Small Cool 2011

Very nice. Extra points for the cats and the schoolbus-yellow piano.

also love the piano...and am obsessed with the floral fabric on the chair? Any chance you would share the source?

yeah...I'm going to need that yellow piano...

Cats :) I love how they were in every picture...Like furry tour guides.

Also love the yellow piano.

Love the yellow piano and the style around it. Very nice. The pictures of the bedroom area seem a little awkward to me, it would have been nice to see it in it's whole rather than pieces of it. But it might be the camera angle. Lovely apartment and the cats are adorable!

i don't appreciate the "artsy" photos. you could have used that photo space to show us your loft bed, your office, your entry or your bathroom. it would help us get a better sense of the space.

holy moly! I love your piano bench!! is it custom made for the piano??

kitty looks like he/she is thinking about destroying those guitar strings.

Haha another one where the pet(s) manage to be in every photo.

Very nicely done. Great kitchen/living/dining room. And that wall of windows! No need to tell you that's fantastic. I like seeing your musical instruments, and of course, the kitties.

So much light, thats wonderfull. Nice cats.

I'm afraid the cat on the table where one eats is a huge turn off.

I need a piano to feel at home. Where did you get that light over the dining table? I love it.

Great use of space. It doesn't seem like 500 sq. feet because of how you've laid things out.

The floral fabric on the chair is from Ikea. It's great stuff -- I've made several things with it, including a couple of bolster pillows and a little makeup bag. It's even better in person.

gb, the cat's actually on the windowsill (where many kitties like to sit) that's next to the table

Hi! I have a space very similar to yours, also in DC -- open kitchen situated on a wall with the "living area" being just one big room about the same size as yours (I have a separate bedroom, though).

Might I make a kind suggestion of simply rotating the sofa+ottoman 180 degrees so it faces the wall instead of facing the kitchen? Then you can put your console along the wall facing your sofa instead of on the adjacent wall. You can get a narrow sofa table to anchor the sofa and create a "hall"-like space for your kitchen.

I tried a layout like yours with the sofa facing the kitchen and I did not like it because I hated always staring at the dirty dishes :) Guests to my place have commented that not being able to see the kitchen from sitting on the sofa in the living area makes the space feel more broken up (in a good way) and cozy. Best of luck!

You had me at flying V guitar. Looks so much bigger than 500 sqft!

Love your cats, especially the black and white one. Cute little place.

I'm a little confused by the furniture layout. I've been studying it for several minutes. You have your sofa facing the kitchen? That seems a little odd to me, does it work for you? Have you played with different furniture layouts?

I'd love to rearrange the furniture, but am not really sure how I'd do it. I do love the yellow piano.

Sucker for the cats. And the swell digs. Favorite.

As a cat owner I'm always interested to see how litter boxes are incorporated into spaces. Where do you keep yours?

From: LAST POST---Please share where you put the litter box?
I LOVE your space and love the cats that let you take their pictures (cats own people:-)). I really appreciate the decisions you had to make with access in a small space. You made smart decisions and fortunately for you your guitars/piano are pieces of art.
Also, I love how the B/W cat gives the suspicious look at the guitars.
Great ideas. Thank you for sharing them!

I'm also curious about where the light over the dining table came from.

Lovely place, and it really shows your passion for music. And has great light!

Great place! The kitties really made me smile.

love the way you've incorporated textiles. and yes, that pic of the yellow piano and bench is awesome!

Love the kitty on the kitchen table... 'cause that's real life. Very cozy atmosphere you have created with some great personality in your style.

Two cats in a space so small? My kitty goes mad when she's locked inside the house for the entire day... but maybe she's a little bit crazy. I also wonder where you put your litter box, and admire your placement of the instruments. I'll be facing that challenge soon moving out with my muso boyfriend.

Clean. Neat. Organized.

Thanks, everyone! I'm always open to furniture-moving suggestions. I rearrange furniture as a hobby. :)

The gray chair fabric is from IKEA.
The pendant lamp is a discontinued style from Viva Terra. I would buy another one if it ever came back. If anyone finds an alternate source, I'd love to hear about it.
My brother made the piano bench!

And about the cats: I've tried to keep them off the counters and table, but we all know that when the humans are asleep or gone, the cats run the place. I just clean surfaces before I use them. They don't seem to think the place is too small: they can quite happily chase each other along the wall of windows.
The litter boxes are in the bathroom. I'm daydreaming about a box-hiding contraption but for now, there are just 2 top-entry boxes along the bathroom wall.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

I love that you found space in 500 sq feet for a piano! that's awesome. You've inspired me to find space for one too. :)

Oh, I'd also like to ask if you painted the piano? If so, is it the same process as painting a piece of furniture?

Love the yellow piano and that big leaf canvas. is it fabric? and i did enjoy the "artsy" pictures.

I did paint the piano! It was a free Craigslist piano, covered in chipping veneer. The paint gave it new life. However, it's not a great paint job. It's different than furniture - because it's veneer, I couldn't strip it, so I painted a few coats of primer, then 3 coats of yellow. It's tricky around the keys, and I probably should have followed up with something to seal the paint.

The artsy pics were designed to be functional, actually - I had a hard time fitting everything into the frame! The big leaf canvas is just a huge piece of Merimekko fabric, stretched over a frame. It serves as a short room divider, so that you can't see the computer workspace from the bed. The room still looks very open, but the view from the bed is uncluttered. I'll try to get better photos next year!

Thanks so much for your comments! I really love getting the feedback.

- one of the Ks

I really like your home! You have packed a LOT of stuff in there without it seeming cluttered. But, where, on the floorplan, is the piano? I can't place it.

Also, I second the suggestion to turn the sofa around so that it backs up to the kitchen space.

I absolutely love this apartment and how the space is used! I have thought about moving into a studio but have been apprehensive about a small space. This is just brilliant with the dividing wall and the huge windows. Is there anyway you could share what building this is in? Or at least what part of DC?