Where Are They Now? Catching Up With AT’s Small/Cool Winners From 2011 and 2016

Last week we caught up with Hilary Padget and Anthony Harrington, AT’s Small/Cool winners from 2008. Their award-winning “3-in-1” studio apartment in Brooklyn was full of inspiring ideas for small spaces, and their current home is just as lovely. But they’re not the only past winners we’ve caught up with.

Jordan Carlson (the professional appreciator behind the popular Instagram account, @local_trove) won in 2011 with a very cool 460-square-foot Brooklyn apartment. The apartment had windows on three sides, which meant it had a ton of natural light. She also loved the home’s location in Williamsburg, only a stop away from Manhattan. Though a small space, she was able to create the vibe she wanted: a relaxing and restorative home for herself and guests.

Unfortunately, there was only one closet in the whole place and she had to get creative with storage. Her smart solution? Making sure every furniture piece she brought in had drawers or shelves—from a side table, coffee table, bed, lockers, and more. Her choices weren’t just useful in this small home—she was able to use much of the same furniture in her current home, a cool 1000-square-foot Seattle space she’s lived in for six years (and that we also toured!)

“I was in the Brooklyn apartment that won the Small/Cool contest for four and a half years, until I returned to Seattle. I wouldn’t have left that apartment if it wasn’t for the decision to return to the West Coast. My family is all out here (in California) and it felt like time to return to the Pacific Northwest,” she explains.

Marketer and consultant Pamela Kaupinen won the Small/Cool contest in 2016 with her 385-square-foot Chelsea apartment. Thanks to the natural light, her furnishing choices, and how she laid out the furniture in her small home, the rental actually looks larger than that. Describing her style as eclectic, clean, and modern bohemian, part of the appeal of her small space is how she’s created a mix of both luxury and laid-back vibes with her decor choices. “In 2016, after living in my apartment with minimal design for several years, I decided to give my home the attention it deserved, by way of a full decor upgrade,” she says. “I invested in new furniture, rugs, mirrors, etc. and fell in love with the final product. I had considered moving but opted for a re-design instead!” 

Pamela is smart about not wasting space. For example, her kitchen is definitely small, but actually a big part of her total floor plan. “It took me a long time to figure out how to best utilize the space but now I am thrilled to have a functional table and two chairs for intimate dining,” she wrote. Not all the additions to her home were purely functional though; she added some luxe accents in her bedroom with an IKEA dresser hack.

Perhaps one of the best secrets to her small space feeling larger than its actual size is that she kept the color palette light. “I had the entire apartment painted a true white vs. off white, which brightened it up a lot and made the space feel more open and airy,” she explained. Add in lots of plants, and you have one happy, cool, and super small home… which she has lived in for eight years now!

Apartment Therapy: Did you learn anything about living in a small home from entering the contest and winning?

Jordan Carlson: Living in NYC taught me that you don’t have to live large to live well. My apartment was small and yet I had guests, I had dinner parties, I had countless gatherings. Hospitality is something I deeply value and before NYC and living particularly small, I had the misconception that you need space to do that. Nope—you need to value it and to think creatively about the space.

Pamela Kaupinen: I followed the contest for years and was ALWAYS inspired by it! Seeing the creativity in small homes across the world gave me the confidence I needed to invest my time and money in building my tiny dream home.

AT: What did you think it was about your award-winning space specifically that resonated the most with readers?

JC: Great question. I can’t say for sure but I know others have commented that my aesthetic is both eclectic and yet cohesive. Perhaps that had something to do with it. AND, I think I had numerous creative solutions for storage that resonated with people living small.

PK: Though small, my space has a lot of character without feeling crowded. Each room (bedroom, living room, and kitchen) has their own distinct personality yet all complement each other in their design. I’d like to think my style of decorating inspired readers to not hold back, but rather strategically follow their big design dreams within their small spaces.

AT: What do you think was the most important small space trick/storage idea/organizing idea in your home then? What is it now in your current home?

JC: It definitely has to do with non-traditional ways of incorporating storage. In my Brooklyn apartment, I turned a flat file into a coffee table; I had a tiny drop-leaf table from IKEA as a side table, but I could pull it out, open it up and seat six people (it also had three drawers down the center on each side that served as storage); my bed had drawers; I used lockers for storage—something that allowed organization and the ability to close the clutter off visually, but in it self, was a furniture statement.

In my current home, the coffee table and the bed frame remain and I’m still so thankful for the added storage. Here I have a closet off my dining room and I designed a storage system of shelves and drawers that helped me optimize that space (thanks, dad for helping me build it!).

PK: I have a lucite coffee table in my living room, which helps the space to feel open. The living room is my smallest room, yet like so many, it’s the one I spend the most time in, thus it needed to be extremely functional. The appearance of the table is minimal, yet high style. It does the job without making the room feel small or over decorated.

AT: Were you able to use any small space lessons you learned in your new, larger space?

JC: My current apartment looks like my Brooklyn apartment on helium. It’s quite funny. NYC friends that have been here immediately speak to the similarities. My current apartment is larger—I have an actual bedroom AND a tiny guest room—but my values of smart, interesting design and a welcoming, restorative space have remained a constant.

AT: What is the most surprising feedback you received on your small, cool home?

JC: I don’t recall anything surprising other than the fact that it was received so well by strangers. That was a delight.

PK: A lot of people liked my IKEA hack dresser in my bedroom! I had seen it done in another apartment and couldn’t resist stealing the brilliant idea. IKEA hacks are a work of art and some of the best home items in the biz.

AT: Any advice for competitors this year?

JC: Have fun. Interact with your commenters. Keep it kind; don’t engage in negativity. 

PK: Never underestimate your space! I did for many years and the best decision I made for myself was investing in making my apartment more than a small living space, but rather a home I could be comfortable in and proud of. Small does not equal compromise. It’s an opportunity to be creative and flex your design sensibility!

Thanks, Jordan and Pamela!

Be sure to enter the Small/Cool contest for a chance to win big prizes!