The First Draft

I love Apartment Therapy! If you haven't already become a regular reader of this blog, it's time to get on board. I think one of my favorite things about it is that I see a wide variety of different styles showcased, including styles from homes all over the country.

There are different blog "events" throughout the year, including the Small Cool Contest which takes place each April. There are several categories of size (teeny-tiny, small, etc.) and homeowners or renters compete for votes. I considered submitting my apartment this past April to see how it might go, but I wasn't in a great position to enter the contest. In particular, I was worried about creating quality photos because I didn't have a very good camera. One of the reasons I asked for such a nice camera as a birthday gift was so that I might be able to take some better pictures and submit in 2013!

One of the things I had to do before deciding for sure I wanted to enter the contest was to determine the square footage of my apartment. While I live in a large, modern (less than 30 years old) building with lots of standard-sized apartments, my unit is one of only three like it in the entire building. The upper-most limit on the size to participate in Small Cool is 1000 square feet.

I decided that the appropriate way to proceed was to draw my own - to the best of my availability. I invited Daisy, the math whiz, over to help me. Mercifully, she agreed! I was glad to have her help for sure.

Do you know what this is? I certainly wouldn't blame you if you didn't. This is my linen closet. Why did I take this photo?

Because, when I tried to measure the linen closet, of course the tape measure got stuck. ARGH! Thankfully this occurred just a short time before Daisy arrived. Between the two of us, we were able to unstick the tape measure and complete the floor plan.

So, here's the floor plan we came up with. Daisy was awesome and helped me with the measuring and with the calculation of the square footage, which was especially important for the living room! She's really a math whiz and I would not have been able to do it without her help. By the time we were done, we had calculated that the apartment is 950 square feet, which fits just inside the guidelines for the Small Cool contest. Yes!

Not that long ago, I had a chance to take several pictures of the apartment when it was appropriately picked up. When I submit to Small Cool, I will be able to submit 4 or 5 photos (I can't remember the number) along with the floor plan. Any and all feedback you have about the photos or the spaces is absolutely welcome! I think it is unlikely that I'll feature either of the bathrooms, for example. But even still, I'm going to need to narrow things down considerably. Moreover, I'm expecting to take additional photos before selecting which to share with the world. So, I could easily shoot in different light or move something around. Let me know what you think! Over the next several weeks, I'll be sharing these photos with you room by room. I'm looking forward to your input regarding my tree house apartment!