The Shoebox

I live in a studio. It is 300 square feet. It is small. It is a shoebox. But it is my shoebox. And I love it.

It was very difficult to find a place to live from 1700 miles away. I wanted to find a place before I got here. I wanted to live by myself.  I wanted to live in Uptown. I wanted a parking spot. And I wanted to have money left over for food and a ski pass.

Thus how I ended up with The Shoebox.

My mom and I spent hours planning out how to make it work. We even taped out the square footage on the driveway, complete with a tape bed, tape dresser, tape couch, etc.

So here it is.

My bedroom...

Which happens to be right next to my living room...

(the garage is over against the wall... )

which leads into the kitchen...

The bathroom is down the hall (about 4 steps).

And that's the end of the tour. 

Want to see the best part? 

I have a window. It is so amazing. I haven't had a window in my bedroom in 4 years. It rained last night and I stayed awake listening to it just because I could. 

Here is a panorama.

My parents and I spent so many hours fixing up my furniture. Here are some of the before and after shots.

                         

Before

After

                   

Before

After (pillows recovered)

Before

After: We saw this idea on YouTube, as a way to separate out the kitchen and make it seem like a "room." For me it's the lifesaver of the whole place - I have very little cabinet space so this is where I put all my dishes and the cabinets are for food/kitchen supplies.

Before (yes that is bubble gum pink...Craigslist)                                  After

The barn door - I found it at an antique shop in TN.
We cleaned it and painted a finish on it.

And I have awesome reminders of DC love sprinkled everywhere...

So that is The Shoebox. 

It is all that I need for now. Everything fits. It's perfect for one person, and it's in the perfect area. My next post will be on the neighborhood - cute little Uptown, right next to busy bigger Downtown. I have room for visitors - 3 extra sleeping spots to be exact - so come visit. :)