hi all - voting is working/entry republished - thanks!

Very weird that the office has a bigger room than the bedroom.

@chrisgal agreed. the office also seems to have a larger closet than the bedroom.

can't decide if it's unfair that this house has a basement, or if i'm just very jealous :)

lovely use of soft colors. feels beachy.

Comfortable and clean.

Warm and inviting. Excellent job on the editting. Wouldn't change a thing.

Really cute taste and nice photographs!

maybe the bedroom (in the back) is more quite than the office (in the front).

Glad we can vote now!

Lovely home.....soothing colors.

I agree with @zoee, your home feels like a *home*, something lived in not just decorated well. Fabulous job!

I think I wrote something complimentary, but it was erased... no need for fancy words: it's a simply beautiful home.

lovely home, got my thumbs up!

Love this space! It is fresh and truly inviting! Fabulous job!

Lindsay
www.adesignstory.com

i try and try...but YOU did it!!..beautiful and serene and your own style for sure!!!!

I LIVE in my office, and I just SLEEP in my bedroom, so the (slight) difference in space seems logical to me...

Lovely! Great colours, great art. I'd give it more than one thumbs-up if I could!

I love this. So sweet and cozy. I'm definitely bookmarking it for inspiration. Can you tell me where you got the sofa/chair/ottoman?

i love how mellow and relaxing this place looks. I'd love to see more pictures of it!

My bedroom is the smallest room in the apt. I only sleep there so I don't see the need for the extra space. My bedroom is also much smaller than this one..

I was shocked to see that the house was in michigan because it seems as heysandybell said it feels beachy. I was certain it was in a warm climate.

Love the kitchen, like bedroom not crazy about the living room though. still thumbs up.

I love this too. The space is wonderfully *essential* (as in having captured the essence of the way spaces look and are used), yet it's not at all generic. well done.

Why didn't I think of the cut out letters that say "eat", "enjoy", etc. Based on how often they show up in these spaces I would be a millionaire!!!

This place is very nice and is located in a beautiful area, Traverse City! It has a great Michigan "cottage up north" feel.

I love the color in the kitchen!! what is the brand/color?

Yowza, "easy breezy" done right.

Proof that "casual" can still be "grown up."

And proof that gorgeous photos don't hurt, either.

I love the simplicity. It isn't filled with tons of junk. Very open and breathable.

my favorite so far!

No pretense. I love it.

This is my favorite one so far!!

love the space, color and furnishings all work. such a warm cozy feeing and you've caputred it in your photos as well.

i too don't need a large bedroom, so i'm fine with the smaller room in the back.

I would also love to know the name of the colors and the brand.
The place is beautiful - very calming and serene. Well done!

You have the beachy uncluttered look I want. Must go home and throw 2/3rd of my posessions away!

That bed is gorgeous!

no offense to anybody about a nicely put-together space, but... i don't see that much personality, that much "cool," or even much in the way of "small." why does this one have SO many votes already?

Lucky cat.

awesomeness

I like this one the best, so far. Good job!

So well put-together! Nothing is "trying" to be cool. Happy to see my favorite beach town represented.

Why didn't I think of the cut out letters that say "eat", "enjoy", etc. Based on how often they show up in these spaces I would be a millionaire!!!

My suggestion of ironic cut out letters that say "puke" is still unpatented, jimc. Feel free to go for it!

I like the suggestion of rawness in these rooms, from the linen cushions to the wooden tables to the rag rug. It feels very clean and honest. Thumbs up.

I grew up in a two bedroom cottage in West Michigan but it never looked as nice as this! Very nice!

@heysandybell: I had a house of very similar vintage and style as this one, and if Michael's basement is anything like mine was, it's nothing to be jealous of. Gross, scary, with one wall of dirt and rock, open to the crawl space under the house. My laundry room was down there, and oh, how I dreaded it. Sewer drain in the floor, which would back up periodically...blargh.

However, this is not about sewage. Michael, your place is lovely -- have another thumb.

I absolutely love the lushness of your bedding.

Has your home been featured somewhere else? Or does it just feel familiar?

Berkeley and I were thrilled to log on this morning to see so many great responses to my little cottage. Thank you for the votes! It's very validating to have "strangers" respond so well to my home.

To answer some of your questions:
Yes, I chose to sleep in the smaller bedroom because it's at the back of the house and off the street; and also because my office is bright and sunny for daytime use (I'm a graphic designer).

I installed double rods in my closet to accommodate my clothes.

The paint in my kitchen is called "Distant Valley" by Valspar® (Lowe's). The 1980s formica cupboards are primed with Zinser Bullseye® Primer. No prep needed. No sanding, nothing! Then I painted them using another Valspar colored called "Betsey's Linen"; and added hardware and crown molding trim.

I am in LOVE with the yummy nuetral I used in the living room and bedroom. It's by Benjamin Moore® and is called "Old Prairie". You have to see this color in person. Depending on the time of day, it has so many great subtleties!

The chair was made by Norwalk and the sofa is Pottery Barn. But I've had them both slip covered to work in this house.

The chair and ottoman are slip covered in a fabric called "Luxury Linen" and I had them made to fit, but I' can't share the link here. The sofa is covered in white cotton duck.

I'm talking with the AT editors about doing a full house tour, so stay tuned. Thanks again for all your kind responses and THUMBS UP!

By the way, my house was definitely influenced by the beach. I spent 25 years of my life in Southern California. And ... now that I'm in Michigan, I'm only a 5 minute bike ride from Grand Traverse Bay. Bliss!

nice kitchen table chairs. where are those from? and the table? very pretty!

mom says ... way to go!!!! you really have done a great job decorating your home. when we get to miami, are you going to come down and help me with our new place?

Thumps up. Clean and tidy.

this is fine, but nowhere near as good as Kara's shades of gray, which has less votes.

Love the colours added by the vintage poster. Thumbs up from me, this is the best one I have seen.

So cozy and inviting...l would plop down in that great chair with ottoman in the living room at the end of the day. Elegantly casual.

Gorgeous bed, too.

Love your home and love TC! I tried to vote and it said voting was closed.

@alimar: so you're either saying that a) design is objective or b) design is subjective, but you're sure that your assessment is the, er, objectively correct one? Or is there a flaw in the contest? Should certain people not be allowed to vote? Should there be a panel of judges that judges each voter's taste and weights his or her vote accordingly? Who judges the judges? Who judges the judges of the judges? (Well, I suspect you'd want to be the judge-cubed -- answered my own question there. :)

What I'm really saying is "says you -- and who made you 'the decider?'" I thumb-upped Michael and did not thumb-up Kara, that I recall, and if that means you think my taste is lousy, I'm fine with that. What is your objective in dissing Michael re: Kara in Michael's comments? Trying to convince other people not to vote for Michael because you think his entry isn't as good as Kara's..the voting on which had already closed?

Yes! Michigan! I love that this feels like it's RIGHT on Traverse Bay.

I agree with le_sacre. This is pretty and well edited and crisp, but it's nothing that wows me. For the amount of votes it received, I feel as though I am missing something...

This may be the first time I've actually LIKED "seafoam" colored walls. Your space is beautiful - it's the kind of place I would fall in love with when I walked in. All simple things but so well chosen.

Love the kitchen! Where are the counter tops from?

I love the bookshelf on casters. Where did that come from, or was is custom?

Dear Michael (and Berkley)
I was so disappointed your home didn't make it further in the contest but I will look forward to seeing more of it in a house tour if that eventuates.

Your home has a wonderful "haven from the world" feeling which isn't easy to create, lots of interesting choices in your decor which all work wonderfully well together. Good taste, restraint and balance. But I would lose the cut out letters - they are so unnecessary when your place already says it all.

So beautiful. Would you tell us where you found the red 'Tour Eiffel' print in the living room? Many thanks.