How to make the most of your tiny Toronto condo
Nov 16, 2022
You’re committed. You’ve decided the downtown life is the life for you. Maybe you got a fancy new job on Bay street or maybe you’re simply attracted to the hustle and bustle of life south of Bloor st. It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re doing it.
Of course, you’re well-prepared. You got an agent to help navigate the concrete jungle, your affairs are in order, and you’ve even lined up a healthy roster of viewings for the week. The world is your oyster and you’ve already dreamt up all the ways you’re going to decorate your condo… and then you see one.
Felt a little bigger in the photos hey? Don’t worry… you’ve seen the folks downtown — they’re not exactly minimalist. No need to burn all your material possessions. Here’s three ways to make the most of your… uhhhhh… modest place:
Think vertically
Leverage your walls
Decimate all the birds with a handful of furniture-shaped stones
Think vertically
What do all the condos in the city have in common? Well… a lot of things actually; but the thing I was going for is height. Some genius a bunch of years ago realized that square footage may be limited, but the sky is pretty damn tall… so why not build up?
And that’s exactly what you’re going to do… not least because you’re not about to let some developer schmuck get one over you. Ok, all sarcasm aside, what does this mean?
You’re going to want to prioritize furniture (especially storage such as bookshelves and dressers) that are taller than they are large. Think of it like building little condos in your condo… condo-ception if you will.
Hanging closet organizers and vertical dressers are a great way to optimize your space by allowing you to stack things. Here are examples of useful items for each room:
bedroom: vertical dresser, hanging closet organizers
kitchen: skinny pantry shelf (if you have the space), stackable tupperwear, spice rack
living room: tall bookshelf
bathroom: free-standing shelf above the toilet
Leverage walls
Walls… arguably the most under-utilized resource on the planet. Ok, for this next one, you’ll want your landlord’s blessing because it involves drilling some holes — definitely worth the back and forth though.
The nice thing about your new condo is that it has walls (we hope to god it does). And the nice thing about walls is that you can hang things on them… more things than you might think. At a high-level (get it? Walls are high… yea that was weak I’m sorry), mounting floating shelves and hooks is an effective way of creating storage out of thin air. Here are some useful items for each room:
bedroom: floating shelves for your plants, lights, and the like
kitchen: magnetic knife holder, sticky hooks for towels, mounted cage for spices, sponges, etc
living room: floating shelves
bathroom: floating pharmacy vanity (warning… this may involve ripping out your existing mirror which requires your landlord’s blessing and a little more than your experience putting together IKEA furniture)
Decimate all the birds with a handful of furniture-shaped stones
Cryptic header… I know. Here’s what I have in mind. It goes without saying that not all furniture is built equal. You’re built different, make sure your furniture is too. Now, I know you probably have a “look” you’re going for and I fully concede that some of the following suggestions may not be the most aesthetically pleasing but the tradeoff should be worth it.
Furniture with legs (especially your couch) allow you to store things underneath. No legs, no underneath storage sadly. That said, some clever 2–1 furniture solutions have cropped up to solve this exact problem so they may be worth a look. Without further adieu, here is what we recommend:
bedroom: bed with legs instead of a platform, bed with side storage, bed with pull-up storage
kitchen: butcher’s block or island with levels (if you can fit it)
living room: tv stand with drawers, coffee table with levels, ottoman with storage
bathroom: nothing that hasn’t been said yet
We’ve done our best to avoid the Mary Kondo style minimalist living (unless that actually sparks joy for you). That said, we’re sure there are some tips and tricks that we’ve missed. So, let us know: how do you make the most of your tiny Toronto condo?
You’re committed. You’ve decided the downtown life is the life for you. Maybe you got a fancy new job on Bay street or maybe you’re simply attracted to the hustle and bustle of life south of Bloor st. It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re doing it.
Of course, you’re well-prepared. You got an agent to help navigate the concrete jungle, your affairs are in order, and you’ve even lined up a healthy roster of viewings for the week. The world is your oyster and you’ve already dreamt up all the ways you’re going to decorate your condo… and then you see one.
Felt a little bigger in the photos hey? Don’t worry… you’ve seen the folks downtown — they’re not exactly minimalist. No need to burn all your material possessions. Here’s three ways to make the most of your… uhhhhh… modest place:
Think vertically
Leverage your walls
Decimate all the birds with a handful of furniture-shaped stones
Think vertically
What do all the condos in the city have in common? Well… a lot of things actually; but the thing I was going for is height. Some genius a bunch of years ago realized that square footage may be limited, but the sky is pretty damn tall… so why not build up?
And that’s exactly what you’re going to do… not least because you’re not about to let some developer schmuck get one over you. Ok, all sarcasm aside, what does this mean?
You’re going to want to prioritize furniture (especially storage such as bookshelves and dressers) that are taller than they are large. Think of it like building little condos in your condo… condo-ception if you will.
Hanging closet organizers and vertical dressers are a great way to optimize your space by allowing you to stack things. Here are examples of useful items for each room:
bedroom: vertical dresser, hanging closet organizers
kitchen: skinny pantry shelf (if you have the space), stackable tupperwear, spice rack
living room: tall bookshelf
bathroom: free-standing shelf above the toilet
Leverage walls
Walls… arguably the most under-utilized resource on the planet. Ok, for this next one, you’ll want your landlord’s blessing because it involves drilling some holes — definitely worth the back and forth though.
The nice thing about your new condo is that it has walls (we hope to god it does). And the nice thing about walls is that you can hang things on them… more things than you might think. At a high-level (get it? Walls are high… yea that was weak I’m sorry), mounting floating shelves and hooks is an effective way of creating storage out of thin air. Here are some useful items for each room:
bedroom: floating shelves for your plants, lights, and the like
kitchen: magnetic knife holder, sticky hooks for towels, mounted cage for spices, sponges, etc
living room: floating shelves
bathroom: floating pharmacy vanity (warning… this may involve ripping out your existing mirror which requires your landlord’s blessing and a little more than your experience putting together IKEA furniture)
Decimate all the birds with a handful of furniture-shaped stones
Cryptic header… I know. Here’s what I have in mind. It goes without saying that not all furniture is built equal. You’re built different, make sure your furniture is too. Now, I know you probably have a “look” you’re going for and I fully concede that some of the following suggestions may not be the most aesthetically pleasing but the tradeoff should be worth it.
Furniture with legs (especially your couch) allow you to store things underneath. No legs, no underneath storage sadly. That said, some clever 2–1 furniture solutions have cropped up to solve this exact problem so they may be worth a look. Without further adieu, here is what we recommend:
bedroom: bed with legs instead of a platform, bed with side storage, bed with pull-up storage
kitchen: butcher’s block or island with levels (if you can fit it)
living room: tv stand with drawers, coffee table with levels, ottoman with storage
bathroom: nothing that hasn’t been said yet
We’ve done our best to avoid the Mary Kondo style minimalist living (unless that actually sparks joy for you). That said, we’re sure there are some tips and tricks that we’ve missed. So, let us know: how do you make the most of your tiny Toronto condo?