Mini Is Big: Welcome to the Dawn of Downsizing, 10 Favorites
by Margot Guralnick
Look closely or you might miss them: of late mini facsimiles of familiar household things keep surfacing. Small enough to be heartwarmingly cute, they’re also just big enough to be useful: a winning combination. Here are 10 favorites, each sized to fit in the palm of your hand.
Above: Japanese brand Hightide’s Penco Tiny Metal Container is a 4.2-inch-long version of a retro metal toolbox. Also available in red and green, it’s $12 USD from Neighbour in Toronto.
Above: The beechwood-handled Mini Garden Tool Set, $13.75, from Kikkerland is designed for indoor and small plant gardening.
Above: Preserve stems as you go: The Floral Society’s Mini Flower Press, $25, is sized to slip in a pocket.
Above: The Cotman Watercolour Sketcher’s Pocket Set, $38.49, is from Winsor & Newton, which has been making art supplies since 1832. Travel brush included.
Above: The size of a small notepad, this Penco Mini Clipboard, $8, from Boston General Store is ideal for grocery lists, receipts, and other details of life.
Above: Count the seconds with Hightide’s Mini Hourglass, $12, which runs for approximately 1 minute. Handmade by glass artisans, it’s also available in several larger sizes at the Hightide Store DTLA.
Above: “There was a little fur family, warm as toast, smaller than most, and they lived in a warm wooden tree.” Margaret Wise Brown’s Little Fur Family, with Garth Williams illustrations, comes in three faux fur-covered sizes, but the Mini Fur Family is the ideal—at least according to my daughter and me. It’s $9.99 from Flora and Henri.
Above: Among the appeals of Kikkerland’s Mini Doodle Kit, $17, is its tin case fitted with a sharpener and eraser. The companion booklet is a coloring book.
Above: Avid Remodelista readers know of our fondness for the Vipp pedal trash bin—it tops the Remodelista 100, our list of favorite everyday objects (see Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home). The Danish steel classic has been in production since 1939, more recently as the fully operational Vipp 3 Pedal Bin Miniature, $140, for tabletop crumbs and castoffs.
Above: Made of stitched cotton canvas, Muji’s Mini Canvas Tote Bag, $4.90, is just right for your pebble collection or favorite lipsticks. N.B.: Fans of Trader Joe’s totes can find its sold-out Mini Canvas Totes on the resale market.
For small-space living inspiration, take a look at:
Kitchen of the Week: Neutral and Natural in Twentynine Palms, California
by Morgan Goldberg
Just a few years ago, Kelsey Coppetti was producing digital marketing campaigns for companies like Netflix, Uber, and Toyota. But she pivoted her career to interior design when she and her husband Dustyn, who conveniently has a construction background, decided to convert an abandoned 1950s home in the Mojave Desert into a tranquil getaway for short-term renters. The dramatic transformation (which took two years, thanks to pandemic delays) served as a perfect proof of concept for Studio Marrant, the duo’s Los Angeles-based design practice. Now, prospective clients have a prime example of the studio’s work.
More importantly, travelers visiting nearby Joshua Tree National Park can book a stay at the newly remodeled Twentynine Palms, California abode, which sits on 10 acres of mesquite-covered sand dunes. (To book, head to Airbnb.) Kelsey and Dustyn completely overhauled the stucco structure for their guests, replacing the (likely) asbestos floor tiles with engineered white oak planks, covering the walls in an earthy greige lime wash by Portola Paints, and restoring the original wood beams. They also maintained the historic brick fireplace in the center of the house.
The couple’s most impressive feat? Building a functional, eye-catching kitchen and dining zone in such a compact area. “It was a little tricky because when we walked in we were just like, where is the dining room? There was nowhere to sit, really,” Kelsey remembers. “We demoed a pantry and built in this bench in an effort to have more of a sitting space. And the kitchen layout was so small, so we wanted to keep everything as open as possible, so it feels bright and not so squished.”
Aesthetically, Kelsey and Dustyn were inspired by the dusty, arid surrounds, so they opted for a neutral color palette of beiges, browns, and terracottas. They also employed natural materials and incorporated vintage objects wherever possible, creating a cookspace that looks like it could have always been there.
Let’s take a tour.
Photography by Bethany Nauert and Victoria Aguirre.
Above: The first item that Kelsey and Dustyn purchased for the kitchen was the huge stone basin sink. It had been posted on Craigslist before they even started the renovation, but they knew they had to have it. “We found that sink on such a whim and so fast,” recalls Kelsey. “And I was just like, okay, the whole kitchen is getting built around the sink, no question. And then I found our burnished brass faucet on eBay, so that’s secondhand, too.” Photograph by Bethany Nauert.
Then, the duo crafted an L-shaped countertop and lower cupboards using tadelakt, an ancient Moroccan plaster that’s known for its waterproof quality. “It’s a little bit finicky as a surface, but it works for us,” Kelsey says. “We wanted that molded, organic look in here, with open cabinets, so it just was the perfect substance for us.”
Above: The floating shelves, as well as the cabinet fronts, are made of antique wood that Kelsey and Dustyn found at The Original Round Top Antiques Fair, a massive event that occurs four times a year in Texas. “Tons of vendors come from around the world, and it’s very dreamy,” Kelsey describes. “There was this guy selling architectural materials, so we grabbed a bunch of wooden boards, knowing we would use them for something in the house.” Photograph by Victoria Aguirre.
Above: The couple nestled a 24-inch Smeg refrigerator next to the space-saving banquette, which they outfitted with weathered chocolate leather cushions that were custom-made by an Etsy artisan. The two little vintage tables, with their iron bases and stone tops, are from Santa Ynez General. Photograph by Bethany Nauert.
Above: When it came to backsplashes, Kelsey and Dustyn were thrifty. They repurposed leftover bathroom tile to line the tadelakt countertop and used a sheet of brass behind the stove. “It’s just something affordable that looked a bit unique, added a pop to the kitchen, and could easily be installed,” Kelsey says. “We literally went to a metal shop, bought a sheet of brass, and screwed it to the wall.” Photograph by Bethany Nauert.
“We don’t have insulation because we don’t have a built-in roof, and we have exposed beams, so we can’t fit any can lights inside the ceiling,” says Kelsey. Instead, the duo hung industrial pendants from the wall and swagged them over ceiling hooks for overhead illumination.
Above: For additional counter space, the couple affixed slabs of concrete to the center and sides of the old brick fireplace. “It’s the key moment, so we had to build around it and make it work,” Kelsey says of the original feature, which she and Dustyn converted from wood-burning to gas. Photograph by Victoria Aguirre.
Above: Rustic kitchen tools and stainless steel cookware from Great Jones double as decor when hung from a matte black rail. Photograph by Victoria Aguirre.
For more kitchens (with brass backsplashes), might we suggest:
- A Sensitive Remodel That Celebrates the ‘Undercroft’ in Brisbane, Australia
- The Catskills Farmhouse of Two Brooklyn Creatives, Weekend DIY Edition
- Riverside House: A Normandy Guesthouse from an Upstart American Restaurateur
N.B.: This story originally appeared on June 1, 2023 and has been updated with new information.
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