apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When I first saw the post regarding your wall color a few months ago, I never imagined there was a kitchen on the other side of the fireplace. How elegant.

I love the way you've solved some of the challenges of a Victorian home -- like the light installation above the dining place when you have no junction box. Great work.

Wow, Love it... everything about it. The dark colors and even thou its small it doesnt seem small with those tall windows.

I love this place, and it looks a MILLION times better than the house tour in a similar places with "mosatic" style. I like that you don't have a lot of patterns but its not boring. Also good job putting up high art work to keep the eye moving around the top of the room and up the windows.

Holy huge... its a mansion! A beautiful and well designed mansion, but a mansion!

This is my favorite so far. It's totally not my style, but it's absolutely positively GORGEOUS (and even has a dishwasher to boot!). I wanna see the bedroom!!!

Very elegant and dramatic!

That grey color really looks great!

Wowzers.

Stunning!

I never thought I'd love such a dark gray on the walls, but you have pulled it off wonderfully. Every detail is lovely, especially your choice in light fixtures, but the cou de gras for me is the black trim on the ceiling, doors, and windows. **swoon**

That's hella sexy.

I hate the animal head and whatever those things are hanging over the TV, but everything else is beautiful. "Sexy" is right.

I really, really like the dark and dramatic color. Very modern. One of my favorite colors for brownstones is "Hudson" - Ralph Lauren paints.

this is totally swoon worthy. my mama always said 'there's so much you can do with a one-room apartment' (ala thousand clowns) but this just blows me away. it is smack ya in the face stunning!

very chic! you are blessed with wonderful architecture but did a wonderful job with the layout. would love to see the bedroom!

I wish there was a photo of the bedroom, and perhaps one of the bathroom as well.

I feel that the dining area is too small for the space, a table with 4 chairs would have been better.

The architecture is beautiful - just gorgeous, but outside of that, I don't think this is the smallest coolest apartment out there.

Love the gray. The light installation near the entry is quite clever. I am soooo using that idea.

An overall stunner to say the least.

I do love this apartment but I agree with f.in.eur. There is a lot of dead space in the kitchen - lots of room for a big dining room table!

Wow. Gorgeous!

It turned out beautiful. Job well done!

that fireplace is to die for

But do you really need a huge dining area when there are only 2 people living there? I mean, I understand that they have 4 cats, but I don't think they count towards the dining guest list.

But regardless, this space is awesome. I'm glad you took the Victorian bones of the apartment and ran with it. It looks AMAZING! :)

That's pretty amazing. I like the grey paint. Good luck.

I am shocked, SHOCKED at how much I like that dark grey paint! Gorgeous!

Other than yesteryear's faux animal on the wall, it's very nice. Love, love the color.

yea i second seeing the bedroom and bathroom. love the grey paint as well

Very beautiful, but I would find the dark grey a little too dreary from time to time - it's a lovely colour, but I can imagine wanting to escape into a big light space from time to time. I guess if you had another room that was lighter, or even a garden or balcony it would work.
Thumbs up for the space though, it is divided so elegantly.

Sexy is right! I wish I was brave enough to do the dark walls myself. Crazy cool :)

it's like a Living Etc photo shoot...

Ohhhh I want to see LARGER images and MORE please!! (:

Absolutely Beautiful...

O_O

Holy cow.

So chic, sophisticated, modern yet surprisingly warm. I love it!

Really well done and props to you for hanging the pendant lamp the way you did. That alone gets my vote. A great integration of architecture and design.

Now THIS is a dark grey - not the grey used here

beautiful!

Totally not my style but its beautiful :-) I really like your light fixtures and that picture above the fireplace,
even the animal head fits in nicely.

This is the epitome of small and cool!

GORGEOUS!!!
I might consider a 60" round dining table centered in the middle of the dining area. The little table to the side is the wrong scale and reads more like a gaming parlour. A table in the center would suggest a Victorian library table (appropriate for the space) and would anchor the front of the room which feels a little light. There appears to be plenty of room.

this is really lovely overall, but i agree with the poster(s) who wished we could have seen a picture of the bedroom or bathroom. also not sure how i feel about the architectural details (door frames, etc) painted w/ the black...i feel like my eye is drawn to the black, and the details would stand out more on their own.

Too dark for my tastes and I feel as though some of the original details suffer as a result but bold and gutsy. Nice to see someone make a coherent statement.

wow 4 cats?

It's very chic, I love the painted lines in the door mouldings

FINALLY something truly different from the usual entries! A larger table may be more practical but the smaller choice adds intimacy. I'm sure that "dead space" gets used when you hit play on your Ipod (or CD player if you're old school) and slow dance after a long days work ---maybe. Ha.

Zut alors Bernard!! You rock!!

Wow! This place seethes with awesomeness.

Absolutely gorgeous. I am giving thumbs up on this for sure. Even though I really wish there were pictures of the bedroom. For all we know it could have a futon with beige carpeting and neon Bud Light signs on the wall.

I seem to remember someone posting a link to more photos of their home on an AT contest site a few years ago (they had entered the contest) and it was deemed unfair as the extra photos exceeded the number allowed for the contest.

Your place is beautiful, Brad, but extra pics of it are pretty unfair to the other entrants.

What a truly beautiful home - elegant, modern, sophisticated, and playful all in one. You certainly have my vote. Good luck in the contest.

The photos make your home seem staged, though overall I like that you've really committed to a particular aesthetic. Inspires me to mix a martini!
Question: Do you ever section off the kitchen with a folding screen or something similar?

I love this, and I love the color. I'd really like to know what that color is. When we lived in Cambridge (600 sq.ft.) we had 10' ceilings, crown molding, etc. We painted the living room with Pratt & Lambert's "Trout," which was a dark grey, although maybe not quite as dark as this. It was gorgeous. The color changed as the light changed throughout the day. Is this a custom color, or can it be purchased? Great job.

awesome!

The pictures do a good job of detailing the time and thought the owners have invested. Seeing it in person only makes you drool more! Go B&K!

Not my style at all but It's stunning. I could never committ to one style like this but the effect is beautiful and very calming.

I think it's beautiful, but suggest a bigger dining table-maybe a round one. The tiny little square in the corner just doesn't do the space justice.

beautiful gets my vote

Love it, love it.

Pretty noice....getting the competition off to a great start...actually a flying leap...lurve the colour sweep, absolutely fabulous..

Hi All,

This is Brad and Kendra, and we would like to thank those who have left such nice and appreciated comments about our home.

Competition or not, we have poured our hearts into this place, and i can assure you that each and every decorative item does have a significant meaning to us, & represents our 10 GREAT years together and were not purchased "just because they look good".

As for the Dining Area of our home, please know that in no way is my hand drawn floor plan to scale. Believe us, our 40" sq. dining table just fits ever so comfortably.
Anything larger, and I can assure you that you'd walk right into it. But thank for your suggestions.

Take care everyone.

Would love to see a pic of the bedroom.

If only we all had such great architectural bones to work with. Amazing.

Jarring but cool to see the fridge next to the fireplace. Such a cool reimagining of the original grand space.

Really unique and cool.

Stunning and rich.

I like it, I like it a lot!!

This is the winner.

This is so different and creative. Most entries on this blog look *exactly* the same. I love it.

Gorgeous, I love it! It looks open, natural, all the colours blend so well... not actually my usual taste but I think you've done it perfectly. I'm too late to vote though! :(

Adore this entry. What great bones and what dramatic use of color and light. This could be a small cool winner. I could so imagine this in Elle Decor. This is lovely and makes me jealous. Boston is representing!!!

Hi Brad of ColourTheory - just saw your comment on the william & william page. lol.. it would be a difficult choice if both your homes compete in the same category.. very different style but equally amazing.. in fact I have voted for both your homes!! and the only 2 votes I have cast,mind you!! you guys definitely deserved to be there in the finals!

Looking forward to a house tour by AT to see the bedroom deco and detail pics

Honestly, not my favourite. I love trad Victorian, and the bleak colors and uber modern furniture just spoils it for me. Sorry - magazine quality decor, just not my style at all.

stunning!

I do not understand how you got so many thumbs up. The place itself is grand and you had nothing to do with that at all. You chose furniture and did some decorating but that is just a matter of putting appropriate things in some appropriate place. Not any great accomplishment to me.

Megan in AZ's comment cracked me up: "I really wish there were pictures of the bedroom. For all we know it could have a futon with beige carpeting and neon Bud Light signs on the wall."

It's definitely an elegant apartment, but I don't think it should win.. (sorry) the entries in "tiny" and "teeny-tiny" are more of a challenge..

I agree with Petal21. This apartment is definitely well designed, but it's not that interesting to me. It looks like it belongs in a magazine, but I see a lot more apartments in this contest that look more unique, daring and fun. Sorry!

Looks like a corner of a Z-Gallerie store

So glamorous. I adore the windows and fireplace.

Can't believe how much drama can be squeezed into 800 sq ft. Love the grey.

You marry modern and victorian like no other... what I'm sure was a challenge you pull off to look effortless. It's one of those "Oh, I could do that," when you're watching figure skating during the Olympics... but when you think about it... you are reminded that most certainly you could not.

oh and I love the artwork above the fireplace...

Why are we able to vote for this one again? The deadline should have passed?

To finur,

As stated in the contest rules, the top 16 entries from each category are allowed a total of 24 hours to receive as many additional votes as you can.

Hence...

My favorite one, without a doubt.

Sure wish I were able to live in a home with as much creativity and detail as yours. I can tell you two like
to "mix it up" and are not timid when it comes time to
take chances on paint colors.

Great job, I hope your home wins.
It's a winner in my mind.

Good luck!

Congrats! Nice win ... Tim and I wish you the best of luck as you press on!

Can't decide because I haven't seen the bedroom and bath. What I see is very grand and dramatic.

Your place is so stunning, it's awesome

My favourite element would have to be the contrast of the black and white moldings...

wow. stunning. i wish i could find a space like that where i live.

can we see pics of the bedroom and bathroom too please?

I wish I were allowed to provide you w/ my painting company's website, so that you could all see pics of our bedroom and bathroom.

But Apt. Therapy says: "No!!!"

One Final note.

In my opinion, good design, does not have to come at an expense.

With that being said, we spent a total of $3,500 for all the furniture items, wallpaper, and paint you see in our photos.

Just like to address that.

Take care folks, and thank you!

I'm speechless!

ahhhh. LOVERLY!!

great job guys and good luck!

great job brad and kendra! good luck- jes

Your place is stunning, I really truly am impressed. I am also shocked that your place is only 4 votes behind Kevin's triple threat right now! I am so appaled that I have recruited my designer friends to sign up and vote! If you lose to that place I will quit AT forever. Okay, maybe not, but at least a month in opposition!

I agree with virtually all the other posts: stunning, gorgeous, wow, etc.
Since no one else seems to have commented on the TV, let me say I love the 'hiding in plain sight' design. With your fabulous choice of paint color, the TV is not the focal point (thank you), but appears to be easily viewed from most anywhere in the room.
I realize with that fireplace and other wonderfully inherent architectural details you might not get proper 'credit' for what you've done, but you should! I've seen other folks take 'obvious' beauty and mess it up (brick over the fireplace, wall-to-wall over the hardwoods).
When you win, please post more photos, bigger photos, detailed photos, photos of the rest of your great space.

Congratulations Brad!!
It's absolutely gorgeous!!
Signed the "French guy"

I am baffled that you can put this space next to that it doesn't win...it is MIND BOGGLING!

Were the votes fixed? How could this lose to a space that made no real choices and has items that are a dime a dozen in it?

Thanks everyone for your support and positive feedback.
We're just happy to have been one of the finalist, let alone
win in our size division.

All our best,

Kendra and Brad



















www.colorTHEORY.vpweb.com

I adore grey! This place is so elegant and stunning. Bravo!

stunningly beautiful. can i buy it from you?

holy moses...this is the most gorgeous small space ever. I big time {heart} the deer head

Congrats on your Win!

It's grand, but I think the catagories between Rent and Own should be separated in the contest. The challenge of making a rental apartment "cool" is different than a condo.

To "mjs7640",

Before owning our current condo, we rented for years, and personalized each of them, with paint, hung art work, or whatever.

The only catch is, is that we had to be willing to do all the work to return the apt to its' original condition, and we did.

My point is, don't allow anything to keep you from designing your home, for it is YOUR home.

Fantastic! No contest here.

When I saw the pictures weeks ago, I thought that it looked so familiar. Now I suddenly realized that it was the apartment downstairs owned by Brad and Kendra. - I was your neighbor in the same building (apt 6) and we left Boston in summer 2006. Does it ring your bell? :)
I'm glad to see that the apartment looks so special and also you've got four cats now. Congratulations!

This is awesome !!!

wow. super jealous!