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Small Cool 2009: Kaycia's Welcoming Cottage
Small Division #12

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Who Lives There: Kaycia, her husband and two "furry friends"
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 925 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? I really love our kitchen. We redesigned the layout to work as efficiently as possible in the small space and created an dining nook since we don't have a dining room. And the best part, is that my husband and I did all the work - design, demo and installation. It's a warm space that's simple and welcoming.

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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? Definitely storage. Our house is a small, 1940s cottage and while we love that there aren't any "weird" unusable spaces, closet/storage space is hard to come by. This challenge requires us to be really thoughtful of our purchases - not only because we know we can live with less - but because everything needs to have a place in our small house. We solve our storage challenges with simple wall shelving and furniture pieces that can pull double-duty.


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Comments (18)

Awesome job with the dining nook; I am jealous. I also like how you worked with the malm dressers. I've seen a lot of different/cool approaches to those dressers in this contest.

posted by renata on April 13th 2009 at 6:41pm
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I really like your coffee table set up - are those ikea?

posted by inkstainedwriter on April 13th 2009 at 8:18pm
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The kitchen is my favorite! The wall color, the rug, the open cabinets... it looks so inviting.

posted by LovelyDarkandDeep on April 13th 2009 at 9:28pm
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Beautiful home! I'm in love with the kitchen. Where is your bedspread from? It's adorable!

posted by jvrussell on April 13th 2009 at 10:10pm
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Wow cool kitchen!

posted by Shamus70 on April 13th 2009 at 11:08pm
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love the banquette in the kitchen. did you buy it or have it made for that space? looking to get one but dont know if i should have one made custom. looking for cost effective solution, but also dont want anything cheap looking.

posted by d dizz on April 13th 2009 at 11:09pm
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That is an intensely cool ceiling fan in your bedroom - guessing vintage. I love air circulation but not a breeze on my head. Any suggestions where to get it?

posted by CeladonGirl993 on April 13th 2009 at 11:18pm
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Cute, I like it.

posted by Lillian on April 14th 2009 at 1:53am
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I love the green... what is that called/ who makes it? also... gorgeous bedspread!!! any sources?

posted by jrstar45 on April 14th 2009 at 7:28am
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Wow, I can't believe it. Your home actually made me like that shade of green! I've never liked it, but it looks great here. I mean that sincerely as a real compliment, too, not a backhanded-one! :-)

For those of you interested in the bedspread, it looks to be Otomi embroidery. Do a search right here at AT for Otomi. There was a post not long ago with sources.

posted by parhelia on April 14th 2009 at 10:06am
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Where did you get that wall mount in your living room? I must have it.

posted by mrlloyd on April 14th 2009 at 11:58am
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Thank you everyone, for your comments.

To answer your questions...
Yes, the nested coffee tables are from Ikea - I got those a couple of years ago, so I'm not sure if they still sell them??

If I remember correctly, the wall color in the kitchen is called Plum Perfect by Valspar. I think they were imagining the inside of a plum, or the skin of a yellow plum. I've actually switched from using Valspar paints to Olympic paints. I'm sure I'm alone in this, but I didn't know that Olympic paints contain low-to-no VOCs.

Yes, we built the dining nook ourselves. My husband built the banquette to include storage on all 3 sides - the tops flip up.

The ceiling fan in our room was actually on clearance at a nearby Lowes. I guess no one else liked it, so they were clearning them out! We scored 2 of them for $40 each. They are great!! Not too "windy." Perfect for air circulation.

Parhelia is correct, the bedspread is an Otami embroidered fabric. I just purchased it a few weeks ago from a small shop in Tulum, Mexico. I purchased the fabric - queen size - for $2,500 pesos ($185 US for that day's exchange rate), much cheaper than most of the vendors online.

posted by kash on April 14th 2009 at 12:17pm
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Stumptown represent! Wonderful place, very warm yet clean. How are the stainless counters working out for you? Seems like a great option with the integrated sink.

posted by FiatLex on April 14th 2009 at 12:41pm
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OH I could move right in.

posted by sleeping spot on April 14th 2009 at 3:08pm
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Kaycia & James… GREAT JOB! The last time I saw your place you hadn't begun to work on the kitchen. Your home is gorgeous and I can't wait to invade. ;-)

posted by MiamiJules on April 14th 2009 at 7:07pm
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i like that it's both simple and sophisticated.

posted by jerseyfresh on April 15th 2009 at 11:03pm
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Job well done guys. Love the color scheme.

posted by bmflores on April 21st 2009 at 12:51am
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I love your greens, you've used them with such a balanced hand, it really works so well.

Have to say though, if those shelves above your sideboard were the full width of the space between those two doors (slightly wider than the sideboard underneath) it would make it feel much bigger. And you could fit more green stuff!

posted by idontdobeige on April 21st 2009 at 4:59am
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