I live in a small, 1940s pier-and-beam house in East Austin. It’s not a mansion. Honestly, it’s barely 800 square feet, and if someone jumps too hard in the kitchen, the glasses in the cabinets rattle like a minor earthquake is hitting Central Texas. Most people look at real estate as an investment or a status symbol, but living here has taught me that a house is basically just a physical manifestation of your daily habits.
If your habits are messy, a small house feels like a cage. If you’re intentional, it feels like a cockpit.
There is this massive misconception in the current housing market that "more" equals "better." We see it in the sprawling suburbs of Pflugerville or Round Rock, where 3,000-square-foot homes are the standard. But when you’re actually inside the house I live in, you realize that square footage is often just empty space you have to heat, cool, and vacuum. I’ve spent the last three years figuring out how to optimize a space that most modern developers would consider "unbuildable" by today’s zoning standards.
The Reality of the House I Live In
Living in an older, smaller home isn't all aesthetic charm and "cottagecore" vibes. There are real trade-offs. For instance, the insulation in houses built during the Truman administration is essentially nonexistent. When a cold front blows through, you feel it in your shins.
But there’s a psychological benefit to knowing exactly where everything is.
In a giant house, things get lost. You buy a second hammer because you can’t find the first one in the garage. In the house I live in, if I lose my keys, they are in one of three places. There is a forced simplicity that keeps your brain from cluttering up along with your closets.
Why Location Trumps Layout Every Single Time
I chose this specific spot because I can walk to a coffee shop. That sounds like a cliché, but in a car-dependent city like Austin, being able to move your body without sitting in a metal box on I-35 is a luxury that no amount of marble countertops can replace.
The "walkability score" of a neighborhood isn't just a number on Zillow; it’s a metric of how much you’ll actually enjoy your Tuesday afternoons. I’ve noticed that when people visit, they talk about the "vibe" of the street. It’s narrow. The trees are huge. The neighbors actually know each other's names because we all have tiny front porches instead of massive, fenced-in backyards. We are forced to be social. It’s kiiinda great.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Small Space Living
The biggest lie is that you need "specialized" furniture. You don't. You just need less stuff.
I’ve seen people try to cram those "transforming" IKEA tables into small rooms, and it just makes the place look like a puzzle box. The secret to making the house I live in feel spacious is actually height. We have ten-foot ceilings. By hanging art higher and using tall bookshelves, the floor stays clear. It’s a visual trick, but it works.
- Flooring matters: We have original hardwood. It creaks. It’s scratched. But it feels "real" compared to the grey LVP (luxury vinyl plank) you see in every new "luxury" apartment.
- Light is everything: Small houses with tiny windows feel like bunkers. We have oversized windows that let the Texas sun pour in, which helps with the seasonal blues, even if it makes the AC bill a bit higher in July.
- Storage is a lie: If you need a storage unit, you have too much stuff. Period.
Dealing With the "Old House" Tax
Maintenance is the part nobody puts on Instagram. When you live in a house like mine, you become a hobbyist plumber and a semi-pro pest control expert.
Old houses settle. Doors that closed perfectly in the summer might stick in the winter. The electrical panel looks like something out of a 1950s submarine. You have to respect the bones of the building. You can't just go knocking down walls because you saw an "open concept" video on TikTok. In these old East Austin builds, those walls are often the only thing keeping the roof from sagging.
According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median age of a home bought in 2023 was about 40 years. Mine is double that. The materials—actual long-leaf pine—are denser and more termite-resistant than the "fast-growth" lumber used in new builds today. There is a literal weight to the history here.
The Sustainability Argument
We talk a lot about "green" building, but the greenest house is the one that’s already built.
The carbon footprint of the house I live in was paid off decades ago. By staying here instead of moving to a new construction, I’m participating in a cycle of urban density that actually makes sense for the planet. We use a fraction of the energy that a McMansion uses, mostly because we don't have a formal dining room that no one ever sits in.
How to Audit Your Own Living Situation
If you’re feeling cramped or unhappy where you are, it’s rarely a lack of space. It’s usually a lack of flow. I tell people to track which rooms they actually stand in for more than 15 minutes a day. Most people find they live in about 40% of their home’s footprint.
- Identify the "Dead Zones": If you have a guest room that hosts someone twice a year, that’s wasted life energy. Turn it into a gym, a studio, or a library.
- Invest in "Touch Points": You touch your doorknobs, faucets, and light switches every day. Swapping cheap plastic for heavy brass makes the house I live in feel expensive, even if the foundation is slightly crooked.
- Color Psychology: We painted the main room a warm white (Alabaster, if you’re curious). It reflects light without feeling like a hospital. Dark colors in small houses are a bold move, but they can make a bedroom feel like a cozy cave.
Honestly, the house I live in has changed how I view "success." Success used to be a five-bedroom house with a three-car garage. Now? It’s a house that I can clean in forty-five minutes and a mortgage that doesn't keep me up at night.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Move
If you are looking to downsize or simply optimize your current space, start with a "visual noise" audit. Walk into a room and close your eyes. Open them. Whatever your eyes land on first that makes you feel slightly stressed—clutter, a broken lamp, a pile of mail—remove it immediately.
Next, look at your outdoor space. In a small home, the yard is just another room without a ceiling. We added a string of lights and two comfortable chairs to the porch, and suddenly our "living room" grew by 200 square feet.
Stop waiting for the "perfect" house to start living well. The house I live in isn't perfect by a long shot. The windows rattle when the wind blows and the water heater is temperamental. But it’s functional, it’s paid for, and it has character that you just can't buy off a showroom floor. Focus on the "utility per square inch" and you'll find that you probably need a lot less than the real estate ads want you to believe.