Name: Jack E.
Location: Times Square, New York City
Size & Type: 140 sf Studio
Favorite resource: Le Corbusier
Pitch: My small is cool because it asks me to think big! My small cool size limitations push me to examine the limitations I put on myself. When I first saw my apartment I thought I couldn't even get my bike in here. I sold my bike and learned to swim...

Pitch Cont'd:
My small cool doubles as an art studio. I had to create works for a large exhibition. I became inspired by the functionality and storability of a child's water color set.
My small cool continues to shape the way I do things as I continue to shape it into my home.

Your favorite element: My R2D2 Jar



Shaw's Original Fir...
This apartment is the meaning of "small cool."
Very cool.
I adore your colourful and quaint kitchen the most! So bold and bright... which I love in a cooking space!
I want to see the R2D2 jar.
I remember the Tour AT had for this appartment, I LOVE it! Hope you'll win. :)
I can't read any comments today. It says "Loading comments..."
:D I was hoping to see jack's place!
Jack is back! Cool, but where is R2D2?
Excellent floor plan!!
Definitely small, definitely cool.
Bonus points for the MacBook (itself small and cool!) and the artwork.
Love your space!
how sobering...my bedroom is bigger than this entire apartment.
I dig your sink/dining room table :)
I love your floor plan!!
Definitely the most original floor plan drawing yet.
Careen - I had the same problem earlier. I rebooted my computer and now I can see the comments again.
Big props for such a small space. But outside of the kitchen I don't see much that impresses me.
i like the floor plan!
your handmade floor plan is phenomenal
great floor plan - your place inspired last time and continues to do so again! like the color & fun throughout.
I agree with Neujeramic--I just don't see what the appeal is. I also think you could have kept the bike--there are a number of styles of wall hooks designed for bicycles that wouldn't have required you to sacrifice floor space.
This place is adorable, and I love it, but I am surprised to see it yet again. My place changes all the time, I am surprised at these places that remain in statis for so long. Maybe that's a peaceful way to live that I am missing.
This one is too much, how you say -- le dormroom.
Are your clothes in the orange rectangular thing to the left of the pop art piece? I like that blue retro kneeling chair. Your place is certainly tiny! But to live right in the middle of NYC--!
Awesome.
To live in a tiny space and make it functional and fun is a
great accomplishment. Looks like a winner to me.
Jack, I have been so inspired by your place! I periodically go back to your house tour to reinforce my thoughts about downsizing from our 1900 sq ft house. Bravo! And best of luck to you in the contest.
Best. Floorplan. Ever.
Love it Jack!
Extra points for working with such a small space, but I have to agree with Christopher on the dormroom aesthetic.
Jack - it's totally cool and definitely small, but if you win anything, where on earth will you be able to fit it?!
Liked it then. Like it now. It's small. It's cool. Inviting. Uncluttered. yea!
I love the red. Cool space.
1. I love the floorplan.
2. I'm completely impressed with your minimalism. I just can't do it. Sometimes I think I can, and then I think, I don't have to, so why bother! (Still, I'm the most minimalist of everyone I know. It's all those starting-overs.)
3. I've never been in a dorm room (went to school at night) (unless you count squatting in a friend's dorm room in Paris for a coupla nights), but I've been in plenty of motels and have a weird On the Road/motel sensibility that makes your place almost irresistible. ("Almost" cos I know I can't really do it.) (I would put in a twin loftbed and then cram stuff in drawers beneath, and then it would feel too crowded, and I would wonder why I can't go total Zen.)
Love it.
Although, if this were anywhere else in the country but Manhattan (Times Square no less!), then it would be more depressing than impressing. Heh.
For no other reason that yours is the smallest apartment I've ever seen, you deserve a prize. Hope no one goes ballistic over the colorful kitchen shelves. (It's not called CLUTTER, people, it's called COLOR!)
Definitely this is the smallest, coolest apt. I am impressed by the comfortable sense of modernity.Simplicity and color.Love the kitchen counter.It's like a Mondrian painting.Really nice art work on the walls.It's amazing how you are living.You should become a living in small spaces counselor.
140 square feet!
Just think about that. Less than a 12 by 12 room. I'm in awe.
Amazing job.
Not wild about the space, but I love the floor plan!
Oh my. How small can you go before it becomes illegal? I don't even want to know how much you have to pay.
I like your place though. Especially the utilitarian feel of the little kitchen. Do you have a stove? I could see a commercial induction burner or a good plug-in toaster/convection oven.
I really like the red and white. Something tells me the view alone is worth quite a bit.
this place really, really should win. 140 sf and yet so, so cool.
i remember seeing this from the house tours...i think the photos on that one were better, actually. this is seriously the single most inspiring apartment for me. man...my bedroom is bigger than his entire place!
Keep thinking BIG, Jack! Ruby reds got somebody else home. "...there's no place like home, there's no place like home..."
I hate it when folks pop a red pillow, a red vase, and a red toothbrush into their spaces and call them "accents." They wind up just being pings! that make me go "ouch!" But you really know how to use red. (I like your bed better when it's red than when it's black, BTW.) The only thing I see that might make this room feel dormish is the guitar. I don't get that le dormroom remark. And the kitchen shelves give a cozy, homey feel--definitely a requirement when you look out onto Times Square! What a location. You're a lucky man!
Your place was what inspired me to buy Dr Bronners!
great, the well chosen key pieces work together to create a real space that jack uses and lives in. thanks for sharing your veiwpoint.
I am dying to know...how much do you pay for this place?
Honestly people, a dorm room? No way! YES - dorm rooms are about this size, but kids only live in them for 9 months and move on to bigger houses off campus. Jack living here full time and having invested in this tiny space is truly the essence of this contest.
The floorplan is priceless!
I remember this. And its wonderful. I've never been a fan of orange with red but it works here. So neat. So well done.
Careen: You too? I had difficulty with "loading comments" all of yesterday and thought my company discovered that all I do is sit on the internet all day and decided to block me...at least now I know that's not true.
So...is AT fixing this?
I, too, love the floorplan. I also love red so kudos!
i'm surprised you didn't loft the bed. i think in a room that small, it would start to feel very crowded from the waist down.
love your hellers!!
you get "Stellar" based on the floorplan alone
your tasteful and well chosen belongings are very thoughtfully placed so that the space breathes nicely inspite of its smallness. definitely a place that looks good and probably feels good to spend some time in.
i read maxim all the time, and this dude should win the freakin contest, hands down.
Wow! This is awesome. I thought I was limited in a 225 square foot studio. But this shows how small can be both functional and cool. And you are able to create art too! Great job.
Jack, you inspire me. I wish I could have as much design genius as you've got in your pinkie toe. I hope you win!
rad
small for sure and amazing that this is your art studio too. It's unclear to me what you've designed here. did you build the kitchen? Also curious, is your whole bldg SRO?
I really love the storage containers above the sink. They look so familiar, but I haven't been able to find them with all my googling. Please, put me out of my misery....where did you get them? Thanks, Jack!
jack has a knack for editing. exquisite.
clearly a winner!
140sf!?! Hire this man as cubicle interior decorator.
Hands down this is the coolest smallest apartment!
i can think of several pies that would look perfect in that kitchen of colorful circles.
brilliant!
Jack should have his own TV show. I feel better after seeing just a few pictures - imagine the benefits of regular viewing?
WOW! This is totally a work of art. Jack is one talented artist. Good luck and hope you win.
Elizabeth S
Wow! I thought I'm living small in 192 sqft, but Jack's studio is fantastic. I do find it ironic that most of the apartments in this contest are 500 to 600 sqft and have at best two residents. I live in a much smaller footprint ( 192 sqft ) with a roommate and have more than enough space. I'm even thinking of downsizing to a smaller space next year. Good luck and thanks for showing people that size doesn't matter, but design does.
Another nuance that people should consider when looking at this place is that it was put together with no money (unlike the tens of thousands poured into most of the other entries). I've known Jack for many years, and I can attest to the fact that every object in this apartment, aside from his computer and desk was found at thrift shops...including the signed Josef Albers print! To raise money to buy his desk and computer he had to sell some of the really precious things he has found. When Jack first moved in he had more built-ins, storage objects, and lighting, which read more overtly as 'design', but his tastes have grown increasingly minimal, as he attempts to use this as a home, office, and art studio. The guy makes largish scultpure, cooks dinner, and has friends over for cocktails in this tiny room, and it always feels really nice and comfortable. What more could you ask of design?
Instant win! This is the definition of small and cool.
As for the non-existant bathroom door, I would hang the red poster over the bed, move the red storage thingy in front of the window, put the wardrobe where the poster was and hang a curtain in front of the bathroom entry. If that works.