Thursday, October 1, 2009

Coastal Living's 2009 Idea Cottage: Space-Savvy Design

Right-Size Living

The next big thing in architecture is right-size living. That means using money-saving, environmentally sound materials to build a smaller but savvier house in which no square inch is squandered yet luxuries still abound. With its eco-friendly construction and beach-chic feel, the Idea Cottage in South Carolina, shows how to live large in a small footprint.

Design Trick: Pull the palette all the way through a room―essential for cohesion in an open space. Here, a poppy-orange chair and plum pillows echo the stairwell and den beyond.


Favorite Detail: The bold portrait by Molly B. Right, fashioned entirely from bottlecaps (even the eyes!). So intricate up close, so striking from afar.


Favorite Detail: tiling an entire wall, not just the backsplash.


Designer Trick: Paint every surface―walls, trim, and bookcases―one rich color like this dark eggplant for a seamless look.


Favorite Detail: Planting between pavers. Soften hardscape with low-maintenance strips of green between easy-to-install concrete squares.



2 comments:

  1. Great tips ! i looked up the portrait and can't believe it's actually made of bottlecaps...that's a wonderful recycling idea!

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  2. I think decoration of those houses is incredible, I'm a decorator but I wanna get a house like those in order to work my ideas wider, I know soon I'll get it.

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