I'm not sure if this qualifies, since it lacks both a bathroom and a kitchen... (which I presume are somewhere else in the dorm) but I still think it is a good use of a small dorm room.

You're place looks nice but I'm just not buying it in regards to a legit submission. Dorm rooms really temporary living. I've lived in a dorm for 4 years and now that I live in a loft that includes a bathroom and/or kitchen, it's just a whole different ball game.

Nice job though. I love the colors.

Sorry...to explain more in detail. I'm not knocking the whole dorm room living situation - that's why I lived in a dorm during my whole college career. But when I vote, I ask myself "would I want to live here?". And I answer "yes" - but only if I were back in college.

Yeah, I hate to say it but it doesn't cut it.

This being a legitimate submission makes me think I could submit an RV, or my car as long as I sleep in it. For that matter why couldn't I submit my backpack so long as I'm camping and carying all of my home with me...

i don't necessarily define "home" as having a bathroom and kitchen, so you're all good in my book :) i think you did a brilliant job and i commend you on making a temporary space truly your own.....to me, that's what counts! i always feel bad for folks who say "oh, i won't be here long...it can all stay in boxes..." (grr)

good job!

it's refreshing to see people in the photos -brava!

I think you did a lovely job, but the thing that struck me is that Yale has really big dorm rooms! I had maybe 1/4 that at American University.

Ah. Harsh comments. Whether it qualifies or not - I'm not sure...but no need for the cut-throat.

I think in large part BECAUSE a dorm room is "temporary" living - that's what makes it so much harder to cultivate a feeling of home. Plus, as a reminder to those of us now out of dorm rooms, "temporary" is relative - you still need to live in it and a year (or two or three) is a long time. Especially on such a limited budget.

I say - great use of space.

I don't see how this isn't legit - this isn't a hotel room, this is the place they live. And yeah, they have a bathroom and perhaps some other public living spaces elsewhere, but none of those areas are theirs personally, nor do they have any degree of control over how those spaces feel to them.

This is absolutely amazing. I think you've done an amazing job being very choosy with what you've included, and I love how you've used color - the orange of the chair matches the orange of the bed, the colors of the poster over the keyboard are echoed by the constrained little showing of objects on the shelf - even the hedrons on the shelf seem to pick up on the facets of the poster.

I know anyone who's ever lived in a dorm would die to live in one that looked this good and felt so spacious, so I'm voting insta-finalist. I don't think it's our place to judge what an "acceptable" living space is - just to evaluate how they've made use of the space.

I mean, come on, people have storage spaces bigger than this!

Oh please, it's home!
I love it - I'm totally impressed!

Whatever, this place is amazing. I would live in a dorm if it looked this great and felt so comfortable. Even with no available budget, your taste and style are very obvious.

Wow! Somehow you make a 10'x12' room look spacious. Good use of space and great layout. Nice job.

i think a dorm room (or an RV) is a totally legit entry, especially when one has done as good a job as this! It's his home right now and he's workin' it. Wish my dorm had had as much style :)

Good for you - this is the nicest dorm room I've seen.
And I disagree about it being a valid submission due to it being temporary.
If that was the case then the contest should be open to owners only.
Home is where you live regardless of the length of stay.

New Haven in the house!!!

I also like the cutie on the laptop. ; )

nice dorm room. Mine was disgusting.

I am soooo longing for my dorm days! You did a great job!

Next A.T. Contest Suggestion - Dorm Rooms!

I love this room - and I'm sure there are a lot of other students out there that would love a contest to show off their spaces!
Although I really like this space - it doesn't seem to qualify.

The Contest Master wouldn't have put it up if it weren't legit. I've bigger and smaller dorm rooms than this. Prefab, historic and converted from a mansion. I think Tim did very well gettin all his functions in, making it inviting and livable, making it NOT a bedroom and honoring the architecture.

Study on!

Great job! I only WISH my dorm room had looked like this!

where is that orangeyred chair from??

Place looks great. The speakers are installed in a good location -- barely noticeable. What really makes this space work is the single bed and the choice of bold posters as focal points. Books, stereo equipment, and a TV set are all out of the picture, and what can be more calming than that? Too bad we can't see the hearth, which probably rocks. I love Yale dorms, and their well-done fake medieval touches.

This is totally legit..........it is the space where this person lives and it is a totally amazing use of the space. As for it being temporary housing, I'm sure a lot of you are only in your spaces till you can find something better. Don't be jealous........it's a very bad quality.

looking at this makes me horrified at the dump i lived in for a year while a student at the university of kentucky. i mean, you have windows. my dorm room was about the same footprint as that arc lamp.

regardless, nice work.

Tim,
Great use of space - and the dorms at Yale are significantly better looking than the concrete block horror I lived in!
You've gotten a lot done on a very small budget and in a very short period of time.

I don't see how a dorm room is any more transient than a rental can be. And I think this is completely legit as I don't think a kitchen is a requirement for a living space. Plenty of NYers never use their kitchens and, as a result store shoes, books, paperwork in their ovens!! I'd love to see some entries of RVs or boats (some people do live on them in cities).

I think its great - especially being a temporary space. It's the place you call home so all of this debate about it being legit or not...I don't get. I wonder if you have ever considered a day bed instead of the mattress on the floor though? I'm sure you have but would be curious to know why you made the choice you do (budget perhaps?). What shade of white is on your wall? It's a nice nuetral background without feeling 'stark'. Oh - and I just noticed the speakers after looking at the photos several times. Well done.

I've lived in dorm rooms longer than I've lived in "legitimate" apartments, and I don't think that length of stay was a requirement to enter. This looks really cool and homey and reminds me of when I was in college and my roommate and I spent the summer planning how to set up our dorm room so we could really live there, not just study or sleep.

I think the complaints about it being temporary are justified. I know I switched out clothes when I went home for breaks and didn't keep everything I owned in my dorm room. My studio apartment has everything I own...

But if the judges think it fits the criteria then thats cool. Tim did a great job with what he's got!

Very nice - calm, soothing but colorful and original. But this Berkeley grad thinks -- that's not a dorm room! That's a friggin LUXURY suite. Berkeley would fit 4 people in that room, maybe 5 small ones ;)

Nice job anyway.

Love, love, love this space. So many people with a small space are tempted to jam every nook, cranny, wall and corner with storage, so it's so refreshing to see all the open space left on your shelves. But I do want to know who left the Arco lamp out on the curb!

great job with a dorm room!

Although it's not my favorite submission, it's a great dorm room, and really shows what you can do with a limited budget.

I'm just glad another student is represented in this contest. He is also lucky to have a single dorm room.

This has more art than my condo.

i think this space is fantastic!

i lived in an above-the-garage loft for over a year with no bathroom or kitchen, and that was my own choosing. just because it didnt have those two things didnt make it any less a "home".

i love what you've done and am jealous that your dorm room is nicer than my living room...a hearth and built-ins! the furniture looks fab and i bet you'll do great things whenever you upgrade to a larger space!

my only suggestion is that you nix the little shelf above the bed, cause it looks kinda silly. put something more substantial there, and make the bed area more of its' own space.

im voting finalist.

small and cool. ;-)

Man - Yale sure DOES have nice dorm rooms - wood moulding and hardwood floors - yeesh - sure beats the cinderblock walls and VCT flooring of my college dorm.

I agree with those who think a dorm room is acceptable. How is someone who rents an apartment on a one-year lease any less "temporary" than this? Heck, the average American homeowner isn't in their home for very long anymore (flipping and flipping and flipping themselves into bigger homes), so I don't even see how one can define a condo as "permanent".

As for the "escape valve" of a common room or mom and dad's place that students have at various times of the year, how is this any different from Maxwell G-R's way more luxe accesss to his parent's estates in the Hampton's?

Impressive.

I remember the space and decorating problems of college dorm living and this entry gracefully solves many of them. I wish I could say that I made any of my college living arrangements look as good as this. Then again, we had cinder block walls and supplied, ugly furniture and no place to hide it.

The complaint about being able to seasonally switch out clothing and other belongings so as to not have to deal with storage constraints is silly - who is to say that other contestants don't have outside storage units, or a vacation home, or a garage...?

I've got to ask--is this TD or Silliman? If TD, wow, the renovations look great!

excellent use of space! congratulations!

you must've been born under a rather lucky star to find BOTH a shell chair and an arco lamp from other students!

Lovely use of space! I love this room, especially remembering the struggles I had in decorating my own dorm room to achieve some semblance of comfort.

Love the Milton Glaser Foreshortened Nude, the typing table and the sitting area. Would love to see a shot of the Hearth!

Awesome! This space is gorgeous!

I think that being a dorm room it qualifies more than some of the other entries I've seen--no budget gut rehabs, real estate ads, and professional designers' digs. It's a real living space, far more fabulous than my own, and I have a bathroom and kitchen.

Besides, how many entries have even included photos of the bath and kitchen, anyway? Does a tiny studio apartment with only a microwave and a tiny fridge count? Not that it matters, anyway. This entry is fantastic, one of the best by far.

Irk:

Please do not, DO NOT, show us a picture of the dorm bathroom. However nice it may be, there are some things those of us over 26 are too old to deal with.

Nice place, by the way.

As for the "larger question", I'm going to put on my academic guy-with-masters-thesis-in-media-representation-of-interior-design hat here. Some things to consider before decided that dorm room aren't real housing. First, the typical American moves every five years. Is four years that far off the average? Second, for many trailers/RVs are permanent homes, lasting 10, 20 or more years. Third, the same with half the boats in a typical marina. (The one here in New York mostly has permanent residents.) Ship design, by the way, is a wonderful source for clever idea of how to maximize minimal space. Fourth, again here in New York, most of use have storage rooms in addition to our spaces. Would that disqualify New York apartments from entering then?

And not quite relevant to this thread, but to another, the fact that the books aren't decorative and there's no zebra skin rug are surely recommendations in themselves?

By the way, and back to Irk: what's your major?

Wow. I've never seen a dorm room like that. Great job. You have a great eye and I love your pieces of art.

I might have to drive to New Haven, when does Yale let out for the summer?

I tried my hardest to decorate my old dorm (which at the time meant phish posters and a lava lamp) and never achieved this...impressive use of a space where you are 'forced' (ie the desk and bed) to keep some furniture. Is the budget on the main pieces really $0? If so, even more props to this amazing job of making dorm life modern.

yeah-- how is this different than some crappy studio in the bowels of williamsburg where you'd have to share a kitchen bathroom "down the hall"...a bunch of haters, some of you!
i think this is fantastic. he's gotten rid of university issue furniture, and made it homey. i think this is a LOT better than a lot of the entries that have passed muster, because at least he's being creative given the situation and probable university constraints on the space.
good work! he could use the dwr certificate to furnish a real apartment someday!

I second the "Yay - no zebra skin rug."

Folks - zebra skin, leapord spot, etc. rugs - faux or otherwise - were *never* cool, not even in an ironical way.

This is an accomplishment. Being not so far out of undergrad myself, I can remember friends' dorm rooms - this is leaps and bounds ahead of them in terms of style, comfort and personality. Granted, you don't seem to have the problem of cheap built-in furniture that many dorms have... but that doesn't detract from your efforts. I voted "insta".

What I really like is that this entry feels loved! Many of the other entries regardless of budget, style, or size feel as though they were designed with the purpose of impressing people. This one is all about the owner and his needs, his reach and his limitations. I really like the creative solutions to his problems.. to me that is what the contest is all about.

I voted "insta" as well... I have no idea idea why this woud not count as a living space. Beautiful, creative work on NO budget! Awesome!

Ironically, Dave, you are beating a dead horse.

But apparently you boys (Dave and JonatahanB) are both fine with flokati, since the fluffy pillow escaped judgement! You big softies!!!

haha, Patrick, i love it.

Congratulations on an impressive use of space. It looks much bigger than 120 sf. The only things I might do is remove the little shelf above the bed or make it larger (the current shelf seems to small) and add some more pillows/cushions to the bed, which would make it cozier for lounging. Otherwise, it's freakin' great.

Yale boy with that sort of taste, and reads AT? Tim, call me when you get out of school.

This is the winner for me. To achieve this level of style and comfort with limited $$$ in a friggin dorm room no less. It's a real home. This is better than most of the high end archi-dwell-Metropolitan digest mid century chic wanna be's. Don't hate ya'll. Give this boy a prize.

I think I have to say that if a person lives in a dorm, which is a small space, that's one reason they might be a regular visitor to AT, and it makes perfect sense that if they're doing great things with it (as he has), they're perfectly qualified to enter this contest.

My dorm room looked pretty good, because I was determined to make it home, and I think irksome is doing great. Congratulations on figuring out a great way to live.

You make this place look huge. But, as with a lot of the other entries, I'm wondering, where do you store everything??

Not sure what the technicalities are involving dorm rooms. However, a friend of mine in Chicago used to live in a studio apartment where the bathrooms were located in the hall and shared by other studios as well. Her place reminded me of a dormroom but it did have a tiny little kitchen.

What impresses me is the fact that this is a "rental" and it is their "home" for now. It certainly conveys an eye for design and a certain level of sophistication I wish I had in college(arco floor lamp:clapper, vintage poster:full size Bob Marley door poster, great moulding:industrial rubber trim).

This is making me miss the under-appreciated picture molding in my own dorm rooms at Yale. As far as whether a dorm room qualifies as a home, for many of us it is our first real space that we have control over and can host friends in. My dorm rooms were always happy gathering spaces which post-college apartments never lived up to. And in the Apartment Therapy way, furnishings and other stuff were pared down to the essentials since we had not all started accumulating yet. I'm glad that 'design' has now trickled down to the most challenging of spaces. Also, I can vouch for the marble bathrooms, but cringe at the thought of them being Co-Ed! Never again!
That was a really great idea to get rid of the bed frame and use the desk as a headboard, it really opens up the space.

Who cares about the lack of bathroom/kitchen. Most of the entries so far have submitted 3 pictures of their living room from various angles, and then merely depicted the bathroom/kitchen in the floorplan.

I think this is a great little place. It's not a contender for the title, simply because some of the other places are so much nicer and more complete, but this is one of the most efficient strictly living/sleeping areas I've seen so far. Nice use of restraint.

By the way Tim...the money situation doesn't get better for a little while after school - those loans have to get paid back after all.

Okay, yeah, I totally have a crush on your place. Inspiring for a recent college grad with no money. So many of the smallest/coolest places are tiny spaces with limitless design budgets. Well done.

Just to clarify.. I have no problem with this being an entry. I think it's an amazing dorm room! I'm jealous that my VCT/ cinderblock dorm room never looked like this.

And I'm 2 years out of school so I can vouch for the broke-ness.. one day.. one day

lovely, lovely place. i can't believe how huge it is for a dorm! ucla squished three people into a space much smaller than that. consider yourself lucky. :)

i don't see why a dorm room doesn't qualify. even with the space considerations of a bathroom and kitchen, this place would still come under the maximum sq requirements. and plus, what makes a dorm room any less legitimate than any of the other transient living situations posted on this forum? four years is a lot of time to live in one place- i have yet to live that long in any of the 4 apartments i've lived in.

given his space constraints, he's done a great job.

This is awesome! It doesn't even look like a dorm, really. I'm so glad that AT decided to show this one.

P(2): no, I'm not. I just think that fur balls should be produced by a live cat and not a dead flokati.

Irk: love the additional photos.

Since when was a dorm not a home? Wouldn't that imply that college students aren't real people?

I love the Nihon Buyo poster and the pink rug adds an interesting splash of color to the space. It looks really comfy!

Yeah, TD!
I lived in this same building for 4 years, and my room never looked like this, molding or no molding. Actually, it looks better than my current 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.
Serious kudos and congratulations on graduation!

Ok so the debate goes on about whether or not a dorm room counts.

Meanwhile...
"The contest rules do not state that an "apartment" must have a joined kitchen and bathroom."

That's right, but the rules also state 3 photos max and you've just posted a link which shows more than this.

You made this tiny space work for you and it's lovely. Kudos! I gave you insta, because I can see all the hard work that went into this.

Oh.. but I just saw the rest of the pics - not cool...... 3 pics max is 3 pics max my friend.

Boola.

I think this is great, and just as much a "real home" as any tiny space, if not more so. It's hard to make a dorm room look like a real home! Plus, I have to admit I like feeling like people could really use one of the prizes.

But I'm seriously jealous--the unpaintable undergrad shoebox I lived in looked like someone had vomited on the walls. My bed sagged so much that my roommate frequently thought I wasn't there...it was flat across with me IN the bed. Hmph.

There are too many nitpickers here! So what if he's only living here for a while. Have some sympathy for us (poor) students who move every single year. Apartments aren't really permanent anyway. He's done a great job for such a small space, combining living, work, music, and sleep space probably on a budget a tiny fraction of the average entries. However, I must say that the room is quite big for being a dorm single. Our doubles were smaller than this!

Yeah.. this defines small and cool! Not cool posting other pictures tho :( you should have waited.

Where did you get your coffee table?

Wow! I am in love with your use of space.

I much prefer an inventive use of space and design on no budget to a fabulous apartment done by a professional, even one who used lots of second hand stuff. This guy has managed to make a 120 sq ft space multi-functional, attractive - and personal - something that has been missing from lots of submissions. It is great!

Great use of an itty-bitty space... reminds me of my pad when I was attending Uni!

Tim, that was very classy of you to take them down.

I love your space. Much nicer than any of my dorm rooms were at Columbia!

Irk: love the additional photos.

Hey, that's not fair! I didn't get to see the other photos. 1) Other entries have posted links to photos - 2) no one at AT has issued a statement or policed this issue. 3) Three photos for the initial round is ridiculously too few. 4) Why should the contestants arbitrarily restrain themselves - some posting flikr photos, some not? 5) I understand why some of you don't like the practice given the (ridiculous) 3-photo rule - but why impose the burden of ensuring the rule is followed by an individual, arbitrarily and ineffectively?
AT should issue an official proclamation on the issue and back it up with penalties - it's too much guilt-tripping for my taste to require that individual posters block their photos links.

But maybe I could be persuaded to hold the opposite view....? I'd like to see the argument for it.

Sea - I agree.

And a few of us have been complaining in other entries when the contestants (or others) post links to additional pics.

That's why I was so impressed with Tim for removing them voluntarily, even though he didn't have to. As far as I know, he is the only one who has done so.

And, BTW, I think the 3 photo limit is completely unfair if the judges are allowing spaces that have been published elsewhere and on television.

I know, cat.

So it sounds like we're agreeing on the following:
>> Something more like 5 photos should be allowed with the original entries.
>> All links to other photos should be strictly prohibited. AT should block or delete links to photos (regardless of whether they were posted by the contestant).
>> Previously "published" apartments should not be allowed. Although entries by professionals (architects, designers) should be allowed, as long as the space itself has not been publicized.

Does that much sound right?

Newsflash:
All homes - except the very last - are temporary. I don't think AT will be featuring 6 foot deep holes any time real soon. (No, I don't mean your basement.)

It's a great room and the appearance of people was a pleasant surprise. Sorry I missed the extra pics.

Professionals (architects etc) should be in a class of their own.

Got my vote!!

Although I like the space and rated it well, I am frusturated about it's legitimacy as a entry. I'm not upset about it being an entry, I'm upset because it wasn't clear that these types of enties where premitable. Reading the other posts I see that the rules never specified that the space have a bathroom and kitchen. But the fact is at the very top of the page it says "Small Cool Apartments".
I live in a large house with friends where my bedroom is my only personal space. I would have loved to have entered my room but assumed it was inelegable because my house is bigger than the square footage requirements. Apparently I was incorrect. I could have entered only my bedroom and not counted the rest of the house that isn't "my" space.
Yes I could have read the rules and I feel really stupid now. But why would I have any reason to look and check? Having a bathroom and kitchen as a part of your entry is just as implied as having four walls and a door. Having dorm rooms or bed rooms or RV's for that matter included in the Small Cool apartment contest, is like having women from Italy or China enter the Miss America contest. I don't think that this entry or others (like boats or RV's) should excluded. I just feel like the inelegablility of those types of entries was so heavily implied by the nature of this contest that many potential contestants, or at least myself, where prevented from entering.

Wow, where'd your standard issue bedframe go?

Kudos, though, it looks fantastic.

One question - is your room really 10x12? I'm a senior in college myself, and my first real apartment bedroom is going to be a foot longer than your dorm room, but I haven't been able to figure out how to fit anything more than a desk and bed!

I'm mildly amused but mostly put off by the huffing and puffing of whether a dorm room qualifies as an apartment. What if someone posted pictures of a detached cottage? Or if someone's converted hotel room lacks a kitchen? Spend less time moaning about the rules, people!

Tim's space is fantastic. If someone's jealousy gets in the way, too bad for that person---but please don't let it hamper anyone's appreciation for another's accomplishment and eye and editing.

Xeno,

a) I think there is a distinction between living in a dorm room and living in a house. I'm sure you have living rooms, kitchen's etc that are shared. You probably also get to have some kind of say in how those areas are designed and used. In a dorm you have similar things, but sharing a bathroom with 4 people is different than sharing a bathroom with 400. And the furniture in a 'common' area at college is different than in a house.

b) I share some of your frustration with the vaguaries of the rules. AT is doing much better than some of the contests past, but is still learning.

Not sure why it's up to AT to police entires (why can't entrants police themselves)... or why entrants are not clear on whether additional photos are allowed... that seems pretty clear (they are not). I am hoping these issues are being discussed and sorted out behind the scenes, among Jill and the judges.

Also laughing about how the "temporary" nature of dorm living is creating the stir. Um, how is a rental apartment any more "permanent" exactly?

So I propose: "Back to School Smallest Cool": a contest for student housing solutions.

P (too): "Not sure why it's up to AT to police entires (why can't entrants police themselves)..."

Because then there aren't any consequences for breaking the rules. Those who don't police themselves will gain all the advantages of having extra photos out there, and that is unfair to those who did police themselves. Rules must be enforced, or they aren't worth making in the first place.

Personally, I think this is entirely eligible, because it's his pretty much his whole living space. I highly doubt he cooks in the dorm, though I could be wrong. Probably a dining hall, which is about the same as having no kitchen and hence eating out most of the time.

In my opinion, in a shared house, if you don't use the kitchen or dining room or living room as a place to hang out with friends or do daily business, then your "bedroom" is your living space. If you just sleep in your bedroom and hang out in the living room, then it's a bedroom. But, I also have no problem with someone entering it. It might do well, or people might be annoyed.

I wouldn't want to see an RV or a boat, though, unless it was designed by the owners, because while you can choose a few pieces and fabrics and finishes, in general the layout is determined by the manufacturer. But again, I wouldn't say you couldn't enter it, I just wouldn't vote very high on it.

Hey, every place we live is temporary. Including in this body on this planet.
Great job Tim! Ignore the naysayers. You defy (and beyond) the rep of a guy living in a dorm. I hope in an upcoming AT Small Cool Contest you'll show us what you do with the next space you call home.

I just want to say I think this submission is great! I think a dorm room should be completely legit - in fact, I say extra points to you for showing so much care for your 'temporary' space that so many people consider decorated when they tack up a Bob Marley poster.

i think its funny that everyone here comments on the eligibility of the entry. why would it be posted if they felt it wasnt eligible.

*rolls eyes*

I would marry this dorm room right now.

I'm ok with a dorm room being in the competition. Was this a double room and you're using it as a single. It's a really big dorm room. You've done well. Good luck in school.

As a college student, I'd like to mention that the majority of college students do not have that much space to themselves to work with or the option to bring their own furniture/remove existing furniture! Luckies.

Wow! That's a great use of space..I'm a student from Holland (we don't have dorms here, we have to find an appartment or a room in one of the student houses ourselfs.) and one of the lucky ones I may add..Here in Amsterdam you don't have a lot of rooms and i moved eight times in the last year and a half. That being said: my room never looked this good! Right now I live in in apartment of 30m2 -still very small- and even that doesn't look as nice. You are an inspiration my friend! This week I'm changing everything so for next year; meet your competition ;)

To all the naysayers; This is the place where he lives, he made a great home out of it and this is as much an appartment as any other! Don't be winy little babies because you spend $4000 on coffeetables and he still manages to make his home look better. Jealousy isn't a pretty color.