First and foremost, that view is amazing!!! Holy cow... to-freakin'- die-for!
Secondly, love the bookshelf by the window... and the puppy :-)

looks promising, but unfortunately not enough information in the photos :( kitchen is killer tho.

Is the dining view the color focus or is the light washing out the wallcolor etc? Also, is the chair meant to accent the dog's coloring? ;)

Beautiful apartment! Congrats on the recent purchase.

AWWW! Your wittle puppy looks just like a sausage!!

I like that you used the sky as one of your colors, but I also kind of wish I could see what color that part of your home is.

WTF!? did people not click to see the other pictures? Yes, this is not "high end" or (in second picture) the best photograph work ever, but it's definitely pretty and at least worth the "In the running" tag. Great usage of vintage pieces and comfortable decor. A longshot? NO WAY!

I like the multiple floating bookshelves (makes more sense than just one), the kitchen color and pendants, & the dog. Looks happy!

Thanks everyone for your comments. We love what we've done so far but it's still a work in progress. The light washing of the dining area is a result of my superior photography skills. Sorry about that. That area is somewhat more visible on the first picture towards the right side. Peace to all!

Nice view. Too ordinary though.

I wish to explain my Longshot vote.

This IS an adorable home. I love the kitchen especially. My problem, however, is that thought the wall colors are lovely in every one of these pictures and I love the wall shelves, the color is not shown to be incorporated into anything else in the rooms. The only one that does show incorporation is the one with the pictures where the color is in the prints and one of the books. Perhaps it's everyone's personal interpretation of what the categories mean, but In The Running... to me would be an entry that attempted to incorporate the color with accessories and furniture and also an entry with wide shots of the rooms where I could see this. An Insta-Finalist vote would be someone who did all of that AND nailed it.

Therefore, without doing those things, I would vote Longshot. In my opinion, I don't see a Longshot vote as a sign of failure at all.

Extra credit for the cute dog!

The second photo is beautiful. I love your black apple prints. (I have one too :) I'd love to know what color orange that is...

Great kitchen and a wonderful view out the window combined with nice staggered floating book shelves. It seems the dog lovers are coming out now with their Occasional Dogs--what next??

I totally agree with Lisa from VA. If we could back up in the photos a few steps and see everything in context this looks really promising. As it is it's little vignettes of great color without any reference points.

I'd like to see this again in 6 months. I love the kitchen.

the pic of the view IS colorful... but i'm sure it's not always like that. i don't think it should count, you should have included an additional photo of your place (maybe the sunroom off the kitchen?), with better perspective. i agree you need to take a few steps back or get a wide-angle lens for more appropriate photos.

Uggg.. every time someone makes some cutsie comment about a dog or a cat in the pictures my soul vomits. Why do people feel the need to turn into simpering idiots because there is a mammal in the photo? It bears no relation to the contest, and in this particular instance the poor thing looks terrified to be propped in a chair twice as tall as he is.

I love the use of those bookshelves for cookbooks in the kitchen--very clever, and something I may steal! I like the red in the kitchen a lot, too.

I love the kitchen, the view and the dog!

So there is an orange bedroom wall, a grey wall somewhere, a dog, and a view. How exactly does this show use of color and how it is blended together? Sorry to sound harsh, but a couple of non-panoramic arty shots doesn't fit at all with what this contest is about.

orange room is the best, are those Black Apple prints?

Hi,
Love the shade of grey on the book wall. What's the colour called?

This may be a work in progress, but it is absolutely one of my favorites as it is. It is beautiful! I love it!

My first thought seeing the bookcase...a Mario Brothers platform game. Great colors and I love the pooch. Much better than evil cats.

Hi guys, thanks again for all the lovely comments. Yes those are Black Apple prints. We really love them! I apologize if colors don't blend or coordinate. I didn't know there were such ground rules for the contest. I guess it's all subjective. This is again a work in progress for us (all done by our somewhat handy selves and on a budget). When we can add pieces, art, etc. here and there, I'm sure the wall colors will have reference points. To us, we think starting with lovely wall colors as the pallete and then finding art and pieces that we fall in love with when we are window shopping or flea market hopping is the way to go. We love our dog and she is the happiest dog we know. Take care all you guys...

There is not enough here to judge. BTW, your dog looks like something from the Island of Dr. Moreau.

I have a suggestion, why doesn't "Edina the Judgmental" go the way of the dodo-bird, or post photos of his/hers living space so we can all make snarky comments about it? That's what I vote for!