Recent Features Roundup
Occasionally we like to select a few features from the Cottage that were published by other outlets and share them via our own blog as well. Our latest roundup includes a video interview, tips for small space living, and our story of sheltering in under 400 sqft for nearly a year.
What's Your Story?: A live conversation in this time of global reckoning, revolution, and reinvention, with Rebecca Walker, Lily Diamond and Whitney Leigh Morris via Book Passage.
Video below, or click here to view via the Book Passage events channel replay page.
Basenotes by Vitruvi: Tips for Small Space Living from The Tiny Canal Cottage
Whitney Leigh Morris lives with her husband, her four-year-old son, and their two dogs, and has another baby on the way. Sounds pretty average, right? Until you factor in that she’s doing it all in less than 400 square-feet. Find out how she makes it work in her interview with Basenotes.
Domino Magazine: Small Space Quarantine Tips from Whitney Leigh Morris
(Note: This was published in December 2020, but was written at the start of the previous the Spring, when when we’d only sheltering in place for 2 months. Now, after nearly a year of staying home, most of our practices are still very much the same.)
Video: New "About Us" Video
I uploaded a new 2-minute "About Us" video here on the site, briefly recapping our journey since we moved into the Cottage, and explaining why we share what share.
As always, thank you for being here and experiencing life in under 400 sqft with us.
Video: The Holidays in a Tiny House
Happy holiday season from our (tiny) home to yours. This time of year can feel loud and frenzied, so I wanted to take a quiet moment to thank you for sharing this <400 sqft space with us. We wish you and yours love and happiness in the coming weeks, and in the new year. (Video by TINYLICIOUS.)
Zero Hunger, Zero Waste
America wastes more than 40% of its food. Not only does this contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but it also fails to help the 1 out of every 8 Americans who struggles with hunger. As consumers, we can make a difference in many ways. Even taking small steps— such bringing our own produce bags and choosing flawed produce when shopping for groceries— can create change that leads to a more sustainable future. (See our IGTV video on this topic, created in partnership with Kroger, below.)
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.9)
Our 9th episode of Tiny Takeaways offers the tiniest and simplest tip of all, but I still think it’s one worth sharing: Consider utilizing the outside of your compact kitchen’s refrigerator. Every space is different— maybe your fridge isn’t magnetized, or perhaps you barely have room to open the door or access the sides or top, in which case this episode might not apply to you. But when I think back on all the tiny kitchens I had in the past, I wish I’d thought to save precious surface and drawer inches by using low-cost items such as clever magnets and wire baskets. In our 8+ years in this cottage we’ve stored so many items on the exterior of our fridge: timers, reusable coffee filters, aprons, herbs, bottle openers, spice racks, new user guides, table brushes, chalk boards, produce bags, candles, and multi-use clips. This is not an earth-shattering hack, but that’s not our intent anyway. Our intent is to demonstrate that you don’t necessarily need a bigger space, because with some creativity, you can enhance function and character WITHOUT increasing your footprint.
For 200+ more tips for making the most of your compact home or apartment, explore our lil’ book: Small Space Style.
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.7)
This is the 7th installment of our mini video series, Tiny Takeaways. In this episode, we’re continuing to highlight some easy, space-saving swaps that might make your home or apartment a bit more eco-friendly. For 200+ more tips for making the most of your compact home or apartment, explore our lil’ book: Small Space Style.
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep. 6)
This is the 6th installment of our mini video series, Tiny Takeaways. In this episode, we’re highlighting some easy, space-saving swaps to make your home or apartment a bit more eco-friendly. For 200+ more tips for making the most of your compact home or apartment, explore our lil’ book: Small Space Style.
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.4)
This is the fourth installment of our mini video series, Tiny Takeaways. In this episode, we’re highlighting 5 easy ways to create a soothing small space by reducing visual clutter. We hope you enjoy! (For 200+ more tips for making the most of your compact home or apartment, explore our lil’ book: Small Space Style.)
(Note: This episode is formatted vertically for optimal mobile viewing. To watch it on a desktop/laptop, please click the full screen icon on the control bar at the bottom of the video player. )
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.3)
Lately I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on why I do what I do for a living. My goal is for the readers of this blog and my book to be confident and fulfilled in their small homes or apartments, and I want to be one of their primary, go-to resources for reliable, low-cost, eco-friendly takeaways that can help them spend less time organizing and searching for their stuff, and more time with the ones they love. Adam and I created a mini video series that we hope offers creative, no/low cost styling and storage solutions to folks living in smaller spaces.
This is the third episode of Tiny Takeaways, in which we focus on ways to free up floor and surface space by going vertical with functional decor.
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.2)
Lately I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on why I do what I do for a living. My goal is for the readers of this blog and my book to be confident and fulfilled in their small homes or apartments, and I want to be one of their primary go-to resources for reliable, low-cost, eco-friendly takeaways that can help them spend less time organizing and searching for their stuff, and more time with the ones they love. Adam and I created a mini video series that we hope offers creative, no/low cost styling and storage solutions to folks living in smaller spaces. This is the second episode, in which we focus on ways to streamline a compact home-office. As always, thank you for your encouragement and continued support of our lil’ home, family and business.
Video: Tiny Takeaways (Ep.1)
I don’t want everything I publish to be shoppable. (That’s why I started my “Items You Can Probably Go Without” blog entries.) I don’t wan’t to earn income by constantly encouraging people to buy more, when I know that most of us can (and should, for environmental reasons,) live with less. What I do want is for folks to be comfortable, confident and content in their small homes or apartments. And I want to be a resource for reliable takeaways that can help you spend less time searching for your stuff, and more time with the ones you love.
Adam and I created a mini video series that we hope offers creative, no/low cost organizational and storage solutions to folks living in smaller spaces. This is the first episode, and I so deeply hope that it’s useful to some of you. As always, thank you for your encouragement and continued support of our lil’ home, family and business!
Video: Small Space Style on Access Live
This week, StanLee and I were guests on Access Live, where I shared my book, Small Space Style, as well as some thoughts on living more sustainably with less.
We were lucky to work with Airstream, who provided a space-savvy Flying Cloud for the segment. (It’s so well designed, both inside and out. Adam and I are already planning to take our family on a lil’ trip in one of their travel trailers.)
We also brought our “Company Car” (the cargo tricycle by Virtue) for the feature. To my delight, the hosts later rode around the lot with StanLee.
The segment is below. Thank you so much for having us, Access Live! We look forward to returning.
Video: 8 Years in The Cottage
This spring marked our 8th anniversary of living in our lil’ home! We always want to remember this time, so we made a video that we can revisit later in life.
Thank you to Lucia Doynel of Tinylicious for capturing this footage so naturally while we went about our day at home. And thank you to Eric Mellgren of Vigilant Healing Solutions for permitting us to use his original song, Up To Something, in this video.
(See our “Then & Now” post from our 7th year anniversary here.)
Father's Day at the Cottage
This post was sponsored by Baileys.
From the first moment we discussed the possibility of having children together, I knew my husband Adam would be a wonderful father. He has a calm and carefree way about him that encourages everyone around him to be at ease. His presence reminds me to relax and breathe— it’s a rare and valuable trait that’s so helpful in the context of becoming a parent, and raising a child in a busy world.
For Adam’s first Father’s Day as a dad, we agreed to celebrate simply. No presents— we have everything we need already, and tiny homes function better with fewer items anyway. Instead, we’ve opted for a quiet night in Venice.
We have lavender in our garden here at home, plus there were buckets of it at our local Farmer’s Market as well, so we decided to use it in a celebratory Baileys cocktail shake.
We rode around town on our bikes gathering up the other groceries we needed. (West has grown up enough now that we can secure his car seat into the cargo bike, which has been amazing.)
Adam came up with a quick and easy concoction that we threw into the Vitamix after dinner:
• 2oz Baileys
• 2oz Bulleit Whiskey
• 2 Cups Ice
• 1 Cup Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Topped with Lavender Sprigs
Earlier this weekend, Adam installed a little shelf on our Dutch Door, which is the handiest little add-on for our tiny kitchen. We put it to good use while making our drinks, and while enjoying the porch after West fell asleep for the night.
The ingredients smelled so good that we couldn’t get Sophee to leave them alone while we were preparing the shakes. (In the end, she only knocked over one glass. Given her track record, it could’ve been worse. )
This was a laid-back and delightful way to observe a special occasion together. We wondered: why scream over each other at a restaurant, or go out and contend with LA traffic while a babysitter watches our son? For us, being in our little home with our little family is the perfect way to connect, celebrate and surround ourselves with love.
This Is Ground Video
I love everything about This Is Ground-- their team, products, branding, story, and influencer collaborations. I find so many similarities between TIG designs and our mindset here at the Cottage. Keep things simple, clean, useful, multifunctional, and adaptable. (We have so few belongings here at our home/office, but I think that Adam and I have every TIG product ever made.)
I was thrilled when the TIG's founder, Mike Macadaan, asked me to do a short video for his company, showing how I use their products in the Cottage. It turned out beautifully, thanks to some amazingly talented people behind the camera.
Select behind the scenes photos shot by Olivia Katz.
Cottage on The Today Show
The Cottage is on The Today Show site this morning! (Can you tell that I pulled an all-nighter working, and then we shot this between the hours of 4-7am? 😴) Thanks for visiting us, Today Home!
