THE STUDIOLO: Apartment Therapy's Small, Cool 2010 Winners

This year's winner, above

Every year, my beloved Apartment Therapy holds their Small, Cool Contest whereby people from all over the country and world are encouraged to submit images of their undersized homes in an effort to win some recognition and prizes (this year garnered a shopping trip in New York and lunch with the Apartment Therapy creator, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan.

Since it would be unfair for those with really miniature apartments (say, 250 square feet) to compete with those living among, say, 850 luxurious square feet, the contest is split into divisions:

Teeny-Tiny: 1-400 square feet

Tiny: 401-600 square feet

Little: 601-800 square feet

Small: 801-1000 square feet

International: Under 1000 square feet (international laws prevent certain prizes to cross borders, so these entrants are not eligible for the same prizes as American applicants.)

I'm always impressed with the various solutions people come up with to maximize their small spaces, an issue that is close to us. In fact, I'm usually more interested in how the people in the Teeny-Tiny and Tiny divisions negotiate their spaces, because it really is challenging to live small, but beautifully and without clutter. When you're accustomed to such low standards, 500 square feet begins to sound like a mansion. SERIOUSLY. I'm also drawn to the contestants who rent their homes, rather than own, because they have a whole set of restrictions with which homeowners do not have to contend.

This year, division winners were from New York, California, Pennsylvania, and Barcelona, with the overall winner hailing from Houston, Texas with a beautifully arranged and outfitted apartment.

Teeny-Tiny: Beth - Sausalito, Ca - 350 square feet