whitney-new-photos.png

Welcome to the Cottage.

The Tiny Canal Cottage is a resource for helping folks mindfully conceptualize, decorate and enjoy versatile + smaller home spaces. Founded by designer, consultant, stylist, creative director and author, Whitney Leigh Morris, this family-owned small business recently finished the construction of a new, compact cottage and greenhouse-office in the southeastern US, and are also restoring a little 1800s French farmhouse and its outbuildings with co-stewards. Morris’ focus is crafting flexible, sustainable, and more community-focused home spaces. Explore Whitney’s book, blog, and social channels for years of tips and tales from living and working in — and with — a smaller footprint.

Cottage Bedroom Garden Chandelier

January is such a weird month in the Cottage. The greenery outside is gone and all the winter holiday decor is  packed away. The house just feels kind of bland and lifeless. Usually we see the overflowing grape leaves through the windows over our built-in bed, but in January and February we're stuck looking at the barren vines and the line of homes nearby. I decided to make a small greenery chandelier for the bedroom to cheer up the space a bit.

I do tons of handmade projects here, but I'm not a particularly patient person, so I tend to lean towards DIY-lite. This chandelier was quick and simple:

I got the smallest chandelier I could find and made sure that the lightbulb holders were still large enough for a standard small pot. I clipped all the electrical components off the fixture with garden clippers, leaving me with the perfect platform on which to put the pots. 

I debated between white or clay pots. I ultimately chose terracotta, which corresponds with the color of the built-ins.  We suspended the fixture from the interior wall of the skylight, and voila! We love it.

I was tempted to get succulents (I mean, look at those colors!). But in a tiny space like ours, I generally opt for simpler palettes to help the room feel uncluttered. But to each his/her own! There are endless beautiful options... 

"Instagram We Love" by Domino Mag

Idyllwild Weekend

Idyllwild Weekend