Andrea Wilson’s Blog

The townhouse is finally renovated and up for sale. I couldn’t handle the stress anymore so in late October I moved into a little rental suite. It’s a ground floor suite in a private home (like an in-law suite). It’s new and bright and I love it! Best of all I have both cats with me and in the Spring they can go outside (too cold right now to leave the door open for them to sit in the doorway - they’re too nervous to just march outside). My husband and I have officially separated. He’s still living in the townhouse while it’s on the market.

I have pared down my belongings until they fit in my suite with only a few boxes in the storage area in my landlady’s garage. This was so liberating!

I bought a new desk with a hutch and a pull-out section on the side. The desk has a ton of storage built into it. I added a metal filing cabinet from IKEA and I kept my little plastic drawer set from Staples. I only brought one bookcase and that has my cookbooks and a few other books on it. All my computer, Web design and marketing books are housed in the desk’s storage areas. I got rid of any books I hadn’t used in a long time and kept only the most current manuals for software like Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Haven’t missed a single thing since I pared down and I have really enjoyed buying the things I needed. I chose a love seat with a small footprint and had it upholstered in fabric I chose myself. It has a sofa bed in it for sleepovers with my grandson (he’s coming tonight!). I bought a leather ottoman with storage inside and a coffee table that contains two large baskets. In the kitchen I bought a baker’s rack (IKEA) and stand-alone pantry cupboard for extra storage of canned goods, kitty litter, broom, etc.

In the bedroom I bought a bedside table at IKEA that has two deep drawers. I put a storage container from IKEA under the bed. The closet space is pretty tight, so I used the front of the bedroom door to hang coats and the back of the bedroom door to store various odds and ends.

In the bathroom, towels and wash cloths are rolled up and stored in a wicker basket. Hooks on the back of the door hold my housecoats. I found a neat under-the-sink shelf that adapts to the awkward space under a bathroom sink.

My motto has become “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” In a small space it’s the only way to make it work. And I have found it a lot of fun to find imaginative storage ideas and to figure out the best place to put things.

My little suite is quick and easy to clean: travertine tiles in the kitchen, hall and bathroom and light-coloured laminate in the living room and bedroom. The floors are great. They don’t show every drip, crumb or cat hair like the white linoleum and dark laminate we put in the townhouse!

Well, I could go on and on about the neat things I’ve done to make this space comfortable, but I have to run to the store and get some things for my grandson’s visit!