Living Small for the Future: Why It’s Here to Stay
Sept. 17, 2016
Christine Brun is a familiar name to San Diego Union-Tribune readers. Her syndicated column, “Small Spaces,” appears weekly in newspapers around the U.S. and “Less Is More” appears monthly in the Lifestyle/Home and Garden section of the Union-Tribune. She is the owner of Christine Brun and Associates and has designed large custom homes and full remodels throughout San Diego County and in Palm Springs, Lake Arrowhead, Temecula, Massachusetts, and Washington State, for over thirty years.
Fifteen years ago Christine expanded her practice to include designing for a different clientele. The tight economy forced many owners to change priorities and lifestyle. People were looking for alternatives: to downsize their homes; to remodel instead of moving up; to expand living quarters to accommodate parents, grandparents, or grown children who could not afford to live independently; or, to find space for a home office. Other clients clamored for “aging in place” solutions or to make the most of the small space they had. In addition to satisfying her clients with design solutions, Christine has offered the public ideas for saving space with her articles in magazines and with two books on the subject. In 2000, she wrote Big Ideas for Small Spaces, and in 2009, Small Space Living.
Christine has won many awards, including the Ethyl M. Siegleman Award for Meritorious Service to the American Society of Interior Designers in 2003 and the Style Award 2004 from the Fashion Group International. Her interior design work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, USA Today, Décor & Style, Kitchen and Bath, San Diego magazine, and others. She graduated from San Diego State University and has taught classes in interior design at San Diego Mesa College and the Design Institute of San Diego.
Christine and her husband, Charles G. Abdelnour, a former City Clerk of San Diego, live in Bay Ho and share their home with two big labs. They have a married son and two grandsons.
Be sure to visit Christine’s website to view her work and visit Creators.com for the best of her columns.