Who Lives Here: Matt Location: Lakeview — Chicago, Illinois Size: 495 square feet
What is your favorite element of your Small & Cool home? My bathroom. I stenciled the wall with a gloss and flat damask pattern. It really adds some extra subtle pizazz to the room…
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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your Small Cool home? The biggest challenge for me in a small space is always storage. I have a ton of stuff and I don't like a cluttered home. So having places to neatly store things is very important. One solution is to use all the vertical space I can. In the kitchen I made use of some IKEA shelving, for both a pot rack and storage shelves. A second solution was getting a shelving unit to use as a room divider. It provides both storage and helps break up the space. CB2 had a perfect wave shaped shelf unit. It's narrower than most book shelves, which is wonderful since it gives me a little more floor space. And also, the wave shape is kind of an unique addition to the room.
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Check out all the entries on our contest page.
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Nomade Express Slee...
My Staple Summer Cocktail Recipe: Campari & IPA Spritzer
Easy Pickle Recipe: Cucumber Kimchi Bites
i remember those army men on the wall from last year....
nice pattern on the bathroom wall. this place is airy and bright.
The paint in the bath is inspired. I vote for this one. I'm hoping my space will be this nice once I move out of this HOUSE!!!
A great start for the competition. This is about the same size as my place, just looks a whole lot nicer.
I love the bathroom! What is the artwork above the bed?
Love it !!
Where can I find a rug like that?
Bek
Love the floor in your kitchen
I'm glad you mentioned the stenciling on the bathroom wall because it's kind of hard to see - but I really like it! That's a great example of what someone who has one of those blah-white cookie-cutter bathrooms can do without spending much money. Very nice.
Really enjoyed this tour, thank you. The use of bold colors in the bedroom and bath are great. Loved the details in the bath as well.
I loved this when it was in the color contest - glad to see it here. Very cool.
That bathroom wall is just brilliant!
Love the first shot with the bed and couch! Although I am curious--how do you keep your Flor Fedora tiles SO CLEAN in the kitchen???
it's the blair witch!
Caiti, me too! In fact, the first thing I thought upon looking through this entry was, "Aw, you can't see the army men above the bed!"
Yes, love the bathroom in particular
Love the carpet squares in the kitchen. Where did you find them Matt?
Nope, too much red.
I'm not a huge fan of the red, but that bathroom is beautifully done. Also, I too miss the army men close-up--still neat a year later.
I'm pretty anti-orange but that bathroom is so nice I think I might have to change my stance on that. Love the rug. Love the art above the tv. Your place is incredibly inviting, thanks for a great tour.
Thank you for the comments. Here are some answers to questions:
The bed area was in the Room for Color contest, if you search AT you can find a detail of everything in there.
Probably 80% of my furnishings are from IKEA and CB2. CB2 is very much my style but IKEA is more affordable. The rug in the living area and bath are from CB2, as well as the FLOR tiles in the kitchen.
The FLOR tiles are really pretty easy to keep clean in the kitchen. I don't spill many liquids on the floor, and if you do you can pick up the tile and wash it off in the sink. Simple vacuuming keeps the floor pretty clean. You do not want to see the 1970 linoleum hiding underneath.
The accessories in the bath (towels, shower curtain and lacquer wear) are Jonathan Adler.
love the orange wall!! amazing and i want to do it, too. what color? and where do you buy the stencils? plus i loved your bedroom from last fall!
Great job. Love the colors, love your placement of furniture and your lamps. Hope to see you in the finals.
I loooved the kitchen floor.
And like everyone is saying, the bold colours really work, especially in the bathroom. I always think orange is a risky choice, but you really made it work
I'm not a huge fan of the red, but I like a lot of the other things you've done with the space. That room divider/storage shelf from CB2 is great.
This place is extremely cohesive. Well done.
Love the orange bathroom. You did a fantastic job with that. The red walls and red couch are a little too much for me, but I love the carpet on carpet and how you used it to define the space.
Room for Colour, much?
I remember this for the army men, too. Or were they actually cowboys and Indians? In any case, they reminded me of Tootsie Roll Pops wrappers! (I LOVE that!) :)
Nice orange bathroom! I also love using that bookshelf as a pseudo-room divider.
Bummed that I just got here when thumb up voting is closed. Your studio actually makes me think living in a studio would be possible for me (I have a 1 BR). Very nice. And, way to go with the bold color in the bathroom!
I LOVE THIS BATHROOM!!!!!! AT, please let this contestant to do a DIY entry about how to do that effect on the walls. I want to learn how to do that!
Nice bathroom, It seems like the thumbs up is already closed ... :(
are you a barista or just a coffee fiend? your kitchen is testament to you love.
I like the nacho cheese color in the bathroom.