
thumbs up
Who Lives Here: Catherine
Location: London, United Kingdom
Size: 522 square feet
What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? Despite the low sloping ceilings, my home is extremely light and bright. This is largely due to the triple aspect windows, some of which look onto the garden — it gets so light that it can sometimes feel like being outdoors. I therefore wanted to bring elements of the garden into the flat with the plants and flowers, the grass growing out of the pelmet of the French doors, the floral prints and petal pink accent colours.
Give Catherine a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? I wanted to show that it is possible to stylishly furnish a flat on a small budget, which meant that my biggest resource had to be myself (with a little help from Hobbycraft and IKEA). Most of the art is my own work, I customised the dining chairs by wallpapering the backs, made a screen that can be slid out of the built-in wardrobe in my dressing area to create a separate room, drew my own designs on the crockery and made most of the cushions. My best bargain was the vintage Bertoia chair, which my father bought in the 1970s and had been gathering dust in my parent’s house.
Give Catherine a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!

Want more Small Cool? Check out all the entries on our contest page.
3 of the 5 photos are sideways. FYI, Webmaster for this site.
view JuneauAlaska's profile
Whee! It's topsy turvy world! Is there some way to rotate the final three photos to have them oriented so that they are viewable without turning your head sideways? Hope so!
Very pretty place. I really like the flower painting on the backs of your dining table chairs!
view ThatGrrl's profile
Wonderful job! I love all the personal touches you added, and it really is a light and airy apartment. I would love to come visit!
view Sassyladie's profile
Pretty.
view STYLeyes's profile
This is a breath of fresh air. Very Lovely!
view suzy8track's profile
I love the bits of fuschia throughout! This really has, to me, the perfect balance of neutrals that make the space seem larger and help different areas flow, and vivid color to draw attention to particular spots in the home. Beautifully done!
And, yeah, the sideways photos are way annoying...
view visualingual's profile
Oh where is the Horse Art from... love it!
view ilovebc's profile
Broke my neck looking at the picutres, but I love your space.
view Joan52's profile
I love what you've done to your chairs! Very inspirational!
view ana12321's profile
I absolutely love all the plants inside. The grass above the doorway is incredible.
view Bozotown's profile
This beautiful apartment combines rich colour and brightness with simplicity and cosiness, all in 522 sq ft.
A great achievement.
view igolarch's profile
Very nice! This looks a LOT like my apartment. :)
I'm not sure about the mirror over the couch...why not put the long mirror across from a window so that it reflects the light around the room? Howabout a long mirror above the Malm in the bedroom? Maybe another accent color besides pink and green would be cool? What about a rug under the couch to unify that space? (these are suggestions, not criticism)
thanks for sharing!
view absolutmarie's profile
I could totally live here. It has everything and doesn't seem small at all!
view sally305's profile
This is perfection for me. What a bright and cheerful environment to live in! You don't often equate this much light and brightness with London. Love it.
view Beautyeverywhere's profile
I really like your use of fuchsia to complement the mostly-neutral color scheme and the feminine decorative touches that are somehow not too girly or saccharine.
view slowdown's profile
Wow, I love everything here... the details are amazing! The grass above the door, the mobiles, the wallpaper on the chairs, the mirrors, it's all wonderful. My absolute favorite of the contest by far!
view tequila red's profile
beautiful bright cheery space!
-do you have to take the grass & container outside periodically? or does the grass get enough light right there?
-do you have a dining area?
- does your head bang in the mobile in the kitchen?
view TAmom's profile
yes cheerful is what your place is, very cute.
view LoriSF's profile
Grass above door - LOVE IT.
view thatjessicagirl's profile
For a small place it looks very airy and light. A breath of fresh air! Love it!
view dykelly625's profile
Very nice- the light is amazing and I like that it's feminine without being too girly-girl.
view insanity_pepper's profile
Sigh. You make me wish I lived alone. Even though I love my partner.
But how I crave pink. Pink and more pink and more . . .
view azaleasmoke's profile
oh wow. love the pink and white. jealous of the balcony. love the chairs with the flowers on the back. so lovely!
view sleeping spot's profile
Well done Catherine, amazing space and very original. regards Diego
view Dayglo's profile
this is perfection for me, too. i love it! i feel like i could happily move right in, and i'm so envious of your abundant sunlight.
this is an instant favorite of mine for small cool 09.
view abigailbelle's profile
Catherine it's lovely, you've done wonders.
Liz
view Swarbrick's profile
i keep coming back to this one!
so far, it's my favorite.
view abigailbelle's profile
Sweet! How calming...
view Abbe's profile
Hello it's Catherine here. Thank you so so much for all your lovely comments! In answer to some of your questions:
1. The horse art was done by me. It took a while, mainly because I kept changing my mind about the background, which I re-painted so many times that the canvas warped and I had to nail it to the wall!
2. absolutmarie - thanks for the suggestions. They're always welcome as I'm constantly looking for new ideas - I don't think my flat will ever be truly "finished"!
3. the grass is actually made up of 15 separate little plants that look like one continuous strip when put together. They're in trays which are easy to move, so I occasionally put them on the table in the sun when I go to work, although they seem to do fine in their usual place, I think because the whole flat is so light.
view CatherineInLondon's profile
I'm in love.
view Juliet's profile
I love this place. I want to move in!
view Elizcrtv's profile
Crisp, clean, creative!
view scootergirl's profile
Hi Catherine
It's beautiful - very feminine, light and bright.
Jenny
view jennyw's profile
Light and airy. Great connection with the garden.
view joanandjulian's profile
love it!
view petal21's profile
We love your innovative garden home. It is a beautiful space to live in.
view GlynisM's profile
It looks so light and spacious, and hospitable too. I hope you enjoy living in your new home and find lots of new opportunities to use your creative spirit. Good job Catherine!
John
view appreciativeinquirer's profile
Wow I love it - looks so spacious.
view ChrisGal's profile
sweet:)
view skarpetka's profile
Very stylish and elegant use of this space. Congratulations !
Dennis.
view denfil1's profile
very inspiring, lovely space - I have those same chairs and have never thought of wallpapering them. thanks for the idea!
view lovelyrita's profile
I absolutely LOVE IT!! It's similar to the garden/floral theme in my own place (based on a plaque of my Mom's ... green, yellow, blue, pink).
I'm jealous 'cause your place is slightly bigger (you have a bedroom) :SIGH:
The placement of the furniture; your artistic talent; the bright windows and balcony door ... they all combine to make something that's unique and beautiful and would bring a smile to my face if I lived there.
This is my absolute favorite so far.
Thanks for sharing.
Barb
view moose53's profile
Huge thanks again to everyone who has given me the thumbs up and for all the lovely comments - you have brightened up my week!
view CatherineInLondon's profile
Living in a basement flat, I'm very envious of all your natural light. The same limited colour palette throughout is very effective - it makes the space seem cohesive and spacious. The only element I'm not completely sold on (and this is a very minor quibble) is the pink bunting above the window as it seems a little twee. I wish my dad had a Bertoia chair... Thanks for entering the competition - it's great to see such a sunny, welcoming space.
view WeeBeastie's profile
I can't believe you didn't win the next round. So strange. I think you deserved it, so don't let it get you down!
view azaleasmoke's profile
I so love your home. So feminine, beautiful, bright and alive.
view bejeweled's profile