The Cozy Cone

While reading ads for home sales, if you read the word "charmer" "dollhouse" "great starter home", those are all code for small. A scene in the Disney movie Cars, shows a row of motels, in the shape of orange traffic cones. The name of the motel is the "Cozy cone." While watching my 8 year old daughter declared, "Mom, we live in the cozy cone!" At first I wondered what the heck was orange in our home that made her say that! She then went on to say our home feels cozy to her. Cozy is not a word that comes easy in 3000 square feet. Cozy comes pretty natural in small spaces!

I Love White

White. The small space color of choice. A lot of people, stick with white because it can make a small space look larger. While this is true, its not why I use white. I love how white makes me feel. For me its calming. Makes the mind feel less cluttered, and goes with anything. All white rooms with bold color accents are always fabulous. I love lots of color, bold, pale and in between, but white will always be a favorite of mine.

Banquettes!

One of the things I love about living in a small space is it makes you have to plan for what you really want out of your space. I'm seeing more and more banquettes in magazines these days, and I bet they started out as a need for people with limited space. The great thing about banquettes is they can be designed so many ways. Loveseats, benches, custom built right in to a corner. I've seen them designed in country, modern, you name it! Tons of styles are out there on the net, so if you have a limited area, think about designing your very own banquette!

Tulip Tips

TulipsApril 2007Tulips are one of the easiest to grow and almost problem free flowers for the garden. They are a true spring delight sure to bring a smile. Some of our tulips are finally in bloom and the rest are ready to follow suit. Each year the tulip clumps get larger. The majority of the tulip clumps are orangish red giving a blast of wonderful colour. Somehow a clump of rosy pink and

One Year Anniversary

My GnomesOne year ago today I started Garden Gnomes Wanderings blog. Over the year there have been a few changes mainly with the template. I'm still having a lot of fun writing this blog so expect it to last. Today our house is one step closer to being sold. If that happens I'll go through the steps of turning over the garden to the new owners and the steps of creating a new garden. Time

Found Space

Often when reading articles about living in a small space, I come across the term "found space." Found space? Well, yes, it can happen! This is when thinking outside the box can come in very handy! For me personally, finding space for my home office was a lot of fun. I've changed my office space about 3 times. It took a few mistakes (wrong desk size, not enough file space) to get it just right. Finding the balance between form and function is key for me. I want my space to look great but work great too. The top pictures is of my own personal home office. A cubby with many compartments has worked great for me! There are tons of options now, smaller desks, compact armoires and tons of shelving sizes and styles. Planning is key so really think through what you want your home office to do for you!

Bluejays

Attracting birds to my gardens has been one of my goals. Most birds are beneficial in the garden and while some can be pests, they are easily controlled. I was shocked when a fellow gardener referred to grackles as junk birds! As gardeners, we are stewarts of the land so there should be no such thing as junk critters. Some are pests and some are beneficial but all serve a purpose. I took this

Earth Day 2007

Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2007

Yesderday In The Garden

The weather has finally turned mild compared to the nasty April start. I spent a bit of time in the garden yesterday just puttering and enjoying the new growth. Now this is rather bitter sweet in some ways as we do have the house listed for sale and our offer was accepted on another house. Basically the only thing we have to do to move is sell our house. Looking at all I've accomplished in

Style File

I often find myself drawn to many different styles when it comes to home decor. I think a lot of us are not sure what "style" we'd fit under. It would be nice to declare, I'm modern and be done with it. After all, you can like jazz music and country music, and not have to worry about it making your CD player clash! So what do I like? I like funky. I like color. I like white. I like clean but not cold. I like lots of stuff as long as it does not take over. Bottom line, I like a place you can walk in and not worry about getting something dirty. Give me comfy any day!

Please Watch Your Step

It's springtime and time to do a little updating on the blog. Over the next few days you will see a lot of changes and at times the blog may look just a tad weird as I tweak the elements and template. Sorry for any inconveince.Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2007

Small Space Big Business!

Seems that small space design has become big business. Looking around the net and in magazines, its not hard to find articles or information on "how to make you space look bigger." Companies have figured out that most of us do not have tons of space, and even people who do, often have smaller spaces within them that need ideas. Pottery Barn has caught on and now has a section on their website (and catalog). Furniture that is scaled down to fit small spaces . Of course Ikea has been designing this way and has broke into the US market very well. With baby boomers down sizing and generation X starting out, big business will have a market for "small living" for years to come!

More Signs of Spring

Naked Lady LiliesAmaryllis belladonnaDespite the recent cold weather, signs of spring are all around us. Yesterday a house finch and goldfinch were visiting my neighbour's niger seed feeder. The bluejays are coming around for their daily peanut offering. If I don't have the peanuts out by the time they arrive, one of the bluejays has taken to sitting on the windowsill then tapping on the

First Post

I've decided to write about a subject near and dear to my heart. Small space living! I have lived in my nearly 1000 square foot home (with my husband) for almost 16 years. The house was our starter home. We have thought about moving a million times. We've been asked why we haven't a million more. I came to the conclusion this year, I just don't want to. I'm happy here. Our house is close to being paid off. I enjoy trying to figure out how to make the space work better. Its been a joy. I don't need space to make me happy, I need my space to work well. Oh and did I mention we added 2 kids along the way? One bathroom 2 girls. Rock on!

(Picture: Cottage in Seattle)

Enjoy!Garden Gnome©2007

Standing Guard

Standing GuardGarden 2006Garden gnomes bring good luck to your garden and work hard to help your garden prosper but sometimes they need a bit help. That is where other garden decorations can help. Garden decorations add a touch of whimsy to the garden but they can also help in pest control. Pests are smart especially the rabbits who likely have group meeting to decide the best way into my