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Welcome to the Cottage.

The Tiny Canal Cottage is a resource for helping folks mindfully conceptualize, decorate and enjoy versatile + smaller home spaces. Founded by designer, consultant, stylist, creative director and author, Whitney Leigh Morris, this family-owned small business recently finished the construction of a new, compact cottage and greenhouse-office in the southeastern US, and are also restoring a little 1800s French farmhouse and its outbuildings with co-stewards. Morris’ focus is crafting flexible, sustainable, and more community-focused home spaces. Explore Whitney’s book, blog, and social channels for years of tips and tales from living and working in — and with — a smaller footprint.

So. Much. Dog. Hair.

So. Much. Dog. Hair.

Whitney Leigh Morris
Small Space Living

You know how my photos are always bright white and a tad bit over-exposed? Well that wasn't an artistic decision at the start-- it was a necessity. I had one dog at the time, Stanlee, and he sheds INSANE amounts of hair. When I first started sharing photos of the Cottage online, I spent hours photoshopping out the numerous, massive tumbleweeds of Stanlee's hair that are constantly gliding across our floor. I should've just left them in there (real life and all), but I didn't want to discourage anyone from adopting a dog. (Stanlee is a rescue, which I talk about often, as I'm big into the Adopt-Don't-Shop concept.) I quickly realized that if I just brightened up my photos a bit-- VOILA!-- the hair would almost completely disappear from the photos. 

So many people write to me and ask if my dogs (#StubsandSoph) shed, and if so, how I handle it. For years I used a handheld vacuum. It was the only thing that fit easily into our home, and it's not hard to vacuum an entire tiny house with a mini-vac. That being said, it's definitely a pain to have to plug/unplug the machine in every section of the cottage, and all the hunching over kills your back. And of course I couldn't reach our vaulted ceilings with the handheld, so I would use paper towels on a long stick to reach cobwebs. CLASSY. 

Adam kept saying we should get a Dyson cordless machine he'd seen somewhere, but I kept on insisting that there was no way a full-sized vacuum would fit in our house.

Then came baby West. Immediately the dog hair started getting all over West's clothes and toys (which all inevitably end up in his mouth). I finally gave into Adam's suggestion and got Dyson V8 Absolute. I have to say,  I am a complete idiot for not getting it sooner. It's amazing. Here's why:

  • It breaks down into small components so I can stash it away in the living room. (Photos below.)

  • It's so quiet that West sleeps through it.

  • It's cordless, which makes it crazy easy to use. I vacuum several times a day now because it's such a breeze.

  • It can reach the vaulted ceilings, so I no longer have to use my classy Gandalf stick.

  • It really removes the hair, rather than just dragging it around in the nozzle, or scattering it about the floor via exhaust fans. (My handheld did both of those things, which was annoying.)

I genuinely recommend the V8 to anyone who lives in a small space and/or is battling with the drama of dog hair. (Now I just overexpose my photos so I don't have to clean my windows.😜)

Resources: Folding Leather Stool and Tabletop Lanterns by Serena and Lily. Woven Boots by Frye.

Resources: Folding Leather Stool and Tabletop Lanterns by Serena and Lily. Woven Boots by Frye.

Compact Drying Solutions

Compact Drying Solutions
Babywearing

Babywearing