Congratulations to all the winners! AT:Chicago would like to thank all of the entrants for stepping up and sharing their homes - it has been an inspiring contest. We'd also like to thank the readers for choosing our fourteen finalists and the judges for choosing the four winners. Thanks to everyone who came out on a chilly night to toast the winners at our party last night and to Kafka and Provenance for the wine. Finally, a big big thanks to our contest sponsor CB2 for everything!
Quotes from the Judges on Marilyn and Peter's entry:
Jon:"It's a great example of bringing "color" through the pieces you place in the room, as opposed to painting the walls. They've chosen a family of colors that all compliment each other, and I love how it runs through and unifies each room. I could see them being able to switch pieces from room to room and having it all still look great together."
Stephanie:"Marilyn and Peter have welcomed color into their home but at an almost uniformly soft level which I think shows a keen and discriminating eye. In this style, even white very much becomes a color where it may not seem so elsewhere. This home is a perfect example to show those that fear color how the right amount and color palette can still create a soothing and calm effect."
The rest of the winning lineup is below the jump...
Quotes from the judges on Joel's entry:
Allison:"Its damn near close to that Bronzino green I love so much. It is also clear that all the things (the pottery, the milk container collection, etc.) in Joels place are uniquely treasured and have a story to tellthats what makes a house a home in my opinion."
Stephanie:"I also like that Joel has balanced the lime green, which can be pretty overwhelming if used incorrectly, with more muted grays and browns in his furniture. There is an overall harmony here that really works to shed positive light on the lime green and to make the place feel personal and comforting."
Quotes from the judges on Geninne's entry:
Kyra and Robertson: "Geninne is fortunate enough to have great views and has thoughtfully chosen earthy colors and organic materials to complement her lush surroundings. Her use use of wood within the kitchen, as well as the living and dining rooms, creates a rustic modern sensibility, particularly when accented by the elements of pure, clean white."
Kate: "The balance of the chosen colors mixed with the natural landscape give this space a sense of joy of life."
Quotes from the judges on Becca's entry:
Vance:"What I like best about Becca's use of color is how she has considered the entire room, and has applied it with control. The green kitchen has just enough green to pop with those silver appliances, and doesn't feel like it is about to run amok and take over the entire space."
Kyra and Robertson: "We first recognized her for her smart use of green in her kitchen, which was spirited, yet clean. She lived up to the big challenge of working with a windowless basement. The lack of any natural light forced her to select paint colors to define the space and give it life."
It's good to see all the winners...but I guess in a way I'm a little disappointed.
While I definitely think all the winners did a great job and love the places....I would have liked to have seen someone place in the top entries with more of a "Rental" or "big design on a small budget" approach.
There were definitely a bunch of entries out of the finalists that seemed to fit this category that were great, but all the final winners seemed to be homeowners with fairly decent budgets for designer couches, custom kitchens, awesome home architecture, and the like.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, I definitely aspire to it...but not everyone is in that stage of their life yet, so it would have been nice to see someone win who's home and furniture budget could actually really benefit from the prizes.
Just my two cents.
Congrats to the winners, particularly Marilyn and Peter. Go Skokie! Brave and bold design for a flood zone.
I want to know, do I get anything for the most "No way Jose" votes?
Hi Veronica. I hear what you are saying about the winners seeming to have decent budgets and owning homes, etc. So in order to help you feel a little better about it, I thought I'd explain more about my place.
I do rent but am lucky that my landlord didn't care if I painted the walls. It's an industrial loft in brooklyn so the rent isn't that bad. And I have roommates who are nice enough to let me do this to the space. So that helps.
But I also did this on a very small budget. I inherited the couch, dining table, bookshelf and display case (where the milk cartons are) from my grandmother when she passed away and most of the other furniture that you see was either found on the street (the side tables, the orange chairs, and the bin that holds the moss and red berries) or made by me, my girlfriend and my roommates (the yellow chair, side lamp, chandelier, knitted bowls, pillows...). The only item that was purchased was the noguchi table and I got that at a STEEP discount because it was a floor model years ago in an interior design company in Iowa. He's my favorite sculptor so I'm a bit of a sucker...
Except for the table, my girlfriend and I spent less than $600 on all of what you're seeing in the pics. That includes paint and supplies and vases and plants, the table runner and plate, the white hanging textile, etc. It has taken us a while to find the items and it changes as we find other interesting things.
Anyway, I hope this restores a little faith! :)
sarah... that's really funny! you should totally get a prize for that :)
Cool! I love Joel's Lime Loft. Although...I'm sad my two favorites - Brooke and Trisha - didn't win. :(
I think part of the reason that all the contest winners always seem to lean heavily towards owners on big budgets, is that percentage-wise the entries seem to lean in that direction. We need to get more renter representation.
hmmm, i'm not sure if the complaints of no 'renters' or 'small budgets' is valid... as joel says, he both rents and had a small budget. i'm not sure of becca's budget, but she does rent. many of the finalists were renters with small budgets. i think that says a lot. i'm happy to see Joel's loft and becca's basement in the final four. maybe i'll enter next fall...
How about a contest about "Design on a Budget"? Something for the frugal-minded and financially-challenged bunch of us out here? I love to be both thrifty and creative, and I think my space looks quite nice!
Or, how about devoting a month to that topic? I would love to see what other people do to oomph-up their space with only a few $$.
I yearn to acquire more inexpensive decorating ideas! Show me!! Please, please...
Is there a theme that I am not aware of in which people need to use green?
I like them all. But they are all green.
Nice work everyone.