600 Square Feet: That’s Small, Folks
Nancy Dickinson has a talent for turning problems into discoveries.
Two decades ago, when her 2-year-old son took bright crayons and decorated his newly painted bedroom walls, Dickinson created a mural to disguise his handiwork. In the process, she found a talent for creating art for children.
Two years ago, when her son and daughter were grown and moved away from her large house in Lake Arrowhead, Dickinson sold the house, with all the furniture, donated her excess clothes to Orangewood Boutique in Corona del Mar and moved into a 600-square-foot studio apartment above a garage on Balboa Island.
In the process, she redefined her talent for organization.
“There I was all alone living on a mountaintop, and I wondered, ‘Why?’ ” remembers Dickinson. “By getting rid of everything and changing my life, I felt very clean and uncluttered. There are so many things we think we need that we don’t.”
Most of Dickinson’s friends thought she was making a big mistake. “People kept saying: Don’t, don’t. In fact, I lost a couple of friendships over this. They thought I was crazy.”
Two facts made the transition easier. One is that Dickinson is neat and organized by nature. In fact, her job with Newport Beach law firm Snell & Wilmer is to keep four lawyers and two secretaries organized.
“I’ve usually had an art studio in my home where clients would come to look at my papier-ma^che art for children. That forced me to be able to find things quickly.”
The other fact is that Dickinson has artistic ability. Through the clever use of space, light and color, she has made the studio--one room and a bathroom--appear larger. Everything is positioned to bring the eyes up and out, so the room feels much bigger than it is.
The apartment has a high-vaulted ceiling that adds dimension, and there are ledges high up on the wall where Dickinson has placed antique books, dried flowers and pothos plants that trail down the walls like ivy.
Six windows let in sunlight and cool sea breezes. Each has a window box filled with multicolored flowers, such as pansies and ranunculus. The walls of the apartment are cream colored. Eight-foot-high mirrored doors hide the closet, and she added three smaller mirrors at strategic sports: on the wall above her bed, the built-in buffet in the kitchen area and the antique chest/vacuum-cleaner holder.
Furnishings are at a minimum: a bed-sofa, high-backed chair and ottoman, two bar stools and a pillow on the floor for extra seating. Rattan furniture and straw baskets are in keeping with the light, spacious feeling. A built-in desk and chair finishes the room and acts as her total work area.
“My family room is a floor pillow and plant,” says Dickinson, laughing. “In my closet is my entertainment center with a television, stereo and books.”
Her closet is a study in neatness, with sweaters carefully stacked on three shelves and clothes hung neatly on hangers. If she wants to get something from a top shelf, she has one of her two bar stools nearby to stand on.
“Entertaining can be a problem since I don’t have a table. I do have small trays for people to eat off of, but usually I have people over during the summer when we can sit outside. Otherwise we have hors d’oeuvres here and then go to a restaurant.”
Dickinson does have a wine rack, albeit a small, short one, and there’s a built-in buffet for dish storage.
“I really like to feel as if I’m in a cheerful garden treehouse. I’m really comfortable living here, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world,” she says. “Before I come in the door I get rid of the junk mail. Magazines are read and then given away immediately.
“I buy only what I absolutely need, and I shop every day for what I eat. I’m so used to living like this that, when I see people in the market with their baskets full, I wonder what they’re going to do with all the food.
“My friends have to be really careful what they give me for holidays since I don’t have a place to put anything new,” she says.
Dickinson finds that eliminating clutter and keeping everything out of sight makes the space seem larger. When not on display at the Balboa Porch on Balboa Island, her large papier-ma^che art of happy children, stars and amusing flowers are stored under the bed; smaller works-in-progress and paints are in a drawer.
Another drawer holds her art materials. She has her paintbrushes in vases out on the counter.
“Basically I do all my art at the desk by the window,” she says, “although I do borrow a garage when I make my larger pieces.”
