SUPER SMALL LIVING - A GENIUS 350 SQUARE FOOT BEACH COTTAGE

A super small cottage with a really smart space saving solution - a built in sofa! (above)

Two things excite me when looking at places for sale or rent...either extremely big mansions on one hand...or super duper small living spaces on the other.  I know. Diametrical sized living spaces!  I love the idea of living in a big house for once.  I live in a tiny cottage in the Hollywood Hills that I bought years and years ago.  I love my cute cottage in the hills but I admittedly at some point in the future I am ready to move into some place bigger (a mansion, a large farm, a castle, a compound...you know...just something a little bigger).

My dream big house aside, over the last few days, I have been helping a girl at work look at apartments for rent.  She has to move out of her place in about 7 days so she is in a mad search for an apartment.  Well yesterday, she found a super small studio in Los Angeles and came into my office to show it to me.  We stayed late yesterday as I helped her map out a floor plan for the apartment and figure out furniture.  I really enjoy the challenge of taking on a super small space and making it livable.  Is that weird?

So today (unlike yesterday...see the post on the $75 million dollar house), I am thinking small!  That is why I am posting this little Venice Beach, California cottage cutie that I saw on Apartment Therapy yesterday.  A couple lives in this tiny abode.

This home pictured here is only 356 square feet.  It is a 1920's craftsman cottage on a small lot in the Venice Canals.  Apparently the couple who lives in this house rents it.    There is just one bedroom and a nice garden.

Here's the cool part...in order to maximize the little space there is in this cottage, the owner had a built in L-shaped sofa bench made and also made a built-in bed in the bedroom.  The built-in furniture dimensions were customized to make the most of the square footage

Take a look.
 

The L-shaped built in bench sofa also acts as room divider between the tiny living room and the small kitchen. (above)

Every inch of wall space is used...there is even room for a small home office that doubles as a dining room for two. (above)

More built-in space saving - this time in the bedroom, with a built in bed and book shelves. (above)

A small patio is perfect for a tiny outdoor living room (above)

What do you think of this small space?  Do you prefer a little tiny home like this or a penthouse apartment like I featured yesterday?  Please let me know in the comments section below.

Happy Wednesday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Was so excited to see on Instagram that Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan saw the COCOCOZY Rug Collection at High Point Furniture Market yesterday and really liked it.  Here's his Instagram photo and the caption below is what he had to say about our COCOCOZY Loop Rug in Hot Pink!  Maxwell has seen it all in home furnishings so was honored that he is "impressed" with my rug collection! Thank you Maxwell for the nice words!

"Super simple but elegant and with great colors. I was totally impressed with Nbaynadamas @Capel rugs #hpmkt MR"

Photos: Apartment Therapy

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AN beach cottage, built in, cottage, garden, outdoor living room, patio, small house, small kitchen, small space, space planning, Venice Beach

FOUR DESIGN IDEAS FOR A SMALL HOME

Idea #1  - Incorporate a sectional sofa instead of a sofa and separate chairs n a living room...this cuts down on the visual clutter but provides extra seating. (above)

I like this little 700 square foot bungalow.  Such a great use of square footage.  Good ideas for those of us who live in a small space!

Idea #2 - Never get rid of built ins - refurbish existing built in cabinets or build new ones...they are great space savers  for storage and can look good too! (above)

Idea #3 - Add in floating wall shelves - floating shelves are great for storage as shown here in this small home office (above)

Idea #4 - Don't be afraid to use color  - This color blocked small kitchen with black floor and counters, white cabinets and red accent wall and door actually make this tiny space quite cheerful! (above)

What do you think of these tips?  Any you might use in one of your smaller rooms?  Any ideas you can share?

Happy Wednesday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  I'm still working on that COCOCOZY partnership announcement I mentioned. So excited to share with you my latest collaboration.

P.P.S.  Last night, TE and I went to a party for Nylon Magazine.  There was a dinner in honor of the magazine's Young Hollywood Edition.  Spent the evening chit chatting with lots of cute adorable young Hollywood types. Dinner was followed by a fantastic party at the Roosevelt Hotel.  Thanks to KA and TH for inviting us!  So much fun.


Photos: Daniel Hennessy

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AN built in, bungalow, color block, Craftsman, decorate, DESIGN IDEA, dining room, home furnishings, home office, interior design, living room, small house, small kitchen, small space

A MULTI LEVEL 425 SQUARE FOOT NEW YORK APARTMENT!

This is what 425 square feet in New York looks like. Three levels of apartment living neatly designed into a small foot print.  When the homeowner bought the unit on the Upper West Side back in 1994 it was more like a studio with roof access.  Today, thanks to some clever architect work, a small space is given new life and more square footage by simply adding different platforms within the 12 foot ceilings.

Simple, clean lines, neutral tones with a pop of turquoise.  I like.

Check out the architect's rendering below to see how this small multilevel apartment works - all in under 500 square feet.

Levels 1 & 2 - The sunken kitchen with light blue glass backsplash leads up into the main living room space. (above)

Level 2 - The living room features a gray tufted modern sectional sofa. (above)

The staircase leading up to level 3 doubles as storage with lacquer built in 

Level 3 - Bedroom

Level 3 - The loft like bedroom. (above)

BEFORE - If you can believe it, this is what the space looked like before the remodel. (above)

Such a smart use of space!  What do you think of this small apartment?  Could you live in this space?

Happy Wednesday!

xo
Coco


Photos: New York Times

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AN loft, New York City, small apartment, small space

DESIGN IDEA: TWO TONED CURTAIN DIVIDERS!

I like ceiling and wall mounted curtains used as room and space dividers in this small apartment. The mint green curtains in the living room and the coral orange in the bedroom work.  Drapery in two different complimentary colors to create a horizontal fade (or ombre look) effect.  I like.

Using a wall mounted drape is great for concealing an area or for defining separate spaces in a small apartment, flat or home.  Good small space saving idea I think.

Also, I think these little rooms look so bright and cheerful and colorful. Love the mix of colors!  Also love the copper pendant light and striped rugs in the living room.

What do you think of this design idea?  Like or dislike?

Happy Thursday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Below are a few more pictures of COCOCOZY Headquarters (HQ) in Beverly Hills where we used a ceiling mounted drape on a track to conceal our storage racks. Our offices are indeed quite small so this trick worked for us.  We used the COCOCOZY Logo Linen fabric in Gray.  Design wise the office is still a work in progress.  Need to now decorate.  Have had no time though!

Ceiling mounted drapes conceal storage at the COCOCOZY offices in Beverly Hills. Office is still a work in progress...not finished decorating yet and we've been there for about 6 months! (above and below)

P.P.S.  Yesterday, a friend of mine who is the head of talent for a cable network asked us to put together a last minute holiday gift proposal for him - gifts he possibly wants to give to some people in his organization within the next week.  So, in less than an hour, CM and JW did a quick photo shoot at COCOCOZY HQ to showcase some of our gift items.  JW shot the photos and CM styled and put together a whole proposal for my network executive friend. Below is the fruits of the little shoot and the proposed gift assortment they came up with featuring our COCOCOZY Logo Lucite Trays and some COCOCOZY Candles.  Thank you CM and JW.  Nice work.  We don't know if my cable network executive friend will end up going with our gifts but I think the COCOCOZY team did a great job of putting our best foot forward!

COCOCOZY Holiday GIfts - COCOCOZY Lucite Logo Trays and COCOCOZY Candles! (above)

P.P.P.S.  So thrilled (and relieved)...We got our COCOCOZY Logo Lucite trays back in stock as of yesterday!   We're shipping all today and tomorrow.  A nice whirlwind of buzz for these trays meant that we sold out almost immediately.   Now we are back in business just in time to ship for the holiday.  Still not too late to order yours!

P.P.P.P.S.  12/12/12 was a very interesting day for us at COCOCOZY.  Hopefully I'll be able to talk about  it soon.

P.P.P.P.P.S. The other night was out to dinner with CM and he made a good point about putting things in perspective and appreciating your life now.  He said one of his favorite songs is Carly Simon's Anticipation...CM said every time he hears the lyrics in that song "These are the good old days, these are the good old days....", he remembers to appreciate the moments in his life now.  While sitting at a fantastic dinner with me and JW on Tuesday night, CM gleamed and smiled and said..."You guys these are the good old days.  We're in them right now.  These are them. Let's take a moment and really really enjoy these times now because later we'll be calling these days the "good old" ones."  He's right.


Photo: Kjellander + Sjoberg

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AN bedroom, candles, COCOCOZY HQ, coral, curtains, DESIGN IDEA, drapery, drapes, living room, lucite tray, mint green, room divider, small apartment, small space

DESIGN IDEA: DIVIDE AND CONQUER!

Have a room and need to create multiple spaces?  Here is an idea...a floor to ceiling bookshelf dividing a small space.

I like!  What do you think?  Would a room dividing screen work better for you...or how about a plain old fashioned wall?  Please let me know!

Happy Thursday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Have been running around like a chicken with no head this week.  Went to a fab event on Tuesday at designer Michael Smith's gorgeous showroom called Jasper.  Oooh la la la la la la.  Lovely things throught the showroom including antique dealer Liz O'Brien's new furniture line.  Saw and talked to lots of L.A. and NY design community including the ever so chic Margaret Russell who is the editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest.

P.P.S.  Tonight going to a celebrity studded event at the Restoration Hardware showroom.  I RSVP'd for me +4!  The p.r. people were very nice and said that my guests are welcome!  FANTASTICO!!!!!

P.P.P.S.  Regular work couldn't be busier!  Oy.

P.P.P.P.S.  Best of friend FF invited me to Vail this weekend to her 9,000 square foot ski chalet.  Oh dear...don't think I can make it.  Darn.

P.P.P.P.P.S.  Just closed a very exciting business deal for Nbaynadamas!  Will announce it soon.  Thanks to agent SM for getting it closed.  And can't wait to get started working with TW, JM, CC and team!  Woot woot woot!

P.P.P.P.P.S.  Late to work.

P.P.P.P.P.P.S.  My sis DS looked stunning last night as she was honored and won an award.  She was wearing a GORGEOUS Prada dress...she looked so elegant.  I am so proud of her.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S  Oy...gotta run.  Hope you all have a terrific day!

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AN apartment, books, bookshelves, built-in bookshelves, DESIGN IDEA, dividing wall, room divider, shelves, small apartment, small space

SEE THIS HOUSE: HOW TO LIVE LARGE IN UNDER 600 SQUARE FEET!

I like this little space in Spain. A small little 1 bedroom apartment that is 570 square feet at most...but made to feel open and airy...light and bright.

Here are 5 things you can do to make your small space feel big:

1. Light colored furniture and accessories - the white sofa, lacquered white would pieces and light color rugs, help make the space feel bigger than it is.

2. Clear things - Go clear. If in a small space, strategically pick a few furniture items to go clear. Lucite or glass pieces mean an unobstructed view of a small space.  See the coffee table in this living room (above) but there are a million lucite or glass pieces like chairs, dining tables, side tables and more in the marketplace today.

3. Sheer window coverings and large windows - The more light you let into your small space the better...bring the outdoors in by using shades that let a bit of natural light shine through.

4. Use interior sliding, pocket or barn doors - Don't let a regular door take up space.  When you can trade out a regular door for a sliding door.  This means they'll be less square footage taken up for the door to open and close and more footage for furniture and open spaces.

5. White walls with a feature wall here or there - Not ground breaking but true...light walls make a small space feel larger.  So paint all walls white (and I like bright white...not off white or beige) and then take one small wall in a bedroom (as seen below) or living space and use wallpaper or paint to add a burst of  color or texture to a room.

In this small apartment, an open living plan was used for the kitchen, dining and living area.  Normally I'm not a fan of open living rooms but this one definitely works.

What do you think of this small apartment?  Could you live in the space?  What tricks do you have for making a small room in your house just feel a tiny bit bigger?  Do share!  I love reading your comments.

Happy Friday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Please go to Nbaynadamas Twitter to see some new colorways I am adding to the Nbaynadamas textiles collection for the New York Gift Fair in about two weeks.  Am also adding cotton pillows!!!

Photo: Mi Casa Revista

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AN apartment, barn door, open floor plan, open kitchen, SEE THIS HOUSE, sliding door, small apartment, small house, small space, Spain, white walls