Apartment Therapy's Great Design Instagrams
Thank you, Apartment Therapy, for including the Cottage in your Great Design Instagrams feature!
Functional Decor from the Cottage on Domino
Good morning! We're thrilled to be back on Domino today, where I'm sharing some of our most notable functional decor tips from The Tiny Canal Cottage. Click here to read the story and view the photos.
Cottage Porch on Domino
What a delight to wake up to the Cottage porch (and #StanleeStubs) on Domino this morning!
We were excited to see our client, The Butcher's Daughter, in the slideshow, too! Check it out here in "21 times we had MAJOR patio envy" via Domino.
Birthday Workout
Today (March 7th) is my birthday. I wanted to do something local, low-key and out of the ordinary to celebrate. Rather than going big (weekend getaway!) or going standard (meet for happy hour!), I thought it would be fun to go healthy.
The wonderful Heather Dorak of Pilates Platinum generously invited us to try out her new Venice Beach studio for a private group Megaformer session:
It was crazy fun. We all got extremely sweaty, and one of us MAY OR MAY NOT have fallen clear off the machine at some point. But we had such a great time and got an absolutely killer workout. Lindsay was our instructor, and she did a flawless job of balancing all our skill levels (or lack thereof) and creating a balanced session that worked for us all. I whole-heartedly recommend this studio to anyone considering reformer pilates.
This is not a paid post. This is simply how I feel. (I also feel sore.)
Temporary Dishwasher Cover
So many people have asked about the fun lil' dishwasher cover featured in one of our recent Cottage images:
The artwork pictured is a piece of wallpaper that was designed by my friend (and total genius) Justina Blakeney for Hygge and West. Instead of fully adhering the paper to the front of the dishwasher, I simply used four magnets to hold it in place.
Try extra strong magnets. Or, if you'd prefer to use adhesive, try something "damage free," such as contact strips.
Wrapping paper is a wonderful way to expand your options, and switch up your look at very little cost.
Luxe Interiors + Design
Thank you for featuring the Cottage in your latest print issue and online, Luxe Interiors + Design!
The Venice Beach Canals
It's no secret how much I love the Venice Beach Canals. We walk the pups along the waterways daily, and look forward to the special events thrown by the Canals Association (such as the holiday boat parade and the 4th of July rubber ducky race).
Unfortunately, more and more of the cute, old bungalows like ours are now being ripped down for modern, zero-lot-line behemoths. To each his/her own, but it definitely bums me out to witness all the demolition. I'm all for change, improvement and progress (yay for green architecture and interesting design!), but I wish that more people tried modifying the smaller, historic homes before building and filling up new mansions.
These are some of my favorite shots we took on (or at places inspired by) the Canals this past year:
Casa Joshua Tree
I visited Casa Joshua Tree again in early February. It was incredible to see all the progress that Lindsay has made on her home renovation.
My favorite recent addition to the space is the Hygge & West wallpaper by Justna Blakeney that we got for her main bathroom. It looks 😍!!!
Lindsay and I had the perfect mini-vacation together-- we worked on some creative projects, snapped tons of pix, hiked through the desert, ate at La Copine Kitchen and Crossroads, and got our live music fix at Pappy and Harriet's.
"Instagram We Love" by Domino Mag
Oh hey, Domino! We are so thrilled that you featured us as today's Instagram you love! Thank you!
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...
Idyllwild Weekend
Idyllwild. You. Are. Magic. This has been the best weekend getaway from LA-- we traveled from the sand to the snow in fewer than 3 hours.
Big thanks to Tysa Designs and Lou & Grey for providing me with the best winter-wear on short-notice. And thank you, Smoke & Honey Magazine, for teaching us about the town.
Pictured: Brooke Lyons, Casa Joshua Tree, Eliz Wilson, and Rachel Mae Furman.
South Florida Vacation
Before heading home to the Cottage after Gainesville, we took a little mini-trip down to Miami leading into New Year:
We stayed at The Standard Spa in Miami Beach. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly (especially you, Frank Zapata), and Adam and I had such a relaxing 3-night stay.
A highlight from the trip was visiting The Walton House, where Adam's mother got married. The setting is a botanical-lovers paradise, and I couldn't stop swooning over the twinkle-lights and blue wooden doors throughout the grounds. It was such a perfect place for an intimate and extraordinary wedding.
Below are some of my favorite moments from Miami, including The Standard, The Walton House, and Whisk Gourmet (mmmmm, grits...):
North Florida Vacation
I love our Cottage, but as it's our live/work environment, it's always good to get out and adventure.
This Christmas, I decided to return to my childhood home in Gainesville, Florida for the first time in three years. Luckily my folks come to LA all the time, but nothing tops visiting in them here:
Sometimes I can't believe I grew up here. It's a wet prairie, surrounded by a live oak forest. This is my parent's immediate backyard. It was just as magical as I remembered it being, and at the end of the week-long vacation, I wasn't ready to leave. (I definitely won't wait three more years to return again.)
When I wasn't clipping botanicals from the garden to decorate our dining table and holiday gifts, I stopped by some gorgeous local sites with my 2½ year-old nephew, Finn. I'd definitely recommend the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and The Florida Museum of Natural History to anyone staying in the Gainesville area.
If you're interested in seeing more photos of this region of Florida, I recommend checking out the work of my friend Mac Stone-- his Insta is one of my favorite accounts.
Sophee - Cottage Rescue Pup no.2
Back in August, we adopted another dog-- this time from Much Love Rescue. She was three months old, and was going to be put down after being a cosmetic testing animal. Luckily, Much Love saved her. They provided her with some necessary surgical procedures, and planned to put her up for adoption once she healed.
Adam and I initially intended to foster her... but we fell victim to a serious case of #FosterFail. We fell in love with Sophee immediately, as did Stanlee:
It was a tough start with little Soph-- she's had a run of serious bad luck and health issues. But, after months of routine trips to the vet (general and emergency), she finally seems to be on the mend. By mid-Jauary, we hope she'll be enjoying a healthy re-start.
Thank you Jax & Bones and Healthy Spot Marina del Rey for Sophee's new, custom bed in "Gatsby Grey". It looks beautiful in the Cottage, and both she and Stanlee use it constantly.
Here's to 2 (loud) dogs and 2 (large) humans living in 362 sqft and still loving each other endlessly.
More photos of the pups are available via our IG hashtags: #🐶sophee / #stubsandsoph / #stanleestubs
Venice Beach Bike Series
Adam and I have shared a car for nearly 3 years now, which means that I usually use my bike as my "company car" around Venice. I absolutely love it, and my bike IG series is cheerfully rolling along! Thank you for following! (And thank you, Wendi & Nicole of The Wall Group for gifting me my beloved bicycle!) 🚲
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.
Small Space Hosting via Parachute
Parachute is one of my favorite local companies. Based a block off Venice Beach on the cutest little walk-street, they make the most luxurious bedding basics. I've worked with this company several times in the past, from styling photoshoots to designing their Abbot Kinney pop-up storefront in summer 2015.
Jump to their blog to see some of my small space hosting tips!
