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Name: Everett
Location: Westwood - Los Angeles, California
Size & Type: 23 square feet in a 150 square foot bachelor apartment

Favorite resource: Your local restaurant supply is your best friend. In LA, Surfas and Sur la Table are good bets. Let's hope that the giant home supply stores shape up their low quality goods or ship out!????

Inspiration: I was a poor student who craved artisanal baked goods. Unfortunately my apartment lacked an oven, so I set out to purchase as large a toaster as I could find. Since then she and I have been through a lot. ...

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Name: Jennifer and Jose
Location: New York, NY
Size & Type: 65 square feet in an apartment

Favorite resource: Paul's Appliances & Electronics - (973) 344-3228

Inspiration: Jose is an excellent cook, so when we decided to splurge on one item, the Viking range was essential. We needed a functional kitchen that had everything tucked away, but easily accessible. ...

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Name: Sarah
Location: Mount Vernon, NY
Size & Type: 64 square feet in a rented 1 bedroom apartment in a 1920s converted house

Favorite resource: Ikea for adjustable wire shelving and Home Depot for the paint and plywood shelves.

Inspiration: Small but efficient restaurant kitchens where I used to cook, which had room on either side of the stove, tools easily at hand, and clear areas for prep (deep enough for bowls and ingredients behind the cutting board)....

Save the Dates. The next phase of the contest is coming up.

• Last entries will be posted this Friday, May 4.
• Finalists are judged entirely on reader voting (judges decide the winners)
• Voting ends on Monday, May 7.
• Finalists will be notified by Wednesday, May 9 and invited to submit more material.
• Finalists are posted starting Monday, May 14 and winners will be announced Thursday, May 17.
• Everyone is invited to our Design Within Reach parties in LA, SF, Chicago and NY on May 17!

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Name: Elizabeth
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Size & Type: 56 square feet in co-op "efficiency"

Favorite resource: Complete Tile (NYC) for my backsplash. The green mosaic glass tiles were my first design decision...

Inspiration: After living many years in the East Village with roommates and a large eat-in kitchen, my first very-own home needed the familiarity of a kitchen where I could really spend time. But my co-op's kitchen was only a "pullman" enclosed area within the entrance hallway...

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Name: Heather
Location: St. George, Staten Island, NYC
Size & Type: 52 square feet in a co-op

Favorite resource: Because of budget constraints we thought we would have to use IKEA cabinets. We didn't like the quality of the IKEA cabinets but...

Inspiration: We renovated our galley kitchen 5 months ago. It originally had builder's quality materials from the 1980's Formica countertops, white ceramic tile floor (icky white grout,) cheap appliances and laminate cabinets...

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Name: Julie
Location: Boston, MA
Size & Type: Studio is 540 square feet total

Favorite resource: This kitchen is almost 100% IKEA but all made from materials we expect will last.

Inspiration: The last resident had a great relationship with my family. We were hoping to find a new person who we could get along with...

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Name: Jolie
Location: Boston, MA
Size & Type: 40 square feet in a rental 1-bedroom

Favorite resource: Crate & Barrel - it's hardly a hidden gem, I know, but C&B is always a reliable source for affordable, quality products without too much pretension (I'm looking at you Williams-Sonoma).

Inspiration: My cookware and appliances are totally mismatched from years of haphazard collecting, which frustrated me to no end until I had a Eureka! moment. ...

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Name: Morgan
Location: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Size & Type: 64 square feet in a 1.5 bedroom coop

Favorite resource: I found my paint color (Janovic's Siberian Snowflake) and my faucet (Hansgrohe's Interaktiv S) through AT links.I did all of my research and most of my purchasing online.

Inspiration: I looked to my favorite movie, "Down With Love," for style inspiration. From there I concentrated on materials with subtle, natural patterns...

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Name: Kat, Greg and Joan
Location: Manhattan, New York
Size & Type: 47 square feet in a condo

Favorite resource: Don't think that custom cabinets are out of reach! Given the limited space (footprint and height) and a building where nothing is straight or standard, we decided to work with a Joaquin from City Cabinets in the Lower East Side...

Inspiration: We entertain a lot, and have always been big fans of kitchens that are open and social. The kitchen used to be closed off from the living area...