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Small Cool 2009: Carol's Factory Windows
Tiny Division #12

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Who Lives Here: Carol & rabbit Mies
Location: Jersey City, New Jersey
Size: 500 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? My favorite element is the light! This tiny loft studio apartment has a 12' ceiling and two large factory windows; the light fills the space and makes the apartment seem much bigger than it really is.

Give Carol 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? The biggest challenge was to fit everything I wanted into a 500 square feet space: a modern open kitchen, a dining area with a 6' dining table, an office, a library, a living room that could accommodate sleep-over guests, a "separate" bedroom area, and lots of storage. Being able to cook and entertain in my apartment is very important to me. By creating a sleeping alcove in the loft, I was able to fit working/living/dining/entertaining functions all in one open plan. I painted the horizontal stripe colors on the walls to visually expand the room, to unify the various elements in the apartment, and to add a playful touch.

Resources: Rakks shelves, IKEA wardrobes and kitchen cabinets, Design Within Reach furniture, FLOR modular carpet tiles and Anthropologie crewel rug.

Give Carol 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!


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Do you have a Small Cool Home? Enter Here by April 13th!

Comments (51)

I love the stripes! What a fun apartment.

Is that long light above the sofa really as low as it appears?

posted by Doug on April 7th 2009 at 5:05pm
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The different colors and finishing in the kitchen with the stairs going up is really interesting!

posted by brocktontriangle on April 7th 2009 at 5:13pm
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Delightful!

posted by Gallivant on April 7th 2009 at 5:19pm
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Ok, so this is a recurring problem for all contest entries...
Is it me, or can you only enlarge the first image?
Want -to - enlarge - all - images!!! PLEASE FIX, AT! thx (:

posted by outlikealamb... on April 7th 2009 at 5:20pm
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Yeah, what is that thing hanging down above the sofa? Looks interesting...

I love your place. It's so lively.

posted by ooh_food on April 7th 2009 at 5:26pm
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outlikealamb - give it a second to load...if there is a lot of traffic on the site it is a little slower than usual

posted by Aaron on April 7th 2009 at 5:26pm
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>Is that long light above the sofa really as low as it appears?

No...that's the perspective tricking you. The long light is actually above the peninsula kitchen counter, not above the sofa. The photo was shot from above, which made the strip light fixture looking like it's above the sofa.

posted by carolcarol on April 7th 2009 at 5:29pm
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Wow, I would love to hang out there sometime!

posted by dfunction on April 7th 2009 at 5:29pm
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My absolute favorite contestant thus far! I love, love, love the stripes!

posted by sf littlebird on April 7th 2009 at 5:32pm
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Super fantastic! I heart the stripes. And looks tons bigger than my 600 sq foot 1 bdrm. So much space! ( Damn you for being able to have normal-sized furniture!!) One question: where is the separate sleep area? Or is it doubling as the DWR couch?

posted by Veruca on April 7th 2009 at 5:45pm
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the speed makes no difference... click on any image, and the first one always come up (notice this issue with all entries!)

posted by outlikealamb... on April 7th 2009 at 5:47pm
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outlikealamb:
that's the same with me.
Double click on *large* image (after clicking on thumbnail) and an even larger of FIRST image comes up! Can not make enlarge other large images... only first image!

posted by 2009sunshine on April 7th 2009 at 5:49pm
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>where is the separate sleep area?

It's up in the loft! Look up at the kitchen picture. The stairs leading up to it is just behind the kitchen area. The space under the stairs is a bloom closet.

posted by carolcarol on April 7th 2009 at 5:51pm
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ME TOO!!! Same for all contest images.
Aaron, please fix!!

posted by ilovebc on April 7th 2009 at 5:52pm
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>where is the separate sleep area?

>It's up in the loft! Look up at the kitchen picture. The stairs leading up to it is just behind the kitchen area. The space under the stairs is a bloom closet.

Broom closet...I meant.

posted by carolcarol on April 7th 2009 at 6:13pm
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I love the stripes!

posted by aaakid on April 7th 2009 at 6:43pm
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I really love your carpet! Where is it from?

posted by cpurnell on April 7th 2009 at 6:57pm
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That kitchen is amazing. I have never seen such a functional big kitchen in only 500 sq ft.

Not big on the stripes though.

posted by jac7890 on April 7th 2009 at 6:59pm
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So lovely and cheerful!!

posted by amybell74 on April 7th 2009 at 7:05pm
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Quite cool..

posted by Tangerine on April 7th 2009 at 7:06pm
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I like the strips... but wish they continued in the same pattern around the room, it would be more cohesive. The sofa is awesome as is the kitchen. I also wish the storage in the unit looked a little less like an office... more homey, but that is just me. Also, love the color scheme.

posted by Jesse Lu on April 7th 2009 at 7:07pm
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>I really love your carpet! Where is it from?

The 3x5 rug was from Anthropologie. I knew I really needed a 6x9 carpet for the lounging area, so I used FLOR modular carpet tiles to make the 6x9, and leaving a 3x5 inset for the rug.

posted by carolcarol on April 7th 2009 at 7:10pm
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I was also ready to dismiss this as Swedish Dayschool, a look so often repeated here but I do think there is an element of sophistication that works. The bit that is challenging is the stripes....I'd not necessarily like to see them continued around the room in one pattern but I do think that the segments could stand to be more integrated with one another and that would make it seem more cohesive and grown up. Perhaps add one bar of color that unites the whole thing? I think its a design element that could be worked on further.

But in all, nice use of color. Good organization and flow. Like to see ingenuity like pairing the Anthropologie rug with the Flor tiles and matching it with that great sofa. Thumbs up.

posted by luckypeach on April 7th 2009 at 7:30pm
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Very clever rug idea, I love it!

posted by MadrasSoup on April 7th 2009 at 7:45pm
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But I agree with Jesse Lu...perhaps you could use different storage and display options on the parts of the shelves that extend into the "living room" section. That would give some more visual separation while matching the mood of the furniture. I think it's a texture and space issue -- to address it, I'd keep all of those books and magazine boxes on the office side, and put some wicker baskets (green, red, brown) and personal effects on the living room side. It's a little too busy as it is.

posted by MadrasSoup on April 7th 2009 at 7:55pm
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What a beautiful kitchen! I wish there was a better picture of the loft bed!

posted by letteretcher on April 7th 2009 at 8:12pm
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I love your space!

posted by dykelly625 on April 7th 2009 at 8:34pm
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Love it - especially the color bands (and your choice of colors for those bands) on the wall.

I'm tempted to copy your wall treatment. But if I were to enter the Small Cool Contest in 2010, commenters would be, like, "What a dumbass - he just copied Carol's idea from 2009!"

Seriously, your place looks awesome!

posted by justveggingout on April 7th 2009 at 8:42pm
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I'm curios if cooking smells get "stuck" in your sleeping loft. Is that a sprinkler above the bed?

posted by Molunat on April 7th 2009 at 9:01pm
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the kitchen is great ,and the light in that area is wonderful

i like that the stripes don't connect - they move like a mondrian

well done

posted by sunan on April 7th 2009 at 9:08pm
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Everything fits so neatly like a jigsaw puzzle. There is a place for everything and everything in its place, and stylish at the same time.

posted by charlo on April 7th 2009 at 9:22pm
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What a great idea for a rug! I've always had to really search to find rugs I like big enough that I can afford, but that is an easy solution.

posted by Sassyladie on April 7th 2009 at 9:25pm
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Anybody who names their pet after an architect deserves a thumbs up!

posted by hubiquitous on April 7th 2009 at 9:53pm
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I LOVE the stripes. No. Really. I mean it.

posted by Curtis on April 7th 2009 at 10:10pm
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I just came back and viewed this one again, I love it! The stripes and the kitchen... the couch... how the colors partition the areas visually- so stunning. I would love to have you design a place for me to live!

posted by dfunction on April 7th 2009 at 10:36pm
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>I'm curios if cooking smells get "stuck" in your sleeping loft. Is that a sprinkler above the bed?

I installed a very good ventilation hood above the stove that vents to the outside...recirculation would never work for me. No problem with cooking smell or moisture. Large windows also helped.

Sprinkler in the loft area is an existing condition that cannot be changed, but it's not a big deal. It is actually more to the side and toward the foot of the bed than how the photo shows.

posted by carolcarol on April 7th 2009 at 10:50pm
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The kitchen is totally where it's at!

posted by dabble on April 7th 2009 at 11:07pm
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I love it!

posted by zulish on April 8th 2009 at 1:18am
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This entry has got to be my favorite so far! I love the playfulness of it.

posted by fineur on April 8th 2009 at 3:19am
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Great job.

posted by hrhprincessfiona on April 8th 2009 at 3:30am
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Your rug and wall stripes are fab. Does Mies have a hutch?

posted by rosenatti on April 8th 2009 at 6:44am
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I like the factory windows.

posted by FilthyMcNasty on April 8th 2009 at 10:05am
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I'm interested in the TV credenza. I have been looking for a simple drawer unit like that. Where is it from?

posted by Tricky on April 8th 2009 at 11:11am
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this is so very spacious looking... i can't imagine how a kitchen like that fits into a 500sqft place without feeling cramped!

posted by pinstripeprincess on April 8th 2009 at 1:07pm
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inspiring! you really did a fantastic job setting your place up; it is so functional, organized and stylish.

posted by serelile on April 8th 2009 at 4:19pm
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>I'm interested in the TV credenza. I have been looking for a simple drawer unit like that. Where is it from?

The TV "credenza" is actually 3 units of IKEA "STOLMEN" wardrobe system with drawers.

posted by carolcarol on April 8th 2009 at 9:34pm
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>Does Mies have a hutch?

Yes. Mies has a 2-story Rabbitat townhouse hutch.... It's usually located in the wide open area near the entrance (see floor plan).

posted by carolcarol on April 8th 2009 at 9:42pm
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luckypeach, I completely agree with you. I was thinking the same thing when I say the post but when I took a closer look, I was very impressed. Carol shows a fun use of color but kept it sophisticated. Must be nice to walk into here on a bleak day, how uplifting!

posted by sarrazak on April 9th 2009 at 12:09pm
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Great kitchen!! The red is awesome!

posted by teapotrose on April 13th 2009 at 6:19pm
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very impressive use of the space! you managed to get it all in without making it look cluttered, which is amazing. you have an eye for restraint, but still keep it fun. loved the stripes, loved the red kitchen, loved everything about it!!

posted by blushingbe on April 14th 2009 at 12:21am
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So sweet :)

posted by medusa12120 on April 14th 2009 at 3:32pm
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