RICHARD HORDEN, architect, micro compact home
For a nine-foot cube, the micro compact home (m-ch)—an integrated living space created by a design team at the University of Munich—boasts a laundry list of features. It comes equipped with almost everything its inhabitants need, including two double beds and dining space for five people. (Think you’d be roughing it in one of these things? Think again: A sound system and flat-screen TV come standard too.) Richard Horden, professor of architecture and product design at the university, took his cues from the all-inclusive designs of cars and the planes of his favorite airline, Swiss International. “I fly economy class, but the quality is so high that you don’t mind,” Horden says. “Attention to detail makes small space pleasurable—when you’re so close to the architecture, you notice. You have to be precise with things like the position of light switches.”

The placement of the bed is also key, especially when there is no proper bedroom—we’re talking to you, studio dwellers. Horden designed the m-ch with the bed is above the worktable (so it’s not visible from the work area and vice versa). In an apartment, the same effect can be achieved by getting your bed out of the way when it’s not in use. Then it doesn’t feel like bedtime all the time. “When you’re in bed and you look across and see your cluttered desk, maybe with dinner from the night before still sitting on it, you’re trying to sleep and you’re looking at your junk,” Horden says. “And the psychology of not seeing the bed while you’re trying to work is very important.”

DR. ROBERT HOWARD, manager of Habitability Design Center, NASA
When they want to design a new bathroom, the guys at NASA can’t just pick up supplies from the Home Depot; they have to consider anthropometry (the study of the dimensions of the human body—don’t say we never taught you anything). They decide just how small they can go and still keep a person contained inside. On the lunar lander, which is built smaller for shorter missions, there’s literally not enough free space to bring along water for showers. The facilities are only big enough for a toilet. “You’ll fit,” Howard says. “You won’t be comfortable, but you’ll physically be able to get in there.” And yes, there’s a “privacy screen.”

Hopefully, even the tiniest apartment’s facilities aren’t quite so dire, but it might not hurt to think about NASA—and thank your lucky stars—the next time you’re doing your business. And take a tip from them, too: Astronauts on the space shuttle have to choose their toiletries carefully. “It’s kind of like camping,” Howard says. Toothbrushes and razors can make the flight, but there’s no room for exfoliating body scrubs in space.