The poor be creative.
As a student, I live in a room 11m² big. That indeed is quite small. The kitchen and sanitary rooms are shared with 12 other housemates, and there are two floors under and above me, with also 13 students each.
A long time ago, I thought a room had to meet a few demands to deserve the name 'room': bed, desk, clothing closets, couch and perhaps a tv. Eventhough my room was only 11m², I had a couch. Because it had to be that way. Because a room is not livable if there is no couch. The couch was for free, so it's not like I spent a lot of money to meet my imaginary demands, but I only used it for storing clothes.
Using a couch for storing your worn-but-not-yet-dirty-clothes is not very efficient, I found out (everything got lost and the pile somehow never got any smaller).
After doing that for a year, I felt I was ready to cut the crap, so I put the couch on the streets to be removed. BUT: I still felt that a room needs some place to sit and relax to be livable. For some reason, I've always liked to sit on the floor. Maybe it's because I feel 'earthed' when sitting on the ground, or walking barefooted (what I also do). So, why not combine these things? A place to sit, and sitting on the floor (comfortably).
I decided to sew these awesome pillows. They are now on the floor, don't take any space, can be put aside easily, are totally free and have a story!
As a student, I live in a room 11m² big. That indeed is quite small. The kitchen and sanitary rooms are shared with 12 other housemates, and there are two floors under and above me, with also 13 students each.
A long time ago, I thought a room had to meet a few demands to deserve the name 'room': bed, desk, clothing closets, couch and perhaps a tv. Eventhough my room was only 11m², I had a couch. Because it had to be that way. Because a room is not livable if there is no couch. The couch was for free, so it's not like I spent a lot of money to meet my imaginary demands, but I only used it for storing clothes.
Using a couch for storing your worn-but-not-yet-dirty-clothes is not very efficient, I found out (everything got lost and the pile somehow never got any smaller).
After doing that for a year, I felt I was ready to cut the crap, so I put the couch on the streets to be removed. BUT: I still felt that a room needs some place to sit and relax to be livable. For some reason, I've always liked to sit on the floor. Maybe it's because I feel 'earthed' when sitting on the ground, or walking barefooted (what I also do). So, why not combine these things? A place to sit, and sitting on the floor (comfortably).
I decided to sew these awesome pillows. They are now on the floor, don't take any space, can be put aside easily, are totally free and have a story!
I got the pillow-stuff material for free at a 'give-away-shop'. That is indeed what it sounds like: everything in that shop is for free, under the conditions that you take no more than 5 items at a time.
The flags have a special story. Let me take you back a few years ago, in my studentest studentlife, when I were an active member of an international organisation: IFMSA > International Federation of Medical Students' Association (www.ifmsa.org). We represent every single medical student in the world (about 1,2 million), and we are the official med. student voice at the United Nations and the World Health Organization (the big guys).
I attended several international meetings, to discuss and improve my workfield: reproductive health (sexuality education, HIV/ AIDS prevention, maternal health, women's rights, anti-homophobia etc). About a thousand med. students attend those meetings, and it is amazing how passionate everybody is about their 'subject'. We work from 8:30 am to 03:00 to achieve our goals, and still it gives so much energy! We party till 06:00, and then start at 8:30 again. Some people do sleep. It is a tradition to bring your flags to the meeting, to represent your country, and it's an even bigger tradition to steal eachothers flags.
So, that's where the flags come from! International meetings with a passionate goal. A true traveller would only use flags from the countries he/she has visited, but in this manner, the flags have memories on their own.
A totally cheap, creative solution for sitting comfortably in a way too small room! Can you list the countries of the flags on the pic? ;-)
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