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February 23, 2005
Little Room.
Well you're in your little room
and you're working on something good
but if it's really good
you're gonna need a bigger room
and when you're in the bigger room
you might not know what to do
you might have to think of
how you got started
sitting in your little room
-The White Stripes
It's "convenient theories for me" time! And also a contest!
As you may have noticed, I find little spaces very inspiring. The constraints and challenges force me to think really creatively about design and problem solving, and maybe everything else too. If I somehow got dropped into a mansion, or even a real house with rooms larger than 14'x14', I think I'd have more trouble decorating and filling the space well. And I posit I'd be less able to express myself creatively overall. Just a theory, no way to really test it. Unless you really want to give me a mansion to decorate. In which case, I probably won't stop you.
And I have Edna St. Vincent Millay to back this theory. She was a fabulous New York poet, and the first woman to ever win the Pulitzer. She lived in the city's narrowest residence for a year (1923-1924). Actors John Barrymore and Cary Grant also paid the rent at 75 ½ Bedford Street. Coincidence? Um, maybe not!
I've brought your attention to this already, but my two favorite magazines recently had special features on small spaces, and this site is really focused on nothing but small space living. I'd like to believe that there's a bit of a sprawl backlash movement on the rise, and more and more citizens will grow more conscientious about our consumption of resources and space.
Anyway, I'd like to share another big inspiration of mine with all of you:
There are tremendous ideas in this book. Some of the apartments may not be your style or mine, but every space includes a neat idea or five for storage, for creative use of color, for furniture, for lighting. I've read it a hundred times, and every reading unearths a great new detail I'd never noticed before, or helps me solve a new design problem.
THE GOOD NEWS:
I have an extra copy of this book.
THE GREAT NEWS:
I want to share it with a lucky Apartmentalist reader.
THE CONTEST:
Email me at Lara@apartmentalist.com and (in 1000 words or less) describe your favorite room, tell me about a unique solution to a design problem, share a cool DIY project, whatever. You can attach photos and drawings to the email (in fact, I'd love that!), but just write anything you think will interest Apartmentalist's other 200+ readers.
Please include:
- Your name/How you'd like me to identify you
- Your mailing address (this is for prize-mailing purposes only, and I will burn it once the contest is over)
- Your essay
- Any photos and drawings you'd like to show the world
THE PRIZE:
The winner will receive their own copy of the incredibly cool Living Large in Small Spaces: Expressing Personal Style in 100 to 1,000 Square Feet by Marisa Bartolucci and Radek Kurzaj, and their submission will be featured on this site on Monday, March 7th.
THE DEADLINE:
Entries are due at Midnight, EST, on Friday March 4th, and they'll be judged by me and a panel of design savvy friends, possibly over a bottle of wine. The winning entry will appear here on the morning of the 4th, with a byline and everything. I'll send the book to you via media mail shortly thereafter.
THE DISCLAIMER:
Adherence to the guidelines increases your chances of winning, but please also be creative. Your submission grants me explicit permission to publish it. The copyright will remain yours. I will credit you however you like. I will not give out any of your personal information ever, to anyone, for any reason. I reserve the right to edit or excerpt your essay pre-publication.
Any questions?
Please submit!
Posted by Lara at February 23, 2005 02:01 PM
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