These apartments all have one thing in common, great style!
Although it is not an apartment don't forget the
forerunner of great style and design in a small space, Eileen Gray's E1027.
http://www.frenchriviera-tourism.com/riviera/e-1027-%3Ci%3Emy-motionless-ocean-liner%3C-i%3E-crtarticle_78.html

My bestie and I loved HGTV's "Small Space, Big Style", which also once featured AT's very own Maxwell G-R's abode. I wish they had continued the show.

Amazing!

Very nice places. So much more can be done in small places with high ceilings! I love every one

Wow, I remember all of these entries. The very first "small, cool" contest was my favorite. The readers voted for the winners all the way through; it got seriously crazy. Really fun, and some great apartments that first year.

Ahhh, memories. The first Small Cool contest happened to be going on the first time I ever visited Apartment Therapy. I'm glad to see Patrick's slide show back up (the link was broken for a while). His apartment still looks fabulous, though I would love to find out if it has changed since then. I remember the other finalists being really good too -- particularly the "Golden Handcuffs" apartment.

Lucy-- It hasn't changed that much! Only now I work out of it, too!

They are all beautiful and I would move into any of them, but I would like to see some small spaces with average or low ceilings. If the square feet of these places were cubic feet they would be not so small. Put your hand over the top of each photo to make the room look of average height and you will see what I mean. So is this "Small Cool Decorating" or "Small Cool Architecture"?

Ah...I loved those early days of AT. Sense of cozy, little community (I was practically addicted to AT following posts of Wende of SF/Phoenix, P2, Mid-C Frank & others). Found AT after watching Maxwell on a TV home organization show here in Asia. When I clicked on the AT site, SmallCool was in full swing, and I was blown away by all the entries...so many great ideas, so many inspirations. Loved P2's winning entry, but if memory serves me right, weren't there more photos than what's being shown here? I vaguely remember a stunning Zen-like entryway. London Jewelbox also seems to have fewer photos now. Didn't there used to be a photo showing how that amazing dining table/chair set looks with chairs pulled out, and also pushed back in against the table to snugly form a circle?
Nice roundup of winners here; thanks for the trip down memory lane.

My cat would die from happiness if she could not only lay on my bed but peer out over the entire living space at the same time like in #6.

I started my daily visits to AT because of the Small Cool 2009 contest and will visit until I am no longer able to hit the bookmark on my laptop!