Couples are quietly downsizing their square footage while upsizing the parts of a home they actually use daily, and covered outdoor living has moved to the top of that list. The Kingwell leans into that with a covered porch built for slow Saturday mornings — a mug in both hands, birdsong before the neighborhood wakes up, an open living area behind you that flows straight outside, and a kitchen within earshot of where you’re sitting.
Specifications
- Sq. Ft.: 850
- Bedrooms: 1
- Bathrooms: 1
Floor Plan – Main Floor
This single-bedroom cottage keeps things simple without feeling cramped. The kitchen and living room share an open center, with a pantry tucked between the utility space and dining area. The master bedroom connects directly to a roll-in shower bath and walk-in closet, which is a genuinely useful arrangement in a footprint this tight. Front and rear porches give couples two distinct spots to sit outside, depending on the time of day.
Floor Plan – Alternate Bath Layout
The alternate bath layout pairs a walk-in closet (11’8″ x 5’8″) with a full bath directly below it. Dual sinks sit on the left wall, with the toilet and soaking tub tucked to the right.
Black-Frame Doors Pull the Yard Into a Sun-Drenched Living Room
Light pours across pale hardwood floors while tan armchairs face a cream sofa dressed with floral pillows.
3 reasons the black door frames work here:
- They anchor the room without adding visual weight to the walls
- The gridded panes break the glass into smaller sections, softening the scale
- Against cream walls, black frames read as crisp rather than heavy
Slatted Wood and Globe Pendants Give This Kitchen Serious Quiet-Morning Energy
Slatted wood panels wrap the island base like a detail you’d expect in a Japanese tea house, not a cottage kitchen.
Three pendants in translucent celadon glass hang low over the bar, throwing a warm glow across the white quartz countertop, which stretches long enough to seat three with room to spare. And that ceramic teapot on the counter? Not decoration. It’s doing actual work.
Botanical Prints and a Patterned Accent Wall Set a Soft, Unhurried Tone
Warm wood flooring, a low-profile platform bed, and three framed botanical prints anchor a bedroom built for slow mornings.
Try This: Swap the tray on the bed for a small rattan basket and the look stays grounded without feeling staged. Natural fiber accents sit well against light wood floors and don’t compete with patterned wallpaper the way harder materials can. Keep accessories to an odd number of three — it reads as balanced without looking like you counted them out.
Gold Fixtures and White Tile Keep the Shower Honest Without Being Boring
Mosaic floor tile adds grip and texture underfoot without competing with the large-format wall tile behind it. The brass slide bar is clearly earning its keep. Through the doorway, black faucets and a round mirror pull the vanity’s cream cabinetry back from feeling too soft.
Fun Fact: Walk-in showers without a door or curtain are sometimes called “wet rooms” in European design traditions, and they’ve been a fixture in spa hotels for decades. Beyond the look, the open entry makes cleaning considerably easier and keeps a small bathroom from feeling like a closed box.
The home office takes that same restrained palette and puts it to work in a very literal sense.
Gold-Legged Desk and Cane Chair Make Productivity Feel Unhurried
Frosted glass cabinet doors line the entire right wall, keeping storage visible without turning into a distraction. The gold hardware echoes the desk legs just enough to feel intentional rather than matchy. Sheer curtains soften the black window frame, which is all it needed — without them the room would tip noticeably cold.
Butcher Block Countertop and a Hanging Rod Make Laundry Feel Less Like a Chore
Patterned geometric wallpaper runs floor-to-cabinet behind the front-load washer and dryer pair, and it earns its place. The butcher block shelf above adds warmth where every other surface is hard and flat. Slatted cabinet fronts keep the whole wall from looking too finished — which, in a utility space, is exactly right.
Quick Fix: If your dryer sits next to a window like this one, clear the lint trap more often than you think you need to. Lint buildup near heat and direct sunlight is a combination worth taking seriously. A monthly check takes about two minutes.
Wicker Chairs and a Ceiling Fan Turn a Covered Porch Into the Best Seat in the House
Two woven wicker chairs with white cushions face an open lawn framed by a white split-rail fence, with a wood-blade ceiling fan overhead keeping the air moving on still mornings. It’s a simple setup. Hard to improve on it.
Designer’s Secret: Outdoor ceiling fans work hardest when they’re sized to the space. A porch this narrow does better with a fan under 52 inches so airflow stays focused rather than getting lost at the edges. Look for a damp-rated motor too, not just weather-resistant blades — morning dew tends to be the first thing that causes rust.
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The exterior rendering shows a farmhouse-style cottage with a covered front porch and wood gable accents. Below it, the floor plan lays out one bedroom, a home office, open kitchen and living area, a roll-in shower, and two porches.
Style Tip: In a single-bedroom layout like this one, where you put the office matters more than most people expect. Tucking it near the utility area keeps late-night work from bleeding into the bedroom side of the house — and that separation does genuine work for sleep quality.
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