Sanctity of Mind in Small Spaces

Close quarters can be cozy and comfortable, but they often come with both practical and design challenges. Here are a few of Mickie’s tips for making small spaces both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

1. LARGE CABINETS. An inevitable struggle in small homes is the lack of storage space. In bathrooms and bedrooms, Mickie suggests incorporating large cabinets in which you can place linens, folded clothes and whatever else you need to stash away.

2. LIGHT AND BRIGHT. “Keep things as light and airy as you can,” Mickie says. This will make your space feel more open than it actually is. Dark colors make spaces feel cramped and closed. Choose paint and furniture colors like white (or something close to it), and you can’t go wrong. 3. MIRROR, MIRROR. Want to create the illusion that your home is bigger than it actually is? Incorporate mirrors into the design. The reflections can make an entire room feel larger and more open, and Mickie’s small home is full of them.

LARGER THAN LIFE

The cottage is small, but Mickie uses the challenges of having limited space as motivation to be even more creative. In the master bedroom, a salvaged, sliding barn door adds both charm and functionality as a closet door. In the tiny kitchen, open shelving maximizes storage space, and throughout the home, Mickie uses light and warm colors to keep the space from feeling cramped. “With everyone who comes and visits, they’re always so amazed by how much larger it looks than it really is,” Mickie says. “I think it’s the way that we utilize the space by keeping on the lighter side with colors. When you use darker colors, it tends to draw everything in and make it look so much smaller.”

With such a small space, the house flows from one room to the next without much separation, but Mickie wanted more clearly defined lines between rooms. This desire inspired the addition of a ceiling beam between the living room and dining room. When decorating, Mickie creatively placed a large dresser between the two rooms and added a charming architectural cabinet on top of the dresser to hold her collected ironstone pieces.

To finish creating a sense of separation, she hung a vintage window frame from the new ceiling beam. “We tried to add a lot of visual interest but also divide the two rooms a little bit,” she says, “and the dresser provides so much storage that we so desperately need.”The end result is an eye-catching display that adds unique interest to the space.

FINDING THE PERFECT PIECE

Architectural salvage pieces are a staple in Mickie’s design aesthetic. “There’s a timeless, worn look about those items, and I love collecting them, “she says. “You can look at them and just know there’s a story behind them.” She and her husband frequent flea markets and antiques shops so she can hunt for ironstone, vintage mirrors and more.

Once Mickie discovers these treasures, she finds unique ways to incorporate them into her home.

“Nothing really stays in one place for a long time. I’m constantly changing things around,” she says. On the dining room wall hangs an assortment of vintage spindles. In the master bedroom, an old barn gate serves as a headboard. The living room coffee table was once a chicken coop, and in the kitchen, a vintage tulip crate hangs from the ceiling. “I let flowers drape out the top of it, or I hang herbs from it in the kitchen,” Mickie says, “I think that adds a bit of coziness and charm.”

THE CHARMS OF VINTAGE LIVING

Mickie credits her husband with much of the work that has gone into creating their charming cottage. “I give my husband so much credit for being the guy that he is and taking this on,” she says. “I knew instantly I wanted this little fixer-upper cottage, but he was unsure.” In addition to working on the plumbing and electricity, he even creates unique pieces from scratch like a set of interior shutters he built for a hallway window. “He had the salvaged wood, and he went out to his shed and came back in with these shutters that I just can’t get enough of,” Mickie says.

Beyond the work it takes to renovate them, old homes are not without their daily challenges. One winter, John had to crawl under the house with a blow dryer in an attempt to thaw a frozen pipe. Even with the challenges and the work, Mickie feels the home they have created is well worth it. This country cottage has become a cozy escape and a continual outlet. “I try to be creative here,” she says. “That’s what this little cottage speaks to me, and that’s just what I want to bring out.”

|TOP RIGHT| SELF-MADE STYLE. Open shelving, a custom-made hood and a farmhouse sink make this tiny kitchen a continual gathering place for family and guests, in spite of its small size. Mickie hung a vintage tulip crate from the ceiling for an added touch of charm and uses it as a place to hang herbs and flowers.

|BOTTOM RIGHT| DARLING DISPLAY. A vintage find, this cabinet is home to Mickie’s ironstone pieces and is one of many creative storage spaces in the small cottage.

|TOP LEFT| VINTAGE VIBES. Architectural salvage pieces like vintage spindles, cabinets and window frames give this dining room inimitable texture. The Restoration Hardware dining room table finishes the room perfectly. BEFORE

HANDMADE. These interior shutters that Mickie’s husband built from salvaged wood are a fun twist on the traditionally exterior window covering. |OPPOSITE TOP| SALVAGED STYLE. In the master bedroom, a vintage gate serves as the headboard, and a salvaged barn door separates the room from the small closet. Two large cabinets make up for limited closet space, serving as additional storage.

|BOTTOM RIGHT| REINVENTING ROOMS. The home’s original bathroom was tiny, so when Mickie and John began renovating, they converted one of the bedrooms into this spacious bathroom.

|OPPOSITE| PERFECT SPOT. Mickie loves this porch swing they add to the home during the warm months. |BOTTOM| CHIC CHICKENS. Mickie likes to say that her chickens are spoiled because she added a small chandelier to the interior of the chicken coop just for fun.