Beverly Feldman, owner of Space Design, says the store tries to help customers maximize their living space. Smaller spaces must do double duty, so the store offers pieces such as a Murphy bed that converts to a table, and a couch with hidden storage. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

Stania Rensberger grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in a small apartment with no closets. “I had my own space and I knew how much I had. I never spent any time looking for anything – I knew right where it was,” says Rensberger. “You become very selective. You go more for quality than quantity.”

Rensberger applies this kind of practical insight to her work as a professional organizer and proprietor of Stania’s Organizing Systems. She’s been asked on many occasions to share her expertise with a growing population of Downtown residents, many of whom are downsizing from expansive tract housing to compact condominiums.

She recently spoke at a seminar on “rightsizing” on behalf of the Downtown Residential Marketing Alliance. The event attracted about 80 local residents, packed into the Downtown Information Center in the NBC building.

The most common question: what kind of furniture should I have in my Downtown condo? Rensberger encourages clients to scale the furniture to the size of their unit, whether that means having custom pieces built or purchasing readymade multifunctional pieces like those offered at retailer Space San Diego on Pacific Highway.

Space San Diego owner Beverly Feldman says the store’s objective is to help customers maximize their living space, based on several basic tenets: go vertical, hidden, flexible, mobile and built-in. Smaller quarters mean some spaces must do double duty, Feldman says, so the store offers pieces such as a Murphy bed that converts to a table and a couch with hidden storage.

The most common dual-function request is a home office that can also serve as a guest room, says Feldman.

Marsha Sewell of Marsha Sewell and Associates says that as a designer she steers her Downtown clients toward built-ins. A dining room, for instance, can double as a library. “Every inch counts,” says Sewell.

The interior design of Downtown condos tends to be more urban and less ornate. “No iron gates, no crystal chandeliers,” Sewell says. “Once you come below the La Jolla/Del Mar line, you leave your cushy sectional behind.”

Rensberger says her clients are often at a loss when trying to determine how to stuff a houseful of furniture into their new Downtown abode. “They never know where to start,” she says.

Rensberger encourages them to do some simple math. She has them compare the square footage of their old home and their new home – if they have 40 percent less square feet, they need to rid themselves of 40 percent of their belongings.

“After that shock, it’s easier to narrow down what you take and what you leave behind,” says Rensberger.

She also advises clients to consider their new Downtown lifestyle. “If they live in a suburb, they probably barbecue in their backyard,” she explains. “In the city, they’ll probably meet friends out at a restaurant. I tell them not to keep things that won’t support their new lifestyle. Don’t drag your barbecue down there.”

The same goes for gardening tools, and all that junk filling up the suburban two-car garage, she says.

De-cluttering often means recognizing why people feel the need to hold on to certain belongings, often out of guilt because something was a gift, or because of the item’s original expense. “Sometimes I feel like a psychologist,” Rensberger says.

Chris Wahl, vice president and partner for marketing and research firm Southwest Strategies, says square footage has factored into the demographics of those who are moving Downtown. In a recent qualitative survey conducted by Southwest Strategies on behalf of 17 Downtown builders, the firm found that one in four condo buyers are so-called empty-nesters, while three-fourths tend to be young professionals.

Less than 10 percent of those buying Downtown have children, and those that do tend to have infants, the survey reveals. Roughly 40 percent of the Downtown condo buyers have pets.

“Once the kids have moved out, a 3,000-square-foot house doesn’t make sense,” says Wahl. “They don’t need the space, they don’t want to hassle with traffic. With a 2,000-square-foot condo Downtown, they can walk to work, walk to dinner. It’s an overall concept of simplifying.

“I bump into people all the time who say, ‘I’ve lived in La Jolla for 20 years. What are we doing here when we could be Downtown?’”

People with school-age children are likely less inclined to move Downtown because the area still doesn’t offer enough open space like yards and parks, and only has a handful of schools. “It’s clearly a trade-off,” says Wahl.

Lorena Gaxiola, owner of Kuatro Design, lives and works Downtown.

Lorena Gaxiola is among the young urban professionals eschewing the suburban lifestyle. As owner of Kuatro Design, whose decorating projects include model home units for major condominium projects, she lives and works Downtown. “I’m not ever interested in living in suburbia. I’m not that type of person,” Gaxiola says. “A five-bedroom house is not comfortable for me.”

Gaxiola expects Downtown San Diego will soon offer the same bustling residential lifestyle as other large downtowns in the United States. She foresees trendy, fashionable stores, smaller grocery stores, and more prevalent farmers markets. She agrees with the concept that living Downtown is a compromise. In her own condo, for instance, she installed sound-muffling flooring out of consideration for her neighbors.

Typical furnishings don’t fit in Downtown condos, so homeowners are opting for more modern pieces that are best offset by a Downtown backdrop, says Gaxiola. Her favorite retailers for decorating Downtown-style condos include Design Within Reach in Little Italy and West Elm, which is scheduled to open soon in Mission Valley.

Moving Downtown means “picking and choosing exactly what you love,” says Gaxiola. “A contemporary person can make something old look beautiful. You go on e-Bay and buy an Eames chair for $80, it’s like a piece of art in a Downtown condo.”