This Family Gave Up Furniture, Kinda, Sorta,

by Kevin Burton

   How essential is having furniture, really? Could you go without it?

   David Gladish writes in dwell.com that he and his wife Kristy got rid of most of their furniture in 2023 and almost never miss any of it.

   I lived for a short time in Shelton, Washington while working at the local newspaper.  I had an apartment in a building that had been converted from an elementary school into an apartment complex.

   I joked that surely my apartment was the former principal’s office, since I spent so much time there.

   Anyway, I never got around to furnishing that apartment very well. No couch, no dining room tables or chairs.  I did have some sort of table. I did a mattress and box springs on the floor, but never got the rest of the bed. I got a small TV which I kept on a folding chair.

   But I always knew I wasn’t staying there very long. This thing that the Gladishes, who also live in Washington, have done is something else entirely, although as you continue to read his story, you’ll see the family is not quite as unfurnished as he lets on initially.

   Here’ is Gladish’s story:

     “Two years ago, my wife and I decided to ditch the chairs, tables, and beds in the 382-square-foot home where we’re raising our children—and we swear by it.”

   “When our two young sons skitter around the house like little Tasmanian devils, my wife and I don’t fret about them running into couches or knocking over tables, because we got rid of all that stuff starting two years ago.”

   “Kristy and I, along with our four-year-old, Ari, and three-year-old, Luca, live in a 382-square-foot DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit) in Shoreline, Washington, that’s basically unfurnished, save for a pair of nightstands, stools, dressers, and some shelving units in the kitchen and kids’ bedroom.”

   “We’ve lived without indoor furniture since 2023, when, inspired by mobility and health advice from popular longevity podcasters and books such as Built to Move which teaches readers how to be less sedentary, Kristy and I became obsessed with making lifestyle changes to build healthier habits.”

   “One particular blog post by bio-mechanist, movement teacher, and author Katy Bowman titled “Why I Went Furniture Free changed our home entirely. In it, Bowman describes how getting rid of furniture in her family’s house forced them to move their bodies constantly, rather than molding into a couch or being glued to a chair for hours at a time.”

   “The idea for Bowman and others who have in recent years embraced a furniture-free lifestyle is that eating, playing, and working on the floor means getting up and down many times a day, sitting in yoga-like positions, and using more of our muscles. The focus is on kinesthetics, not aesthetics. We were into it.”

   “We started by getting rid of our dining room table and chairs, partly because our then toddlers wouldn’t stop climbing on them. Then, we got rid of a small coffee table that I made, and the couch. (Kristy does miss that from time to time, as it was a good place to snuggle with the kiddos.)”

    “Removing those items made our living/dining area go from feeling cramped to suddenly having much more space for Lego building, wrestling matches, and yoga sessions. The boys immediately took to the extra room. We decided to keep a padded play mat in the living area; we often congregate there to eat breakfast or read books together on the floor.”

   “About a year into the furniture-purging process, we made the more extreme decision to get rid of our beds. The idea, for the boys’ sake, was to be able to easily put away their blankets and pillows and convert their shared room into another play area during the day. (Don’t worry, they still have plenty of cozy creature comforts, stuffed animals, and feathery blankets.)”

   “Kristy and I sleep in a lofted space that we really only use at night, so forgoing beds there was more a matter of increasing our mobility than saving space. We still sleep on a thin carpet and use pillows. (What a luxury, I know!) Once we made the switch, it only took a week or so to adjust and feel comfortable. Kristy and I swear that our lower backs and necks have benefited immensely from ditching our mattress.”

   “While a lot of people think our lifestyle is strange—even our own extended families—we’re not entirely alone in our decision to ditch furniture. Natural lifestyle coach and best-selling author Tony Riddle talks online about living mostly furniture-free with his family of four. Riddle works at a low table while squatting or sitting on the floor, and his family also eschewed chairs and beds.”

   “ Many cultures around the world utilize the floor for daily activities such as eating, hanging out, and sleeping. in Japan, for example, the practice of sleeping on tatami mats dates back centuries. I’ve shared a meal with my wife at a luxurious restaurant in Istanbul sitting on floor cushions. This past fall, our family felt right at home in Marrakesh taking a traditional Moroccan meal from the floor.”

    “Though we are committed to a minimalist lifestyle, we’re also human, and as such, enjoy some specific comforts. This leads to confession number one: We eat dinner at an outdoor table in regular chairs (gasp!) every night, even in the rainy Pacific Northwest weather. We have a portable heat lamp and string lights to make things cozy.”

   “Confession two: We own the house at the front of our property and rent it to Kristy’s parents who mostly live in Alaska, so I use it to work remotely. There, I sit in a chair— sometimes even on the couch—to write emails and do busy work. We also use the main house’s garage for laundry and to store bikes and outdoor equipment, which frees up space in our DADU.”

   Ah-ha! Now we know, the rest of the story. The comforts of furniture are never far away!

   But could you even go that far?