550 Sq. Ft. NYC "Swiss Army Apartment"

Hey All! I wanted to share with you this lovely Chelsea apartment. It's the beautiful, 550 square foot home of Rosa and Robert Garneau. The functionality and versatility of their space is maxed out to its fullest potential. Since they both work from home they had no choice but to make their apartment work for them and did so by creating privacy with sliding walls.

Nearly every wall in the Garneau's loft opens up to reveal a hidden function; cabinets, a bed and a home office. They even added hydraulics legs to their multi-purpose kitchen island (also used for work) so that it can be lowered for dining! I can't forget to mention that there is storage everywhere - under the sofa and even behind the wall in the bathroom where they house their hidden laundry hamper.

This space is amazing and an example of a small space done to perfection! Check out the video to see a full documentation of this Swiss Army Knife Apartment.

   

Photo Source: Dwell

Single Girl Bachelor Apartment

You may remember, a few months ago (and through various mention in posts for the past 3 months), when I started this project. "The Single Girl Bachelor": When Ashley, the single girl, contacted me to do her bachelor apartment, I was more that ecstatic to work with her especially after hearing the horrific trials she had been through. Newly migrated to the city, Ashley first found herself living in a basement apartment a little bit smaller than this one. A few months after living in the space, she realized that her respiratory health had decreased tremendously. Something seemed to be in the air. After sometime away from her apartment she was welcomed home with the sight of mold that had grown on ALL her belongings. Her bed, sofa, cloths, shoes... I mean EVERYTHING. My space is my sanctuary, so I cannot even begin to imagine the feeling of coming home to that horror.

So moving into this new rental, Ashley was starting with nothing and a suffocatingly T-I-G-H-T budget to furnish her new space. I knew it would be tough, a definite thrift store and craigslist/kijiji project, but I was up for the challenge. My goal at the end of it was to have Ashley overjoyed with warmth every time she open the door to her place. Maybe in some small way it would help to relieve the pain of her first city rental experience.

The Before

I wasn't kidding when I said that she was starting from scratch with nothing. With the help of my favourite thrift shops and months of scouring the net, here is the reveal of the "Single Girl Bachelor Apartment"; decorating from scratch on a shoe thread budget. 

The Reveal

This Year's Trend: Break the Rules!

Small Space Dwellers, I must start by sending my love to each of you and wishing you a Happy New Year! I am truly grateful and blessed for the gifts and lessons of 2012 and am excited to see what is in store for 2013! I don't do the resolution thing, mostly because I never keep them...lol, but I do step into each year with a theme. Last year was my year of 'Nakedness' - Living freely without fear of showing who I am and what I love. From this Eight Hundred Sq. Ft. was born, among other wonderful things. This year my theme is 'Limitless'. I am venturing courageously into this 2013th year breaking away the boundaries I used to set for myself about what I can achieve.  This year I am going to live the BREADTH and width of it!

So it was very fitting when I saw this months issue of Style at Home Magazine. They have declared the trend for 2013, 'BREAKING THE RULE, DECORATE THE WAY YOU LOVE', which I completely resonate with. I have always been an advocate for living the way you love and this includes your space; especially when your home is small and space is limited.

To kick off this year of decorating the way you love, I've decided to showcase Designer and Stylist Nicola Marc's 900 sq. ft. 1920s Montreal apartment, a re-feature from Style at Home. Nicola's space immediately evokes a sense of comfort and playfulness. Her choice of an aubergine and mustard palette with pops of moody accents is a definite "swoon". I love her audacity for mixing geometrics, stripes and paisley. She has wonderfully executed a bold yet harmonious design. Definitely "breaking the rules" worthy.

Cheers Small Space Dwellers! Here is to a year of rule breaking and life loving!

XOXO,

Day 5: Living in a Nutshell

Our 5th and final space (and my absolute favourite) on this amazing small space tour is Janet Lee's wonderfully fabulous New York apartment. It is difficult to know where to begin because there is so many delicious elements to choose from. Her space is flooding with personality! From the charcoal grey picture frame gallery wall to her caviar tin feature wall to the amazing bursts of colour, her eclectic nutshell of an apartment keeps your mind and eyes fascinated.

I love how she has decorated every inch of her space with unconventional grandeur. Her space is such a source of inspiration and beacon of light to renters, showing that style can come in small packages; owned or not! *Round of applause Janet Lee* You will DEFINITELY be seeing some of these ideas incorporated into my spaces. I'll just have to figure out which one I want to do first.

Live large Small Space Dwellers!!