Name: Curtis
Home then: 538 sqft alcove studio coop, Upper West Side
Home now: 1981 TV is replaced with a 2008 flat-screen
Curtis is somewhat of a cult figure in the AT world. His studio is so packed with Apartment Therapy worthy elements that he just keeps showing up in our posts. And when we designed our latest book, Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions
So Curtis decided to leap frog straight into the 21st Century. He bought a flat-screen TV and then transformed it and embellished it, Curtis-style, into something that would happily blend into his custom made apartment.
For Curtis, no solution, no purchase, no act of adding decor to his home is ever a simple act. Curtis is deliberate in his actions. He has a vision and will work tirelessly, through any number of experiments, to see it through to completion. He is patient to a degree that many people cannot even fathom let alone achieve. As a result, when Curtis finishes a project, he has few regrets.
Links to Curtis and his home over the years on Apartment Therapy:
I've Got Color! Contest: Curtis Paints Paris By Numbers
MarthaWatch: Curtis Gets On Martha
Inside Out: Curtis' Attention to Detail Will Blow You Away
Look! : Curtis Inspires a Show in Vermont
Close-Up: Curtis' Wallpaper by Hand
Book Party: Curtis Keeps Embellishing!
Curtis documented his entire process of trials and errors here. And if you want some nostalgia for that which is no longer, check out at Curtis' full story on the old TV here.
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (17)
Go, Curtis!
Curtis, you never cease to astound me.
Putting a flat screen television in a cabinet that takes up floor space defeats the purpose of having a flat screen.
Oh Curtis, that's hilarious.
williamsweyr - But Curtis was just updating his TV, not yearning for a flat screen. Though maybe if he'd mounted it on the wall with that frame around it, it would have looked okay in his apartment.
I hope that those are just bad pictures - it looks quite hideous to me as far as build quality and finishing details go.
Wonderful idea, but I have to agree with dave.darling on this one...it looks a bit thrown together IMHO. Sorry Curtis!
I really like the idea.
Being a more antique ish type of person,I always feel that appliances such as TV's , sound systems etc are a snag in the look of my place.
I have been wanting to do something similar.
I have been planning to get a nice big frame to put around my air conditioner.
good inspiration.
Wow that's ugly!
I'm sorry...My momma said, "If you have nothing nice to say, then don't say it." You get the point...
Curtis here, just to say that, yes, dave.darling, in the context of looking at this in person in place there is NEVER as much light as that flash gave this, so it never really looks that harsh, and it looks pretty great in the space.
And that actually when I first found the cabinet on the street, it had been a dresser, with drawers. So, I took out ALL the drawers and removed one of the separation things between two of the drawers, so accomodating that first TV I had was a pretty neat trick to start with, I have to say. Those bottom two doors, were originally a drawer, and I took the front of that drawer off and sawed down the middle of it to create those doors, and I added the hinges, myself.
To address williamsweyr's point about defeating the "purpose of having a flat screen"; being able to save floor space may have been the intended purpose of its creators, but my purpose was just to have a better picture, as Joan A. guessed, seemingly reading my mind.
And I actually have no appropriate wall space for a wall mounted TV, anyway. Actually, I just need everything in my place to get along, and this was the way to make this TV work with my stuff, in its context. Everyone has to figure out how to make their own place work for them, and that's we share these ideas with each other.
As we bend to technology's whims, sometimes we must choose to make it bend somewhat to us.
This is such a clever idea! I love it. Would also love to see the rest of your place too. It's great to see people use innovative ideas with modern technology to fit their styles.
suzy8track -
Thank you! Meanwhile, if you would like to see the rest of my place, look at the 3rd link down among the 6 links about it, you'll see the actual "House Tour" that has over 30 photos, and I think Jill managed to captured pretty much everything.
Wow, Curtis--you have a lot of work to do on your DVD/VHS player now.
:-)~
Myles
It's crazy and I LOVE it! (BTW I can't believe how rude some people are on here...) anway love your apt too, that painting on the wall reminds me of van Gogh's painting of the cafe at night, one of my lifelong faves.
Rooms must be designed around ART! Technology is NOT art!!! Tired of these big black ugly tvs, stereos, sound systems etc. engulfing entire rooms! Curtis I love that you took tech and made it art to fit in your room! This generation has the sweet taste of Sh!t in most of what it does when decorating. Great to see style and wit while having to adjust to the latest gadget to have access to entertainment. Bravo!
I love your creativity! I hate that people put other peoples ideas down. Those are usually the ones that can't come up with anything to save their life! Keep them coming! I'm curious though are you into the antiquish or mod look?