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.
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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.
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Comments (51)
I love the stripes! What a fun apartment.
Is that long light above the sofa really as low as it appears?
The different colors and finishing in the kitchen with the stairs going up is really interesting!
Delightful!
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 (:
Yeah, what is that thing hanging down above the sofa? Looks interesting...
I love your place. It's so lively.
outlikealamb - give it a second to load...if there is a lot of traffic on the site it is a little slower than usual
>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.
Wow, I would love to hang out there sometime!
My absolute favorite contestant thus far! I love, love, love the stripes!
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?
the speed makes no difference... click on any image, and the first one always come up (notice this issue with all entries!)
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!
>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.
ME TOO!!! Same for all contest images.
Aaron, please fix!!
>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.
I love the stripes!
I really love your carpet! Where is it from?
That kitchen is amazing. I have never seen such a functional big kitchen in only 500 sq ft.
Not big on the stripes though.
So lovely and cheerful!!
Quite cool..
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.
I dunno - It's a bit too Swedish Dayschool for me...
>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.
Very clever rug idea, I love it!
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.
What a beautiful kitchen! I wish there was a better picture of the loft bed!
I love your space!
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!
I'm curios if cooking smells get "stuck" in your sleeping loft. Is that a sprinkler above the bed?
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
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.
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.
Anybody who names their pet after an architect deserves a thumbs up!
I LOVE the stripes. No. Really. I mean it.
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!
>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.
The kitchen is totally where it's at!
I love it!
This entry has got to be my favorite so far! I love the playfulness of it.
Great job.
Your rug and wall stripes are fab. Does Mies have a hutch?
I like the factory windows.
I'm interested in the TV credenza. I have been looking for a simple drawer unit like that. Where is it from?
this is so very spacious looking... i can't imagine how a kitchen like that fits into a 500sqft place without feeling cramped!
inspiring! you really did a fantastic job setting your place up; it is so functional, organized and stylish.
>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.
>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).
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!
Great kitchen!! The red is awesome!
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!!
So sweet :)