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[Oznell]

Here's a tour of a small Cape Cod house, delightfully "cottage" in style.  Now, it IS close quarters-- there's no doubt about that.  A family of two adults and 3 children has a lot to pack in!   Some people would chafe at the small spaces.  But I do love the attitude of the blogger -- she leads us around her charming, well-thought-out home, and shows how she makes it work for them.  I think she even uses that term when describing the small bathroom outside her tiny master bedroom-- "it works for us!"

Refreshing after all the HGTV 'house lookers' who are demanding and seemingly never satisfied...

Her attitude has communicated itself to her cheerful daughter, whom we meet in a teensy closet playing Legos!

At least they have that upstairs play-and-TV space!

Here's her story-book cottage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHG1ZGkdMZ0&feature=emb_logo

[GingerPeach]

So tiny, yet it feels much more cozy and welcoming than it does crowded.

She is incredibly clever with wallpaper. The bedroom ceiling and the faux brick are especially good uses of wallpaper.

I think I've become a fan of her blog now!

ETA: I really need her help in my own kitchen. 

[JasoninBoston]

Thank you so much for posting!

It is so interesting to see how different people live

As a single person, I have a small 1 bedroom apt in downtown Boston that's 850 sq ft so I really don't know how they do it as five people in that space.  

Although I don't have a lot of stuff but often wish I had an extra office room/ spare bedroom, I often find myself thinking a two bedroom would be nice at about 1100 sq ft!!  But in my building 2 bedrooms are 5-8 thousand per month (so I am sticking with the one bed)!! Especially with the economy as it is currently!

[Sooner]

I am old and came from a very poor part of the U.S. so , that was not at all unusual where I lived.  Tiny houses and trailer houses were common.  Little houses from the 1930's and 1940's.   

Five people and one bathroom.  Mostly indoors by the 1960's.

[on the bay]

I don't mind small spaces but in this I would feel like things were falling on me-all the big picture/mirror baloon lamp. And I don't have claustrophobia, but I think I would in this room.

[Oznell]

@GingerPeach,  she sure made the most of every bit of that kitchen!  I wish mine made as good use of its space...

@JasoninBoston--  I agree, when rents are that high, the more you can make the most of the space you have, the better off you are, at least in the near term.  At least you have the consoling factor of living right there in an exciting city like Boston!

@Sooner,  absolutely.  And families all over the place back then simply did not have the expectations of huge spaces in which to live.  Even the cute "Father Knows Best" house was much more compact than houses for comparable families today...

@on the bay,  I suspect they started out having more space to spread out in, perhaps, in the beginning.  If they moved there before the 3rd child came, they could have had that extra room they're using for the baby, perhaps as a dining room, since the kitchen space now seems to be their only place to sit down and eat...   I know for myself, I'd have to be a lot more efficient and "compact" to live there, but I admire what they've done with what they have... 

[Twoaces]

Whew.  That was exhausting.  I like the bones of that cute cottage and like a shabby chic decor, but would have to edit out half the decor here.  My eye needs a place to rest!  I love having pieces serve multiple uses, doubling for decor and storage.  But get rid of half the pillows, wall hanging, knickknacks, etc.  just way too much got me.  

Thanks for sharing!  It’s always fun!

[gidgetgh]

Just from only looking at the picture in the original post, that is way too much stuff for me in just that space. 

[Twoaces]

I had the same reaction as you but was curious, so I looked at the video.  Oh my gosh.  It only gets worse if you are of our mindset.  It’s amazing how we are all different...the minimalist to the maximalist.  It makes the world go round!

[stevieb]

With all due respect and no offense intended, that's several minutes of my life I'll never get back... I realize we don't all live in the lap of luxury, I know I surely don't, but there is, to me, absolutely nothing 'storybook' (or delightful...) about that supposed 'cottage' and certainly nothing I'd want to either replicate or feel compelled to home-video and share with others... I support her 'can-do' attitude, but personally have no wish to follow her (or similar) further exploits... Not remotely my cup of tea...