apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The smallest, coolest yet (at least on East Coast -- haven't had time to follow all) -- congrats on an amazing job!

WOW

Great use of space. Love the feel of the place.

We have a finalist! Clever humans and this time not with a black cat, but white.

How do you keep from rolling out of that loft - I can't see anything on the sides that would prevent this.

I want to know how everything was constructed. What is that headboard?

super cool!

This is one of my favorites. I love the fact that it's an unspoken requirement to have/photograph the kitty cats. Always adds so much more character to a home.

Awesome. And hats off to Hilary! I always love to see a fellow female woodworker.

Woah. Very Small. Very Cool. Great job designing the loft (and the rest of the furniture)

super cool!

did you make the loft/where is it from? i second Pixies question- are you just very careful sleepers? :)

I love your space! The design seems to be so thoughtful of how you live in it.

I especially like the way you have hung the art - parlor style over the large horizontal piece. Really a striking wall!

Crafty, stylish place! Love how well-thought out and beautifully executed your apartment is.

you win.

Excellent use of space! Super Cool!

WOW! That loft is ingenious and the overall look of the apartment is great - Bravo!!

I like it. I really do. I wish something more was going on w/ the large wall surfaces. Even if it were just amazing floor to ceiling shelving for books w/ some kind of ladder. I wish the coffee table were more transparent too, but I'm just knit-picking here.

I'm generally not a big fan of the modular look, but this is truly inventive -- it earns a super cool from me.

Two quick questions:

1) Echoing everyone else -- how do you not roll out of bed.

2) How does the cat get in the loft?? Does the cat climb one of the his/her ladders to get to the loft, fly, or doe it just wait for a helping hand. ; )

awesomeness incarnate!

OK, thats what I love about the small cool. Someone always knocks my socks off.

How on earth do you keep your exposed kitchen storage looking so neat and zen?!

Very neat.

also, what's with the worry of rolling out of the bed? I can see feeling a little uneasy not having any kind of railing, but really, when is the last time a grown adult has fallen out of bed!

Most excellent.

It reminds me of last year's entry:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/9-mark-stephanies-every-square-inch-021109

Fantastic, a grand prize winner!!!

wow, this is really beautiful. looks like a happy home! :)

I love it, and I'm dying for a closer look at the long (what looks like an) architectural print over the two dressers.

WOW! So clever and inventive. I LOVE this one! I'm scared of heights, so I personally wouldn't own a loft bed, but this one really works within the space. And I just spotted the kitty.. hee!

The long cube bookshelves and their ingenious arrangement have me panting. Brilliant! Lots to learn here.

The definition of small and cool. The best so far!

winner

This is my favorite so far -- I can tell because I want to move in!

this is EXACTLY what i have been waiting to see in the entries! Wow, this is definitely a finalist! LOVE THIS!

Not my bag AT ALL....



Just kidding! What an amazing space! You really make use of every bit of space and the apartment is impeccibly organized. The fact that it is a rental is all the more mind boggling when you consider you can take that loft with you!. Really looking forward to seeing more, especially the bathroom.

This entry is what the contest is all about - finding new ways to use space creatively.

This one is already a winner!

More info on the lifecube you had built please. How much did you get charged, did you complete the plans yourself? Do you sell the plans? How high is your ceiling?

Note to self: in next home get taller ceilings.

Love, love, love this space. My favorite!

Less than 500 sq ft and still room for all those shoes! Love it.

This is the kind of entry I expect to see in a Small Cool contest. Definitely a finalist. I second the call for something above those bookshelves, though.

This is only the third "super cool" vote I've given since this contest began; given the constraints of the apartment you've done a fantastic job here. The style is cohesive, functional, efficient, and very neat and non-cluttered. You've packed the place with storage but it manages to look really good. Kudos also for photographing the entire apartment, not just the vignettes.

Good luck, I really hope you guys are finalists!

This has my vote, what an amazingly creative use of space!

This is absolutely my favorite so far.

Love it. A clear design decision which made a small place infinitely more livable, rather than just nice furniture choices.

Instant win!

As a side note, I'd LOVE to see the plans for the loft. I'm very curious to see how it's all put together, what materials you used, etc.

Nicely executed. I have seen this layout before, but this whole look is really cohesive. I like the repetition in the modular storage. It looks like it was all designed/built specifically for you and this space.

The bed kind of looks like a stage.

Very ingenious... super cool!

I LOVE this space.

This place is small, cool, well thought out and perfectly executed. Call West Elm and give this the Grand Prize.

I love how you even made use of the space under the loft! One question though (and only because I struggle with this myself) - do you normally store your bicycles in the kitchen, or did you just put them there for the photos? This is one of the best uses of space I've seen in this year's entries, and one of the only ones I've really liked. Practical and pleasing...

Awesome.

LOVE it!

The first post photo is a hoot -- the cat sitting like royalty in the loft looking down upon his/her subjects!

One of my fav so far

Really, really great. I too am dying to know more about the logistics of the loft.

I think that the art is well balanced here, and that if there were more stuff on the walls over the shelves, it would be overwhelming.

I'd like to witness the cat climbing down the ladder-- must be quite a sight!

This apartment is a perfect example of why the contest should have stayed with small spaces instead of ballooning up to 850 square feet (and probably past the 1,000 sq/foot mark next year).

Here we have an apartment where creative steps were taken to solve the problem that comes with a lack of space. It's not just a "look at my furniture" entry. I think is one of the best so far. Kudos to Tony & Hilary!

Wow.

agreed - one of the best - and i quadruple the call for plans on how you did the cube thing. that's awesome!!!!! how much did it cost?

My vote for #1 so far. Wow.

A for ingenuity.

I think we have a winner.

Definitely puts to shame all of those so-called "small" 700 square foot palaces. AT, this is what it's all about!

Wow! Tony & I are really overwhelmed with all the great comments - thanks!

I'll try to answer some of your questions:

The loft is made from birch plywood - very strong & we liked showing as much of the end grain at the seams as possible. You can tell where it's broken into different pieces by where the seams are.

I was a little concerned about falling out of the bed at first, but tried to remember the last time I fell out of a regular bed -when I was probably 4 or 5 - it's really just getting over your fears - by the second night I was fine. Plus, there's about a foot of space between the edge of the mattress & edge of the platform - feels surprisingly secure once you're up there. The curtains (black-out so I can sleep if Tony stays up) also help make the bed feel cozy & secure.

Our cat climbs the ladders! It's really cute - she makes little mewing sounds to psych herself before going up & climbs down in a zigzag.

We're actually planning to keep going up with the cube bookshelves, so left the wall bare. We have some pieces cut & ready for assembly - just didn't finish before posting. My ideal would be to have them keep going to the ceiling. We love books & keep acquiring them.

The long print is a 17th century print of London - Globe theater, and all.

We did the plans ourselves & hired a furniture designer to build it. We'd be happy to sell plans. Our ceiling is a little over 10'. We spend right around $5,000 for materials and labor - this included getting some samples from the furniture maker, some design meetings with him & hiring movers.

It's neat. I'm not going to hands-down anything yet though. The bookshelves are OCD symmetrical which tilts me and I bet with a better rug/carpet the place would really pop.

Excellent nonetheless.

my first thought was WINNER. I see I am not the only one.

Definitely the best most clever use of space yet.

This is absolutely fantastic! I covet your loft.

This is definitely the best yet - super creative use of space and really beautiful photos. The clear winner.

You did great. This is really just thoughtful, well done, you name it. Great.

i think you achieved your goal when people living bigger think: wished i lived that small. now that's cool.

i love the sofa - do you know who made it?

Now THIS is what the competition is all about - creative use of space and NOT decor, especially for a renter! It's functional and beautiful. So far in this competition, I have not seen any homes with this level of execution or creativity. If nothing else comes in with a similar train of thought design-wise, you deserve to win - no doubt about it.

Fantastic. Jealous of your shoe rack. Really great design.

It's a Case Study Day bed designed by George Nelson. You can find reproductions through Modernica.net or DWR.com, but we waited until we found a used one on Craig's List (& saved a lot of money)

lurve it.

btw i totally agree with someone that said this contest entries are sometimes just "look at my furniture" entries. if you could win a contest by just shopping often at DWR, then that is ridiculous. this place is great and fun to check out. it puts to shame some of the entries that look just like your run of the mill apartments that some joker thought they decorated well.

aaaaaaand the owners designed the interesting space saving features themselves! so it's not a "look at what a great architect i hired" entry either!

I will not tell you how great this one is because everyone else has beat me to it. But as someone above stated this is what small space is about. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOve it.
Hope you win.

What an adorable place! Very Domino magazine!

The ESSENCE of small-cool. Genious and cute!

I like the way you've maximized such a small space for 2 people and cat. I guess the trend here is to be super-enthusiastic, I'm just not feeling it to such a degree. It's fairly cool, but I don't know how I feel about the curtains surrounding the bed, whether it's the color or the way they're a little too ruffly when open, and I can't imagine them closed. Black-out is a wonderful idea, and I can't suggest an alternate I'd prefer (a practical one, anyway), so ? I do like the headboard/bookcase a lot. Better than most entries, but I don't get "insta-win" from looking at it.

Quintessential "Small Cool" - creative solutions really well thought out and executed. The apartment has a great sense of space and "feels" a lot bigger than it is. Lots of personality - love your art wall. I'm impressed that you managed to build in that much shoe storage, well done! And kudos to your intrepid cat for negotiating the ladders. Just a really lovely, well designed and welcoming space. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Good luck, hope you make the finals! :)

Instead of taking the cake, this entry flat out STOLE the cake! A nice use of DIY custom storage...which is key when you have a small space.

I love everything but the color you chose for the wood. I just can't stand blonde.
However, this is the best entry imo bc as someone else said, it's not just about how you decorated it but about how you created structural and furniture elements to aid life in a small space. Kudos. I've only given one other supercool

and the winner is ...

I love the design, attractiveness and organization of this apartment. I dislike the fluttery blue curtains in and under the bed loft, but I can understand that you probably need them to block light and storage areas.

Now THIS is why I look forward to small cool every year.... Inspiring. It makes my month to see such creative, efficient, thoughtful, elegant work. It makes me want to build something...

The curtains around the bed strike me as a little too fluffy for the environment. Something flatter is wanted. How about roller-shades hung sideways? (Is that even possible?) Or how about something flexible - like the striated wooden slatting that cabinets sometimes have?

I would love to see you guys do to the kitchen what you did to the main space...

This is one of the best uses of space I have seen in a long time.

The best yet!

who's your carpenter? I'm looking for recommendations...
love your space!

Super great!

Your place is tight as a drum. With a little more of your clever planning you could probably fit a Sitting room in somewhere. But Seriously, Your apartment is friggin' sweet.

Wow! This place has about the same square footage as mine and yet it seems gigantic AND looks gorgeous. I'm impressed. Insta-finalist.

Regarding the obligatory cat photos... my experience is that it is that it can be almost impossible to take a photo without a cat-- whenever I have my camera out my cat somehow positions herself in nearly every shot...

Love it!

you are so organized! nice job!

Brilliant. Love it.

For the loft alone, super cool!

this is so awesome.

OMG! My place isn't without bedrooms but I still want your bed/office!!!! It reminds me of a tree fort!!!

I swear I am going to make one of these in my room just because I can!!! It would just be so cool in a kids room! (We have very high sloped ceilings in all our rooms)

Winner!

Wowsers! Now that's what I call maximizing your space. And so tastefully decorated. The loft bed is fantastic. Granted, I'm so clumsy I'd probably roll right out of it and end up in stitches, but it's cool nevertheless. Really nice, guys!

As an adult I fall out of bed at least once a week. Not only do I have side rails on my bed but I also wear a crash helmet. Some view sleep as rest. Not me. My recurring dream of the brickyard leaves me exhausted every morning.

Very cool place. Could use a bit of nick-nack editing, but it's very impressive from architecture, layout and space use. I also like that you're not afraid to show stereo/HT components.

Putting the super cool in the small cool contest.

I'm in love with this space, I hope this entry wins. Super-cool :)

how inventive! the place looks great. the only change i would make, is that coffee table should be completely glass or resin. having something totally clear would "lighten up" the seating area, making it look even more spacious.

If anyone has specific questions about the loft (plans, diagrams, etc), feel free to e-mail me at hilaria7@hotmail.com
Also, we know a good millworker - you can contact him at ericratkowski@gmail.com. He also took the gorgeous photos for us.

What a fun place, this really does embody the spirit of smallest coolest. Give 'em a prize!

what a gem or castle

*drool* i want this space.

Defintely small. Definitely cool. Completely unique in that the owners created not only decor, but bones... and they can take everything with them! It shows a real dedication to making a space work for you 100%. We can debate the furniture and accessories all we want, but at the end of the day, this is what I was really hoping to see in this contest.

.

This is my favorite space so far. It strikes the delicate balance between open space and intimate space which really makes it feel like a home. Truly beautiful and functional. I am right there with you in the buy one pair of shoes, get rid of a pair mentality. It's changed the way I live (and consume). Re: rolling out of bed: I really can't remember the last time I fell out of a normal height bed and can't see why a lofted one would be any different. Best of luck in the contest; you deserve to win!

hi, i was just wondering how you keep your carpet so white with the cat around.

Incredible! That bed looks super cozy.

(and, holy cow, EVERYTHING COMES APART. insane-awesome!)

This reminds me very much of the tiny studio/loft I saw profiled on the NYTimes about a year and a half ago. I'm sure it was featured on AT (though I can't find the article). The guy bought the apartment which was poorly laid out, ripped out the guts himself, and did all the built-ins himself. Very similar. I seem to recall a raised loft sleeping area, too.

awesome.

You have done such an amazing job arranging the space you have! The loft/storage/office/entertainment center is an incredible use of space. It is amazingly un-cluttered... way to go!

This is a "Mary Poppins" apartment: practically perfect in every way. The only imperfect thing is that *I* don't live there!

An astonishing, brilliant, inventive, clean, completely worked-out, well-refined solution. I sincerely hope one or both of you are in the design field. Wow.

snore. the ceiling fan is uggs, the curtains look sloppy and cheap, and I hate rooms centered around large flat panel televisions.

tony here

Just wanted to thank everyone for the great comments!
To give you all a bit of background: we moved to this apartment about three years ago, and immediately had to design and have this "loft" (which we call a gobot) built to be able to get out of our moving boxes. The gobot had to store most of our clothes (we only have one small closet), shoes, paperwork, stereo equipment, lps, cds, movies, and the bulk of our book collection. The idea was that we could make a cheaper apartment work for us for a longer period of time to save money to buy later (the gobot has paid for itself in rent savings about three times over!).

Thanks again everyone for commenting!

Need to agree with all of the good comments. Good clean design with all of the essentials - like shoe storage! Nice lighting and cute kitty say "home".

Finally
someone understands what pulling the sofa away from the wall or window will do for a space. And this space is small too.
Congratulations!

Would the landlords pitch in for floor-to-ceiling drapes?!
Very budget here, but very creative too.

I'm coming over for the puppet show.
Okay?!
:)

Simply amazing.

Sorry everyone, but I don't really see what's so amazing here. THe light fixtures and ceiling fan look institutional, the curtains surrounding the bed look like a hospital ward, and the plastic chairs look like they were lifted from an elementary school.

Yawn. Put me to bed and hope I don't roll off.

Bluesky - the chairs of which you speak look to be Eames fiberglass slip chairs. (not plastic, but fiberglass.) They may in fact have spent their early life in an elementary school. They were designed by Charles and Ray Eames to be used in various industrial and institutional settings, including schools. They are elegant, lightweight, comfortable, cleanable, strong, colorful, combinable in several different ways, and (were) relatively inexpensive. Perhaps not everyone would agree that there's anything "so amazing about that"... Certainly no more so than designing and building a freestanding, movable bedroom/office/walk-through closet that also creates an entry foyer and back hall in an otherwise unremarkable studio.

I'm a sucker for exquisite organization :-) Love it.

I was positively blown away by this place. My pick for the winner, all the way.

Exceptional editing and very well-thought out. Simple, clean, yet with much personality. I'm mighty impressed.

Exquisite! Great job. You have good instincts and tone of storage.

p.s. You're probably pretty safe from falling. Myself, I'm closer to the floor, but don't think I've fallen out of bed since I was three.