Photos: Mom, Dad, baby live happily in 380 square feet

[Liberal_in_LA]

A lot of families start out in small houses – just not this small. Kelly Breslin, Ryan Conder and their 9-month-old son, Thurston, live in a 380-square-foot 1950s house in Echo Park with living quarters built above the garage.

"Everyone who comes over says, ‘Wow, it's so cute,' but I know they are thinking, ‘Wow, it's so small,' " she says.

Adds Conder: "Even the guy who comes to fix the sink asked where the bedroom is."

There isn't one. Nor is there a designated nursery or a crib. Conder, 35, and Breslin, 32, practice co-sleeping. Thurston shares a queen IKEA bed that sits on a minimalist platform with storage drawers for his toys.

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-conder-smallfamilyhome-pictures,0,5553909.photogallery

[JVS]

1. It's going to be weird when the kid hits puberty

[pnwmom]

2. Fine. Where's the bathroom?

If it's an outhouse, that's a deal breaker.

:shrug:

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. looking at every photo, I can't locate a door to a bathroom

:shrug: article says it's a house above a garage...maybe the bathroom is in the garage?

[bluetrain]

3. They don't appear to big readers.

[Skittles]

4. is there a bathroom?

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. can't locate one.

[Skittles]

15. that would be a dealbreaker for me

and I can live in some very small places

[proteus_lives]

5. It's fine until the kid gets older.

[XemaSab]

10. It's fine until the kid gets old enough to ask why mommy and daddy make those strange noises

:P

[proteus_lives]

20. Nailed it in one.

;-)

[Kaleva]

23. An interesting phrase considering the topic.

[proteus_lives]

26. "Paging Dr. Freud" "Paging Dr. Freud"

"You're wanted in General Discussion."

;-)

[EndersDame]

27. Heh more like the kid will be frustrated that he cant make the noises

I lived in a motel room with my mom and 2 siblings after we got evicted when I was about 16 . My poor brother the only privacy we had was the bathroom :P

[Kaleva]

29. You know something is going on when the faucet is running for 15 minutes.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. My grandfather grew up

in a house about that size, except it was divided into smaller rooms. And there were 10 kids. People live in palaces today compared to the houses folks lived in 70 or 80 years ago.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. Watched a documentary about Dolly Parton. She has a replica of her childhood house

at Dollywood (her amusement park). A zillion kids (12 I think) grew up in a one room house. someone said they didn't know they were poor until they saw more of the world.

[REP]

11. I lived in a smaller place with cats, no baby for 10 years - big deal

My old place was laid out better - and I have lots of books.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. They have a dog

[REP]

18. I have five cats and over 1K books

And a lot of dropleaf or folding furniture!

[EndersDame]

25. Even a puppy that is less than ten pounds can cause alot of damage

A puppy has the destructive force of a tornado. They need space I am in a two bedroom Apt. and still feel I need alot more space for my pup

[REP]

30. Plus that dog smell in a small space - whew!

Three kittens can wreak untold havoc. I was so happy when they turned one! (They just turned eight the other day.)

[Electric Monk]

13. A+ to the architect who designed it. Very efficient use of space.

I'd have said "Very very efficient" but that'd be wasting space in my subject line ;p

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. They have windows (including glass door) on all 4 sides. that makes a difference

studio apartments usually have windows on one side.

[Hannah Bell]

14. i lived in a 6-tatami room with my husband for about 6 months. i'd recommend it only to newlyweds.

we ate & bathed in public facilities.

it had a pit toilet.

i didn't mind it except he was so messy.

[Kaleva]

17. child will learn how babies are made rather soon.

[KT2000]

19. Lots of light

which helps.
Reminds me of the Story of the Weeping Camel - the extended family lived in a yurt in Mongolia. The perimeter of the yurt was a series of beds behind drapes. What was strange was that the baby slept through the family noise and hardly ever cried.

[Oregone]

21. Lets see how happy they are when that baby turns into a toddler

No where to run and no where to hide

[EndersDame]

22. After We Got Evicted I Lived in A Motel Room With My Mom and 2 Siblings During High School

Not fun but doable. We lived in a pretty crappy indie motel , my mom worked out a deal with the owner so we could keep our kitties. It is not fun at 16 to have the bathroom be your only privacy.

[MazeRat7]

24. Whats the fuss? Other than its fixed and cant cruise the world.

That is about the same space as a 38' sailboat. Granted many families have boats in the 40'+ range they live on, raise children, and see much more of the world than anyone will ever see attached to the ground.

Just saying. 10mph is not fast unless your in a 2 br 2 bath house on 10'waves.

Peace,
MZr7

[Prometheus Bound]

28. Lostsa 350 sg ft flats where I live, some w/2 bedrooms and a washroom.

Most with 1 bedroom and a washroom.

[Chemisse]

31. That is a whole lot bigger than the sleazy room I lived in SF's tenderoin district

When my first child was an infant. And we also shared the room with thousands of cockroaches and plenty of mice.

Ahhhh, from humble origins. Now my daughter is a college professor in the city of her birth.