Cottage Living

While surfing the net I came across this website with planned community cottages. They are located in Seattle Washington and tout life in the "not so big house". I love the simple but stylish designs of these homes. Check them out at www.cottagecompany.com.

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The Cozy Cone

While reading ads for home sales, if you read the word "charmer" "dollhouse" "great starter home", those are all code for small. A scene in the Disney movie Cars, shows a row of motels, in the shape of orange traffic cones. The name of the motel is the "Cozy cone." While watching my 8 year old daughter declared, "Mom, we live in the cozy cone!" At first I wondered what the heck was orange in our home that made her say that! She then went on to say our home feels cozy to her. Cozy is not a word that comes easy in 3000 square feet. Cozy comes pretty natural in small spaces!

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I Love White

White. The small space color of choice. A lot of people, stick with white because it can make a small space look larger. While this is true, its not why I use white. I love how white makes me feel. For me its calming. Makes the mind feel less cluttered, and goes with anything. All white rooms with bold color accents are always fabulous. I love lots of color, bold, pale and in between, but white will always be a favorite of mine.

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Banquettes!

One of the things I love about living in a small space is it makes you have to plan for what you really want out of your space. I'm seeing more and more banquettes in magazines these days, and I bet they started out as a need for people with limited space. The great thing about banquettes is they can be designed so many ways. Loveseats, benches, custom built right in to a corner. I've seen them designed in country, modern, you name it! Tons of styles are out there on the net, so if you have a limited area, think about designing your very own banquette!

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Found Space

Often when reading articles about living in a small space, I come across the term "found space." Found space? Well, yes, it can happen! This is when thinking outside the box can come in very handy! For me personally, finding space for my home office was a lot of fun. I've changed my office space about 3 times. It took a few mistakes (wrong desk size, not enough file space) to get it just right. Finding the balance between form and function is key for me. I want my space to look great but work great too. The top pictures is of my own personal home office. A cubby with many compartments has worked great for me! There are tons of options now, smaller desks, compact armoires and tons of shelving sizes and styles. Planning is key so really think through what you want your home office to do for you!

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Style File

I often find myself drawn to many different styles when it comes to home decor. I think a lot of us are not sure what "style" we'd fit under. It would be nice to declare, I'm modern and be done with it. After all, you can like jazz music and country music, and not have to worry about it making your CD player clash! So what do I like? I like funky. I like color. I like white. I like clean but not cold. I like lots of stuff as long as it does not take over. Bottom line, I like a place you can walk in and not worry about getting something dirty. Give me comfy any day!

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Small Space Big Business!

Seems that small space design has become big business. Looking around the net and in magazines, its not hard to find articles or information on "how to make you space look bigger." Companies have figured out that most of us do not have tons of space, and even people who do, often have smaller spaces within them that need ideas. Pottery Barn has caught on and now has a section on their website (and catalog). Furniture that is scaled down to fit small spaces . Of course Ikea has been designing this way and has broke into the US market very well. With baby boomers down sizing and generation X starting out, big business will have a market for "small living" for years to come!

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