Watch out East Coast! Here come the final six with voting open until end of day Monday....
Name: Lee
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Size: 425 sf
Rent/Own: Rent
What is the advantage of SMALL? There are several advantages to living in a small space. I think the most important is that it's great living in only as much space as you need...

What is the advantage of SMALL? CONT'D
Having lived in larger spaces you tend to not make the best use of your space and some rooms often go unused or become storage rooms. In a small space this is not an option. You have to maximize every inch of space you have. I love my small space and wouldn't dream of living any other way!
What's your favorite resource for your home?
Like most members of this site my favorite resources are Apartment Therapy, Dwell, CB2, IKEA, DWR and local vintage stores. Also, my TV practically is always tuned to HGTV and my DVR is filled with episodes of my favorite TV show, Small Space Big Style.
What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home?
My favorite element is my dining room table. It was designed in 1966 for Artemide by Vico Magistretti. I found the Artemide Stadio 120 at a local vintage store and managed to buy it for 1/2 of what the owner was asking. Not known for my bargaining skills this was quite a coup and gives me great satisfaction.




Comments (52)
Looks great! Love the monochromatic look with the beautiful outdoor foliage.
I love this - especially white curtains hung at the ceiling. Very jealous of the lush patio off of the bedroom!
Really gorgeous - nice details and overall flow and concept.
jealous!!!
This is how white should be done. Great job. Love your dogs.
Great view from the bedroom. I dig the Keith Harring dogs too!
i like the garden.
How fun! Great job....love the chalkboard fridge.
wooowww... I love the bedroom, kitchen, and white on white... Great Job!
It's gorgeous. It's fabulous. I love it. I'll be right over.
Kidding about that last one.
Where did you get the storage lockers? Such a great idea.
Nicely done. You have managed what many have missed: black, white and sliver without boring!
I want to see more of the garden! It looks so lush with the tall plants surrounding the seating.
LOVE IT!
You had me at the chalkboard refrigerator. Good job!
Great floorplan for a studio. I also really like how you added extra storage (plate and cup racks in kitchen and locker in bedroom).
too modern for my taste, but undeniably beautiful.
This looks like a professional designer came in and worked it over. It's truly exemplary. It's also genuinely small and uses space well.
I love the floors. And I think this is a fantastic blend of the chic and the personal.
I'm with djekay -- you had me at the chalkboard fridge. And the banana plants. And the Keith Haring dogs. And...
This is just what I would want a home in Florida to look like. Beautiful!
Those dogs made me smile. :) A lovely place.
Love the view of the bedroom/terrace.
The kitchen is done nicely and is a feat of using available space, but it's impossibly small if you do any amount of serious cooking.
Wow! Looks so clean and crisp. Love the patio with all the plants. What a comfortable retreat.
Not my personal style at all, but I love it. Modern but doesn't look cold or sterile. The space is used extremely efficiently. Wonderful flow. Looks like you could have company and not feel cramped--and in 425 sf, that's impressive. I hope you're a finalist!
I love how you've made white such an exuberant color! Your place radiates the Fun of life :-)
You did a great job with the teeny-tiny kitchen. Strange, it never occurred to me to put butcher's block over the stovetop to get more work space. And I always love those Ikea wall racks with all-white dishes.
fab! I would say almost perfect -- wish you could replace closet doors with something nicer, but I know it's rental. I LOVE seeing great rentals.
I like this, very nice.
loved the cutting board on the stove. is that custom fit?
Great use of space.
Love the lockers (we've been looking for old school lockers for our hallway, so of course I think it's a fab idea;))
i'm nuts over those dogs! :-D
Keith Harring dogs! I love it! I also love your locker idea. I think I might borrow it for my place.
warm with great flow. could see a real person lives there. super cool!
Cool-where did you get the curtains in the bedroom? I have 4 sliding doors that I'd like to try that on instead of what I have now, which I hate. Thanks!
I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to visit my small space and also to reply to some of the questions and comments that have been posted. The patio and (believe it or not) swimming pool are one of the best features of living in my apartment. The weather in Fort Lauderdale is great and I enjoy spending lots of time outdoors. The Keith Haring dogs are from www.whatisblik.com. They have great decals. The lockers are from a vintage store here in town but I have seen them all over so they should be fairly easy to locate. As far as the kitchen being small. It is REALLY SMALL! When I moved in there was NO counter space. I have added a drop-down table that you can see in one of the photos that I flip up to use for prep work by moving the cutting board off the stove. The cutting board fits perfectly over the stovetop for storage even though it wasn't custom made. You gotta love IKEA. As far as the curtains in the bedroom I'm not quite sure what you mean as there aren't any actual curtains. Behind the bed there are panels that I got from Pier 1 and in front of the french doors to the patio there are more panels that are on a sliding track. They are from, you guessed it, IKEA. Again, thanks for all the great comments.
profoundly not my style, but love, love love it! A small, pulled-together space with an aesthetic and a sense of fun. Great job!
Very fresh and beautiful.
Delightful use of a small space. Dig the dogs.
LOVE IT!!!!!
So amazing. Fantastic job.
I really love the all white look here. Great job!
can i come over!?
leetorian-
where are the stools in your living room from?
THANKS!
where is the platform bed from? love it!
we love it! can you give our house a makeover?
Just out of curiousity - am I the only person here slightly suspicious as to why the lockers in the bedroom have padlocks on them? Like...what exactly would you ever keep in your own house under lock and key? Just saying....
Hello all and thanks for all the great comments.
To answer a few questions...The stools are from Offi. The bed is from West Elm. And my favorite question of all, the locks on the lockers. Three of them have locks on them and they are used to store important documents, passport, valuables, cash and all other things that I wouldn't want stolen or everyone to have access to. I live in the mother-in-law-suite of a house so the owners do have access as well as the house is currently for sale so we have viewings and open houses. Just out of curiousity what did you think were in them?
not sure why my comment shows it was posted by "brendahazel"....as I am Lee Torain
VERY NICE PLACE
You've managed to make mostly white non-sterile and very personal. For once, I can say I'd be really interested to see what you bought with the prize. Great eye.
love the bedroom off the patio. Very sexy.