- Name:
- Julie
- Location:
- Washington, DC
- Square Feet:
- 500
- Division:
- Tiny
- What I Love About My Small Home:
- I love my spacious kitchen, large windows with views of the National Zoo, and brightly colored walls. I stuck to a theme of black and white for almost all of my furniture and bedding so that I could get away with canary yellow in my kitchen and eggshell blue in my living room. I also like the mix of antique, handmade and more traditional pieces. I found several of my favorite furnishings from antique stores in Annapolis before I moved to DC - a gumball machine, pharmacy cabinet, glass medicine bottles, shabby-chic console, and bedside table. Because this is my first apartment, I saved money by making several of my decorations - a patterned lamp shade, cork bulletin board, and kitchen table, which I purchased for $25 from Craiglist, painted with a black lacquer, and topped with a piece of glass. This way, I was able to splurge on my bed, which I purchased from West Elm.
- Biggest Challenge of Living in a Small Space
- I enjoy being a hostess and having friends over to my apartment. My biggest challenge when I moved into my 500 square foot studio was deciding whether I wanted a large bed or a space where I could entertain because I realized I was not able to discretely hide a bed of any size in my trapezoid shaped living room. I opted for a twin day bed that also functions as a couch. It makes me so happy when people come over for the first time and assume that I live in a one bedroom apartment and have no idea that they are actually sitting on my bed! Because I placed my bed on a diagonal, I have room for storage behind and underneath it. When I have friends over, I store all of my bedding in my damask patterned ottoman, which sits in front of my bed, leaving plenty of open room to entertain.
Categories:
Style,
Main,
2012,
Small Cool,
Small Spaces,
Washington DC
Like this Small Cool 2012 contest entry? Favorite it below!
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
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The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
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Love your yellow kitchen!
All I can say is . . . WOW. It's gorgeous.
Cute!
Where is the day bed from?? I have been looking for one like that!
@EMILIE S - in her write up, she says she got it from West Elm.
@Emilie S - I just checked West Elm for you and it appears they no longer sell my style of daybed. I found a similar one for you though that's on sale for more than $100 off in both white and chocolate:
http://www.westelm.com/products/window-daybed-g093/?pkey=e%7Cdaybed%7C9%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C5&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Summer%202012%20D1%20Billboards-_-
I love the wall color in the main living area, and the combination w/ hint of black is just so pretty. =)
I think it is very interesting the way you stationed your daybed! Not putting it against the wall is not something most people would think of. It's different, not a bad different. But definitely something that I noticed. I also like the blue and yellow, very bold choice.
Very girly, very sweet. I miss that you don't have window coverings except for the blinds.
I love the robins-egg-blue living room. It's so beautiful!
@LYONSTILL - I agree, I miss window coverings too. I've been debating buying some, but haven't decided if they're worth the splurge because I'm not sure how much longer I'll be in my apartment. If you have any that you think would look good in my living room, I'd love any suggestions. I've been thinking neutral linen ones would work well.
Great use of color!
Hi FUNINTHESUN:
With your living room being so soft looking, I envisions white background shears with maybe very small floral design in that beautiful Robin Eggs blue that you've gone with on the walls. But truly, your place is lovely.
Nice job! I like that you used black and white pieces and put the color on the wall, especially since a can of paint or 2, or 3 is still cheaper than buying new furniture.
This is adorable. I love that white chair in the living room - anyone know where I can get it?
@MARIEEBORN - I'm flattered! So I was really on a budget when I was decorating my place because I had just graduated from college. My grandmother had an extra nice, striped chair that had aged with the sun so I covered it with a slipcover and was able to use it in my space. I got my slipcover from SureFit and made sure I got the right style for my chair.
What colour did you use for the Robin's Egg Blue? I love it and have been thinking of paint my bedroom that colour. Your place is beautiful!
@POETALL - Thank you! I'll check this weekend and get back to you because I can't remember.
Lovely! Great job, Julie.
if you want natural linen window coverings, grab a drop cloth from home depot [or CL]. your place is great
Hey julie
great space. Can i ask you - how long did it take AT to respond to your entry and post it? I'm just wondering how long i can expect to hear back from them. thanks!
Very lovely little place! Wish I could get away with white. Sadly between me being a complete klutz and the dogs that is just something I could ever do.
I love that your daybed is diagonal instead of up against the wall. That always looks so sophisticated to me and is impressive when you can pull it off in such a little room. Oh, and your kitchen is adorable!
@YOURETHATGUY - I submitted my entry on 4/2 and I just heard this afternoon that I was selected. I figured I was out of the running since it took them 10 days to respond, but I'm guessing there's just a backlog of submissions. Good luck!
I love the combo of the turquoise and yellow walls with the fresh white furniture and trim. That day bed is so cute and the punch of pink and green on the pillows was a nice touch. This place feels like summer if that's possible!
WOW! thanks for the info Julie! i guess i just assumed there were a lot less submissions since they only posted a handful per category each day.
Very nice and cute!
Love the kitchen! Great job!
I paint my bedroom a very similar color and I used simple, white cotton curtains from Ikea. They were $15 or so for a pair of curtains and compliment the color perfectly.
So gorgeous! I'm really impressed that you did this on a budget. You have fantastic taste!
Perfect as is. If you do drape the living room windows, look into bark cloth. There are a lot of vintage-looking bark cloth patterns that could harmonize with the turquoise and soften the windows.
The couch is angled that it wastes a lot of precious space.....why would you do that?
@Greenwoodgal - Unfortunately, my studio is a really strange shape and there are several large windows and a big AC unit so it was nearly impossible to put the bed any other way. Where would you have put it instead? I ended up liking how it is diagonal because I can put so many items behind my bed without anyone really seeing them unless they are sitting on my bed and looking back there.
@POETALL - My paint is Sherwin Williams "Spa" (#6765/Satin). Let me know if you have any more questions!
Julie531 -- I couldn't know the exact perfect layout of your studio but surely there's one wall it could have went on. This rings guest room more than a studio with the setup.
Adorable! Love the colors!
This is a great use of space. Colors are terrific and your use of new and old pieces is wonderful! :)