Like this Small Cool 2013 contest entry? Favorite it below!

Name:

Christopher

Location:

West Hollywood, CA

Square Feet:

350

Division:

Teeny-Tiny

What I Love About My Small Home:

I recently relocated from Miami to LA and made it my mission to find the perfect place to make a home. I had a list of non-negotiables that my home needed to have, so when I found this place, I knew it was the one. I fell in love with all of its unique characteristics: the floor plan, the great natural light from windows in every room, the built in vanities, and the vintage kitchen sink and cabinets. I think living in a small space requires a lifestyle change for most people, but I love the simplicity of living in a small home. I think it's important to find things that are special to you and have them on display to enjoy. I love the hunt, and have searched high and low for things that work for me and my space.

My bathroom is ridiculously tiny. A very pregnant visitor once asked if she could use the bathroom. "You can try." We do have a full bath, but no room to house a baby bathtub. When my son was born 5 years ago and now with my daughter, we made do with other products suited to small homes. Here they are... 

There are so many questions to ask when choosing a bedroom color: does this color go with the things I already own? What color is most flattering to be around while naked? What does Pantone say I should like this year? But since we spend most of our bedroom time sleeping, the most important question might be: does the color of your bedroom affect how much sleep you get? A new study suggests it might. 

Like this Small Cool 2013 contest entry? Favorite it below!

Name:

Kathryn

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

Square Feet:

360

Division:

Teeny-Tiny

What I Love About My Small Home:

We love our home's location: it's in a small, tucked-away neighborhood near Los Angeles's oldest park, yet we're also very close to downtown, most of the city's major freeways, and many great surrounding neighborhoods. We have a large outdoor area for gardening and relaxing, including avocado and lemon trees that shade our house. Our home also feels very efficient: utilities and rent are fairly low, and it's much easier to keep clean than the larger spaces we've lived in. It's also forced us to pare down our belongings quite a bit, which I've actually loved. Fewer things means fewer things to take care of, which is a great stress-reducer!

We have a weekly Movie Night at our house. It's sacred, and it's the time when we make it a point to discover a new film we haven't seen yet, preferably something that's not mainstream.  

Like this Small Cool 2013 contest entry? Favorite it below!

Name:

Sivan

Location:

Brooklyn, NY

Square Feet:

509

Division:

Tiny

What I Love About My Small Home:

I love how easy it was to create a sense of cohesiveness throughout the space. Sticking to a concept or theme immediately expresses a certain mood or feeling and gives a sense of personal style.

Yes, you read that right. Netflix for LEGO. I swear, we must have at least 10,000 Lego in our house. Wait, maybe 20,000. The desire for new sets never ends, but of course, the old sets are still around. Enter Pleygo, where you can rent Lego sets and then return them for new ones. Would you consider it?

Whether home owners really want or need apps connecting their fridge to the internet is still yet to be seen. But there's no need to purchase a whole new fridge to tap into online services and apps designed to better manage the biggest plugged-in device in your home and its contents...

In my apartment with just one small closet, shoe storage is my biggest challenge. This is compounded by the fact that I have a definite shoe shopping problem. (Why must there be so many great looking shoes!) To help the other space challenged shoe collectors out there, here's a handy shopping guide with storage pieces and ways to use them.