Making Room at the National Building Museum

One of the reasons we walked to the National Building Museum was to see the exhibit “Making Room - Housing for a Changing America.” The demographics of the country are different than when a typical single home family was at its’ height. So the adaptability of a traditional home is the latest trend. We moved from a two story 2500 square foot home to a 500 square foot condo, eventually getting another 450 square foot apartment across the hallway. You could say we have tried to encompass some of the ideas that make for a simpler, more efficient, and multifunctional lifestyle. We live on one floor, have a Murphy bed in our studio apartment, and we use every inch of house. We alderman have two distinct living big spaces that could serve a variety of needs - especially when we have visitors. They get their own apartment! But I wish I had gone with my gut when we remodeled our bathroom last year. I really wanted a lipless shower, but we couldn’t figure it out - until we saw the display yesterday. The folding shower doors with squeegee bottom was exactly what I wanted. For anyone building a home today these ideas are really interesting. It is actually quite easy to live in 1000 square feet. I’m all about efficiency and versatility. If I had to start from scratch I would definitely incorporate many of these great ideas. 

National Building Museum

It’s been a while since our last visit to the National Building Museum. We have been there a couple of times. Once with out of town guests and another to watch our grandson participate in a summer school event when he was very young. So with the beautiful weather we decided to walk over this morning and find a place for breakfast on the way back. We had to pass by the courthouse as we made our way to Fourth and F Street NW. The Judiciary Square Metro stop is just across the street, so it’s very easy to access this place in all seasons. I do remember the huge Corinthian columns that are supposedly some of the tallest in the world. The building was made in the late 1800’s as the precursor to the Veterans Affairs. The steps to the next level are long and less steep than regular stairs to allow the disabled to use them with less effort. The place was quite busy with pre school and school age kids. There are a lot of fun things for the kids along with all the changing exhibits. You do need to pay for admission, and we forgot to ask for the senior discount - but he should have asked us! On the way home we stopped at Union Station for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. All in all it was a nice change of pace from our usual walk in the Mall. Now we have to plan other little daily excursions and check out more of the surrounding neighborhoods.