that can have dual functions.

The dining room is a classic example. It's used for maybe half an hour a day, if at all. Yet it still takes up so much space.

How it transforms lives

We work long hours for money and our biggest expense is the place we live - whether it's renting or paying off a home loan.

Homes are expensive often because they are huge. Australia's average home size of 230 m2 is the largest in the world. It's 88 m2 per person (compared to 27 m2 in 1950).

That space costs money and that money costs us so many hours of our life. Previously, I calculated even just our bookcase takes up $1,600 worth of space. Imagine how much a whole room costs. Even a room that just holds junk.

Less pressure, more happiness

With smaller more functional homes, cost needn't be such a burden. The mortgage (or rent) wouldn't force us to work a job we loathe or work much longer hours than we'd like. We could have more freedom in our choice of work and our style of life.

PS. I say "new table" but of course we bought it from someone in our suburb who no longer needed it, for about a third of the price of a new one. Win-win.
Read more about:

Comments

  1. Aussie James20 February 2019 at 21:07

    HI. I"d love a more detailed look at this table, plans even ?. I"ve just ordered my trailer for my DIY Tiny House here on the Sunshine Coast, QLD, Aussie. loving the journey, loving the community...james

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aussie James20 February 2019 at 21:18

    thanks, I found the table at Ikea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. david23 February 2019 at 09:03

      Hi James. Thanks for visiting. Yes the table is originally from IKEA. We purchased it second-hand as we like supporting other people who are downsizing - and we also get good bargains :) . Glad you found the table at IKEA where you can have a good look at it. The only thing is that it isn't very light. That's OK for us in our apartment (apart from moving it up the stairs ;) but it may be an issue in a tiny house on wheels. If you're looking at making something similar you may want to choose a lighter material.
      PS. Do you have a blog for your tiny house? I wouldn't mind seeing it as it comes together.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your Money or Your Life

By
Which is more important? Our money or our life? So why do we trade away so much of our life? Vicki Robin's classic book takes an in-depth look at how we can have a better relationship with money. Here are some of my highlights, though there's so much more great value in the book. I found it so inspirational after reading the foreword and the first chapter. While the backbone of the book is a 9-step plan, there are two concepts that really stand out - even if you never start the plan. One is the idea of "life energy" and our "real hourly wage". The other is the point of enough. Life Energy What is money? Vicki Robin comes to the conclusion that it is a form of life energy. It might sound a bit new-age, but it's like the old business saying "time is money". We exchange our time, and our physical and mental energy to get this thing called money. So when we use it we are effectively spending our life. The exchange rate Spending money is almost like...
Post a Comment
Read more

The real cost of owning a car

By
It's been about 10 years since I've owned a car. My wife doesn't own one either. "You must save a lot in petrol" That's one of the frequent reactions when someone discovers we don't own a car. "Of course, but it's just the tip of the iceberg" is the usual theme of my reply. Many people I've talked to just aren't fully aware of the real cost of owning a car. Or even that there are six different costs of owning a car. Six? Really? Yes. Occasionally a work colleague or friend will boast their car only costs $X per week. Of course it turns out only some factors have been counted. Sometimes it's just petrol alone. To some people, that feels like the only cost they pay each week. Why does this matter? You might be questioning the need for a second car in the household (or even having one at all). Or you might just be choosing which car to get next. Either way, to make an informed decision we need proper information. So let's look at...
2 comments
Read more

Where is the best place to live?

By
Where we live determines a lot about our life.  So today I'm going to share a resource that can help you decide where might be a good place to live.  It started with an article ranking Brisbane suburbs from 1 to 260 . That ranking was based on a set of 17 factors. Here are some of them. But all 17 may not be relevant for you. And some might matter more than others. So they developed a tool where you can rank the 5 factors most important to you and it will give you a personalised list of Brisbane suburbs that would be the best for you - based on those factors. There are also  Sydney and Melbourne  versions. On the results page, there's also a map that colour-codes each suburb by star rating, for each factor. For instance here's the map for public transport. Five-star suburbs are in blue. When you click on a suburb, you get the name and the star rating of that suburb - for whichever factor you select. I find this to be so enlightening. I choose not to own a car. Some...
Post a Comment
Read more