
thumbs up
Who Lives There: Lane (plus one!)
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Size: 1100 square feet
What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? The open floor plan of our home allows us to host large gatherings of people comfortably in a small space.
Give Lane 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? As students, living in Iowa, we have trouble finding furniture that fits our style and budget. In addition to spending lots of money on shipping and frequently making the four hour drive to Chicago, we attend a local auction nearly every week which usually has some under appreciated mid century furnishings from local estates.
Give Lane 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!

Do you have a Small Cool Home? Enter Here by April 13th!
Can anyone identify that sink? Looks like one I saw on Ikea's website but this pics looks much better! :) Love the whole place.
view bali2's profile
great colors... love that HW dining room (add a rug and it would be perfect)
view sunan's profile
That first shot is particularly lovely!
Student housing never looked so good! Nice work!
view theserovingeyes's profile
Oh So Chic!
Love the Heywood-Wakefield dining set and credenza!
view bepsf's profile
Fantastic! I love your dark and moody color pallet. It's very sophisticated.
view redbeard's profile
Very nice! You have some beautiful pieces! I would love to know the name of the grey paint in your living room and dining room...
view frenchfry's profile
Wow! you've done a lot better job than I have with what Iowa has to offer!
view erinpeace's profile
You're students? Is this how students live in Iowa? I feel so pathetic now.
view KristinaXI's profile
THANK YOU for not taking pictures of soap dispensers, baubles and books. Seeing images of the actual rooms not only proves it is small, but it's also super cool.
Thumbs up!
view marc from vancouver's profile
Crisp colors and very well-edited are basic principles any of us can benefit from applying. A really nice place that looks as if you can easily change the mood/feel with accents and accessories as the situation requires.
view Indy Jeffrey's profile
This looks amazing.
view Curtis's profile
I love your sofa! Your place looks great :)
view LaurieLu's profile
dining room pic is amazing
view Nucleosynthesis's profile
While you are naming all the elements of your space, who makes the side chair in the living room? I LOVE IT!!!
view UmAnOnion's profile
Love the living room color !!!
view dzignkrazy's profile
Although I hardly think 1100 sq ft is a "small space", I have to give this one's design my thumbs' up! It's neutral-based, but still has some color to it, and the pops of lime green are great.
Plus, who wouldn't dig that drum shade over the table? I'm busy lusting over it right now.
view bfootnovellista's profile
wow, that color in the bathroom is rad! do you remember the name of it?
view kdkaboom's profile
I think this is great!
I've got a question about the danish modern living room chair with the two black cushions. If a chair just like that, but without the cushions, popped up on Craigslist without an asking price, what would a reasonable offer be? I'm clueless, and the seller is annoyingly passive-aggressive.
He/she is actually selling a matching pair - they'd be perfect across from my imaginary desk in my currently empty office. But I'd have to have cushions made.
view asinner's profile
Be still, my beating heart! This house is perfect.
view JoanneM's profile
I love the bathroom vanity and sink and am looking for something similar. Who makes these or where did you find them? Thanks!
view jmoeschler's profile
Gorgeous space! I'd love to know more about your sofa....
view siropderable's profile
A palette after my own heart. Love this!
view farmhousemoderne's profile
I love the dining room.
view sunny's profile
Uh, I'm continually impressed with my home state of IOWA. Obama, gay marriage and now this. Your place looks better than all the highfalutin places in New York City. Good luck in the contest. You did IOWA proud.
view FilthyMcNasty's profile
This is great! I am just so impressed with the submissions this time 'round, especially because the ones I'm giving the thumbs up to are styles that I normally am not in to (modern). Fantastic, congrats!
view sauceykat's profile
I adore this - so sophisticated!!
view SweetChicEventsChicago's profile
very elegant.
your couch and dining chairs are a little too post-modern for my taste. but well done on a budget.
view jac7890's profile
This is a definite thumbs up. Great all around. I love the colors, furnishings, arrangement, everything. I live in the middle of hipsville brooklyn and I have to say this submission is awesome. I would have never thought this place was in Iowa. I guess I have alot to learn about what Iowa has to offer. Once again, congrats on a great job!
view missbynski's profile
BTW is that Eucalyptus Spearmint hand soap in the bathroom? I am not a big Bath and Body Works fan but that is my all time favorite hand soap.
view missbynski's profile
as a fellow Iowa City gal, i must say i'm SO JEALOUS!
but jealousy aside,
kudos on your killer apartment!
view abbatron's profile
Gorgeous. I second the request for the name of the paint in the bathroom!
view catnap's profile
The entire home is beautiful and I love the fact that there is no clutter anywhere. The hardwood floors, furniture, wall hangings and colors are gorgeous.
view blingy99's profile
Place looks amazing. Good work!
view angiemcd77's profile
I love the wall colors - very soothing (to me, anyway!)! The place looks beautiful!
view WickedElf's profile
Proves that taste is all you need, not cash :-) (ok sometimes it helps...)
Great job!
view Daniel Poitiers's profile
Yes, the lack of clutter and busy looking tchotchkies make this my favorite. Nice clean lines. Also there is a wonderful blend of mood lighting and fresh natural light. Great built-ins too!!
Great design!
view Amil Chalmers's profile
I know this house and the new look is dynamite! Clean and sophisticated---not like the Iowa City apts of old!
view lsyverud's profile
Where'd you get the bathroom light fixtures? I love them!
view mattster's profile
Could you tell me where is the light fixture over the dining room table from?
view bonline's profile
I love the dining room table. Do you know a certain Grandpa that could make me one?
view ehevel's profile
Love it. Incredible that students in Iowa have a home that looks this good; I'm really impressed with what style you have and what a great job you've done.
view Sydney's profile
This is a lovely home. Too bad we can't see the kitchen.
view Midwestdiva's profile
This space is in Iowa! I can't believe it. It's so chic!
view seschepker's profile
Hey everyone! Thanks for commenting!
To respond to your questions:
The vanity is in fact from ikea.
The lights above the vanity I got from a store named House of Lights in Kansas City, MO
All of the paint colors are Sherwin-Williams
Living room is "adaptive Shade"
Dining room is "suitable brown"
Bathroom is "riverway"
one living room side chair is a vintage Eames plastic armchair the other is just a danish modern no name I picked up for $15.
The sofa was purchased at a local furniture store in the super clearance section. I have noticed that the same couch is sold in brown leather at Chiasso in Chicago.
The light over the dinning room table is from CB2 and is still available in white.
Thanks again everyone, keep designing!
view Laughinlane's profile
Wow, this place looks amazing!
view jahevel's profile
This was done on a... budget? It doesn't look it: it looks high-end and thought out. Very nice.
view katlia's profile
I think the vanity and sink are from Ikea.
view appleton's profile
Clean lines, earthy tones... Looks so warm and inviting, yet very sophisticated.
view tabithab17's profile
I love it!
view Ana's profile
Love the colors! The living room is particularly my favorite. Nice work!
view ebhevel's profile
I think you need an antique starburst mirror above the bed, otherwise, this place is just perfect! The colors work really well together. Thanks for the tip about the lamp from cb2, only $49.95, not bad!
view absolutmarie's profile
The colors, the clean lines: chic, warm, calming, sophisticated. Love love love it. We have the same Heywood-Wakefield dining table - wish we had the chairs, too!
view akimbaMade's profile
Wow, impressive place - come style my apartment!
view tacoma77's profile
I LOVE this place! Is the artwork custom? I find myself trying to get a better view of it. I also like the way the sofa pillows are placed -- very stylish. Hope you win!
view DebbyJo's profile
Very nicely done with great sophistication. You definitely have a talent !!!! It's beautiful........
view LuLuS's profile
How do you get down in that bedroom when it's so plain? You need a lil art to rev up some romance. Other than that I like you and your house is pretty!
view glitterpunkin's profile
I love the drapes, they really polish things off.
view tequila red's profile
i am also kind of blown away by these "budget" claims. if this is true, i am beyond impressed. that dining set alone would probably be thousands of dollars in san francisco. nice work!
view modkitten's profile
Great colors used throughout, very clean! What is the dining room wall color?
Go Iowa! Only 47 states to go!
view Deidre88's profile
Hey Lane!
You have mad style.
Blake and I live in 625 sq ft- so we'd hardly call this apartment small!
It has great light!
Jill
view jillalm's profile
Laughing at the comments expressing surprise about Iowa...it's Iowa City, which is a university town and pretty progressive. And yes, affordable compared to NYC or SF or LA!
46 states to go now--thank you, Vermont!
view sally305's profile
Fantastic!
view samgeee's profile
Yes, it's very tastefully done, with enormous restraint. I won't be giving it a thumbs up just because I think it's quite bland, hasn't used any features I would call original, and because it's really rather large!
view TallulahBelle's profile
It's the high class taste I have come to appreciate after meeting a friend who accepts nothing less than I drive his car when we ride together.
Kudos and Credenzas!
view g8rdelt's profile
Awesome style and great job decorating!
view lviox's profile
It looks like an Ikea showroom, which is nice - just a little design sterile.
view erkelbot's profile
this place is great! Love everything about it. Great job.
view kerri's profile
What a beautiful jobo you have done. Colours are wonderful. Lucky you are I say.
view Betty14's profile
This place looks professionally done! It has a strong, sophisticated look. Great job! I'm voting for you!
view designmind's profile
I have that perfect art poster for that wall above your bed: Vintage Charm - you can find it at the 4th row on this gallery.
My creation, I must add.
view Ianny's profile
This is beautiful and classic!
Thumbs up from a fellow Small Cool contestant. I wish I could still vote.
view Elizabeth Jane's profile
Regarding the vanity from Ikea, is it actually a bathroom vanity offering at the store or did you custom order a kitchen cabinet and repurpose it for the bath?
view jmoeschler's profile
Very nice!!!
view angiemcd77's profile
LOVE IT! Now I'm wondering why I was never invited to one of those fabulous gatherings at your place?!
view mstauffer's profile