Of all the rooms in my house the "second bedroom" has been the hardest to resolve. Yes, I'm grateful for the extra space, but rather than be efficient with it, the room has mostly become an oversized storage closet — all the miscellaneous stuff gets thrown in there, including a desk, old couch, drying rack, books, etc. I'd really love for it to be a true combination home office and guest bedroom. But is it even possible? Here are few inspirational photos that give me hope.

I love bedrooms that are well-styled, but I also love the clean simplicity of a bed that looks like it's seriously meant for sleeping in, with cloud-like crisp white bedding and a few downy pillows. 

The other day I was chatting with a friend of mine who's about to move cross-country for grad school. She'll be going from a spacious house shared with roommates, to a tiny city studio all her own. The concept of living and working (with a dog, no less) in one open-plan space was understandably challenging her, and we starting talking about ways she could make her new home, all 400 square feet of it, work for her all her needs. 

This May, we're all about Small Spaces, a bread-and-butter topic on Apartment Therapy and a personal favorite of mine. No doubt we'll cover lots of tips, inspiration and ideas for small-space living over the next four weeks, but first let's revisit what we already know works. Here are three classic ways to make living little work for you. 

Last week I talked about design dilemmas common with the quintessential rectangular urban yard, and space (or should I say, lack thereof), is usually at the top of the list. From inspiration to DIY's, tips on products available on the market and where to source them — this post will surely have you dreaming up new ways to best utilize a small footprint in the garden.

One is a concept, two is a coincidence, and three, well...that just might be a trend. But we guarantee this is the weirdest trend you'll see all day: home offices sharing space in the master bathroom. 

Certain events are like a rite of passage. Like your Sweet Sixteen, or your first legal drink, or your first apartment... when you bought that really cute but really uncomfortable desk chair. Everybody does it. You just have to learn from your mistakes, move on, and hope that your tastes and talents for decorating your office get better with the next move. More