What's in Our Living Room

Okay, yeah. We don’t really have a 'living room' but what to you call a space that is the dining room, master bedroom, office, and theater room? After the response I got from the What's In Our Kitchen post, I figured maybe you'd like to know everything we have, one 'room' at a time! 

This space is used the most in our tiny home on wheels. During the day we (usually) put our dinette table up. This is typically where I get a lot of my work done, where we play cards, where we eat, where the kids work on projects and hang out. Jonathan’s office is in this space as well.

So, what's in this living room? That’s a great question and I’m about to show you. Take note though, things in tiny spaces change quickly. I am still regularly trying to figure out the best places to store things,  but for now…here’s whats in our 'living room' area. 

"How are your curtains hung?"

We knew we wanted curtains instead of blinds for a few reasons, but mostly because it just feels like home. Softens up the place and adds a bit of character in this metal tin can. 

It was really hard to find curtains that we both agreed on. I tend to like a bit of a pattern and I LOVE color, but Jonathan likes to keep things simple. So, we settled on these curtains from West Elm. 

I had a lovely lady from my home church cut them and sew them to the correct length and we couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. Hello velcro, for easy removal if we need to wash them! They're light and airy but gives a little bit of sass with that geometric pattern.

We hung them on aluminum bars that my dad bent in a U-shape and screwed into the ribs. 

We added a second lower bar to the windows up front to keep the curtains from hanging awkwardly due to the curved walls. 

We love how they turned out! I wouldn't mind having a second set with a bit of color just to change things up in here! Maybe summer curtains and winter curtains? Haha! But seriously...can we do that babe?

Window Shelf, Knicknacks, & Book Storage

See the little shelf in the front window?

I wanted to have a place to display cute knicknacks, but then I realized...I don't like knicknacks. Luckily, the kids made these pottery bowls at a friend's studio in Alabama and she was so sweet to glaze them in their choice of colors and she even shipped them to us! I mean, they're perfect! The kids ask often if they can do pottery again. I'm going to have to line that up soon because a few of them looked like naturals. Jax really surprised me with how well he did on his! He's a maker, for sure.

The shelf also gives us a bit of storage underneath so we keep the kids' school books here.

Any time you have the opportunity to add functional storage, I highly recommend it!

Under Dinette Storage

Now for under the dinette storage. Under the back seat is what looks like a complicated bomb.

I think this is super dangerous to sleep on, but Jonathan has assured me that it's ok. Anyway, this is the hub of all things power. Our batteries, converter, inverter and all things power related.

Next up on the roadside of the trailer is a compartment filled with random bits and pieces and this possibly the most uninteresting picture you'll ever see.

We don’t get in this area often. It's where we have things like extra power cords, ink for the printer, audio gear, and miscellaneous fasteners and fuses. See, I told ya! Super boring!

On down to the drawer on the roadside is where Jonathan keeps all of his business stuff. 

Our printer lives here as well as our Moment Lenses and photography gear.

Now, onto the curbside of the dinette. In this storage compartment is where we keep extra blankets.

Is anyone else overflowing in blankets? I’d rather have more blankets and use our propane furnace less, but the storage of extra blankets sometimes stresses me out. 

Our first year on the road we wintered in the Florida Keys and didn’t need heavy blankets. This fall we were in Canada and froze our butts off and had to purchase some warm blankets for the kids. I guess having extra blankets is just something we need to keep around. 

Plus, if you travel with kids you know that there are times they get sick in bed and having an extra set of blankets in the middle of the night has come in handy. So, I’ll suck it up and take up a whole storage compartment for extra barf blankets.

As for the drawer on the curb side, it houses our shoes!

We started out with storage boxes for everyone’s shoes (except Jonathan’s) but we’re quickly outgrowing them as the kids shoe’s are getting so much bigger! We may just do without the boxes soon since they tend to just get tossed in all willy nilly anyway.

Standing Office Space

So, let’s talk about Jonathan’s office since it's also technically in this space.

Jonathan has an Apple Cinema Display mounted with a NewerTech NuMount Pivot Wall Mount and his desk is something we created. He uses a camera tripod with a mount attached to a piece of walnut which he just raises to the position he needs for his standing desk. While this set up gives him several options, he is usually just standing to work each day. Something he’s done for years, even when we lived in a house.

What's cool is at the end of the day the monitor pushes back up agains the wall and the tripod and table fold down and sit in the corner out of the way. Nice!

You already saw where he keeps his office supplies in the drawer, but we didn’t talk about the tiny storage area on the wall. 

Maybe because it's just not that exciting. It's only big enough for his computer bag. But hey, a place for everything. 

Below this area is the junction of our solar wires and where other wires run from the back of the trailer along the wall and to the nose of the Airstream where 'all things power' live. 

Converting the Dinette into the Master Bedroom

Now, at night is when the magic happens… We put the table down and rearrange the cushions and it gives us a (nearly) king size bed. 

Throw some sheets and blankets on top and we sleep like babies! We get asked all the time if it’s comfortable and honestly, it really is! We picked out the foam from FoamCraft in Indiana and choose a density that we thought would work for a bed and I’m so happy with our choice. They cut all the pieces for us and I took them to a sweet Amish lady’s home where she sewed us the most perfect covers. 

About 6 months into our travels I thought, “we should wash these covers!” And they all shrunk….Like, a lot! We had to literally stuff the foam back into them and we lost the tight fitting bed we once had, but it still works just fine. We may redo the cushions in Indiana this summer, but it’s not a priority. Just a little PSA: Your cushion covers may shrink if you wash them!

Our bed is big enough for all of us to lounge and watch movies which is quickly becoming one of our favorite weekend activities. 

We call it 'morning movie' and it’s something that our kids (and us) look forward to! We put reflectix in all the windows and make it as dark as possible and sometimes we even make some popcorn! 

I hope they always love hanging out with us like they do now. Sure, sometimes I wish we had our own spaces, but this bond that we’ve created between all of us is something that I will treasure forever. 

So there you have it! That’s what’s in our livingtheatermasterbeddinette room! 

As always, any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!

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About the Author

Ashley Longnecker is the fiercely independent tattooed and dreaded half of Tiny Shiny Home. She's a woodworker, photographer and maker of delicious baked goods. She loathes schedules and makes every day an adventure.

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