Embrace the Stack and Pile

I truly believe pets and books make a house feel like a home! In my current diminutive dwelling, I am still in search of bookshelves that can stylishly squeeze into my design scheme. Until then I have embraced the art of the “stack and pile.”

My collection of vintage books sits neatly displayed on a pair of bedroom nightstands, and the TV armoire shows off hardcover books most people would reserve for the coffee table.

Stack Books Artfully on a Chair

A salvaged flea market chair with an extra-wide seat is the ideal landing for stacks of treasured design and art books.  A vintage metal tray below holds a spillover of books that are oddly shaped or in paperback.

Covered metal bins line up in the foyer and hide all of the DIY and how-to books that have guided me through many paint and fabric projects. They are my reliable design friends, but their tattered covers have seen better days and need to stay undercover.

Think of your piles of books as movable displays.

Look There’s More

Click here for more ways to use chairs as clever storage solutions.

So what if your home feels like it’s no bigger than a postage stamp. Summer is the perfect time to pull out all of the stops and host your own mini-cocktail party—even if it’s standing room only. Make “small” the big theme of your party from the invites to the size of the cocktails. That way everyone will get a kick out of the cramped quarters, and you’ll feel less pressure or embarrassment when guests mistake your bedroom for the coat closet.

Here are some “tried-and-true” party tips that have helped SUPER-SIZE the fun factorat my petite parties in the past:

	1. If you’re worried about seating, you can ask guests to BYOC—Bring Your Own Chair! It can add an unexpected surge of energy to the entire evening. You can ask guests to keep the chairs little, portable and challenge them to get creative. Love cardboard ones like this one from erdemselek.com.
	2. Create a signature cocktail for the evening, which always makes guests feel special. Be sure to serve it up in miniature martini glasses. I get mine from Ikea because they are so affordable.
	3. Use mirror magic all around your diminutive digs. Buy a few inexpensive glass tiles from home improvement stores and place them under candles, plates and platters to reflect light and add sparkle to the evening.
	4. Roll out your bar in any corner of the room. Just invest in an inexpensive folding butler’s tray table like this one from CB2. When the party’s over, you can fold it up and hide it under your bed. Folding luggage racks also do the trick. Just place a large sturdy tray on top to hold ice and drinks.
	5. Serve mini-appetizers that you can balance on these delightful fingerplates from CB2.
	6. Put a lazy Susan to work and display cheese and crackers on marble platters that can spin to serve guests even in tight corners.

Good lighting can make or break a small space and can help trick the eye into “seeing and believing” that your place is a little bigger, a little warmer and a little more glamorous than it really is.

My favorite project is to take a cool photo of a chandelier, enlarge it and print it out onto Duratrans photo paper with the help of my local digital printing shop. Depending on the size of your image, it can cost you between 50-80 dollars. Plain white battery operated LED Christmas lights (the ones with the flat head bulbs) hidden from behind the photo turn it into an instant illuminated piece of art.

Make sure and use LED lights because they keep cool and will not melt the Duratrans.

Even in if you live in a postage stamp-sized nutshell, good lighting is essential. The first layer of light I like to create is a soft fill light—basically any light source you direct from above to bounce off the ceiling to lighten the dark areas of your space.

My challenge has always been to invest in lighting that I can take with me and that won’t require a heavy installation of any kind. I recently had a custom shade made by Studio Jota at etsy.com that fit the bill on all counts.

Studio Jota has the colors and fabric patterns that I think are modern and fresh and the prices were incredibly reasonable for a shade made just for my space. I chose to go with the double-shade with yellow Ikat dots fabric. They can make a pendant lamp into a plug-in light so it can easily hang it from a ceiling hook. Just unplug it from the outlet and take it with you when you move on to greener pastures.

I inserted a self-drilling drywall anchor into the ceiling and then screwed in a white cup hook available at any hardware store. Don’t think you can skip this step. The hook alone without an anchor will quickly loosen its grip from the ceiling. I wasn’t worried about the lamp cord showing and plugged it into a dimmer switch so I could control the mood of the space at my fingertips.

The pendant lamp sets the right ambiance for this little reading corner and it gives me a piece of mind knowing that it can travel wherever my next nutshell will be.

I never knew I could do anything about the ugly recessed light in my hallway, especially being a renter. I’ve read a lot about the new recessed light conversion kits that are available out there so I put them to the test. They all promise that the conversion is as easy as changing a light bulb, requires no tools or rewiring. Kind of sounded too good to be true.

The kits range from as low as $25.99 to as high as $45.00. I ordered one from Lowe’s for around $35.00  and I was very disappointed. The metal was very cheap looking and the screw that lets you adjust the length of the electric cord was assembled too tightly. I could never get the light plate to sit flush to the ceiling. I returned the kit right away and ordered a slightly more expensive model from Ballard Designs, which I just love.

All you do is wrap the cord around an adaptor, adjust to the exact length that you need, and then it screws into a light socket. I used a wool felt lampshade that ties around the pendant lamp, which I embellished with cutout butterflies that were glued on (used Magna Tac glue for fabric). Make sure and use a shade that is specific to a pendant lamp so that it hangs correctly. I have to say it was easy and so satisfying…and even more of a bonus that I can take it with me to my next petite pied-à-terre.

Even the smallest amount of light can define a space or nook. I’ve always been envious of elegant libraries and galleries that spotlight framed art and photos with picture lights. The simple act of viewing is elevated to an event.

Battery-operated picture lights are lightweight and affordable and radiate the right amount of glow to a dark corner or to illuminate a humble piece of art. I bought these from improvementscatalog.com.

These lights clip onto any cabinet door or picture frame without leaving a mark. Move them around and use them over a mirror when you get bored.

One way to create unity in a small space is to sprinkle in accessories that are connected by theme, color or texture. Throughout my friend Beth’s studio apartment, I helped add to her growing collection of peacock-inspired home décor. It all started with this romantic embroidered peacock lampshade, which beautifully “crowns” her glass floor lamp in the living room. I love that this shade matches everything.

If you glance to the back of her apartment to a newly decorated dressing area, I hung two plates from Anthropologie. I like the pairing of the peacock’s face with a second plate revealing its feathery tail.

Next time  take inventory of your space by snapping a few wide shots and see what themes have developed organically on their own. I find that reviewing photos can reveal a space in a fresh way. Look for unexpected places to add one or two accessories that will add style power to your collection or theme.

Happy decorating!