apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

love how balanced everything looks.... it feels symmetrical without being completely symmetrical.

Glamorous! Sophisticated! Elegant! Looks like you live the lush life...I would love to drink Bellinis here. This is boutique hotel done right.

Love the Hollywood Regency feel in scale, material and texture - your choices really fit the space well. That gray accent box is a perfect touch - even from afar it looks touchable, as if your art is hanging on a perfect swath of menswear tweed.

Beyond the sumptuous colors and patterns, this entry's textures really do it for me. The fluffiness of the flokati rugs, the touchable flowers, the glossy white vase...it's a total feast for the senses. Bravo.

The room is lovely, though I would like to have seen more of the house.

I totally agree with you that color doesn't always have to be bold to pop. Because I'm so indecisive, I typically buy my furniture in neutral tones so I can change the atmosphere of a room at whim. I love EVERYTHING in the first picture and would love to see more of your house. It reminds me of heaven and I expect to see angles lounging about. Hate to say it, especially as you are very proud of your house (and you should be because it's gorgeous) but I don't think this contest is the place for it. Hopefully AT will do a contest that emphasizes neutrals and white (hint hint)!

Great eye.

Your room feels really finished, polished, and complete. Too often when I look the photos of contestants' rooms, I'm left with a sense that they're not quite through. They seem to be missing something - some small detail that will pull everything together. I agree with saudoso, everything is well balanced.

P.S.
Of course, having witnessed the last three or four contests, I have noticed a steady increase in the calibur of the entries, and this season is no exception.

This is amazing!!! I would love to live here. Fabulous use of color-- I love how you have used accent colors in a way that really stand out. The color palette and flow are great. And I love the artwork, especially the diptych above the couch. Is that yours? Do you sell your artwork?

This room is lovely and harmonious. I do feel it's neutral rather than colorful, so I don't think it's a fit for this contest, but I think you did a wonderful job. It's very elegant!

This is a gorgeous room. My only real critique is that I'd like to see the red (or even tints of red) echoed in a few other places. You don't need a lot, but two or three well placed items would draw people's eyes around the room--right now, my eyes keep getting locked on that one red painting. Perhaps find a lampshade with a red pattern, or some red candles or...if you want to try something less permanent, try adding in a few red or pink roses instead of all white next time you replace them.

Oh dahling, I want to put on my high heels and come right over. Best of luck in getting a prize.

Beautiful!!!
Keep Rocking!

This is way too elegant for anyone to actually live in. It might be a nice place to meet with potential clients though.

Nice room!!!! I love the orange with the black & white!!

yes, carmen, yes! this is the way to win a contest. everything is right, from the lack of perfect symmetry to the monochromatic flowers (they can be ANY color as long as they are all the same)! my favorite aspect is the photography - i do not assume anyone lives this perfectly but when taking a photograph to showcase your home, removing everything that takes away from the photo (appliances, electronics, etc. (I don't see a single wire!!!)) is the key! the first photo (living room) is Home and Garden Magazine quality. thank you!

i know carmen personally, she has done my house and she left in incredible!!! keep going carmen, youre on the right track!! dui dui

i just saw your living room in the domino mag contest! congrats!!!

Carmen is an incredibly gifted designer with an eye for everything! She has a unique talent for the perfect placement and arrangement of carefully selected objects. She also has the rare ability to know when to stop. Her designs are simple and sophisticated with a slightly minimalist feeling, but they are never cold or austere. Her home is warm and lived in, and there are always candles glowing. She really does live like this! I have spent many wonderful hours as a guest in her home, and she is as lovely a hostess as she is a designer!

LOVE the frist shot with the sofa, good job!

Does anyone know where that credenza is from? beautiful!

Just because you say that black and white are colors doesnt actually reverse the last 3000 years of color theory. While black and white are most certainly elements of compostion and design they are not colors: they have no chroma, no hue - only value. I'm not saying your entry isnt beautiful or elegant, for it is both of those things. It is not colorful.

You do, however, skillfully use those neutral colors to make the red painting in the background pop. Unfortunately it is the only piece in the room with real color.

I feel like being in 5 stars hotel! neat neat!

Thanks for all your comments! It is uplifting to know that other people like my home, almost as much as I do!!! For the person who asked about the art above the sofa-lisao-, yes, it is mine; and yes, I would make you some if you want it! Send me an e-mail to let me know specs (carmenrgf@hotmail.com). And to the person who asked where the credenza is from-bekbecker-, we bought it in Cantoni (check their website for locations www.cantoni.com)

I don't know What I like the most about this room, I loved It!!! Congratulations!

Yes Salomon , you are right...It feels like being in a nice hotel!!!! Love it!

Hey Carmen! I love your place! Do you have a website containing your artwork? I really love the piece you have above your credenza.

I love it! The room is absolutely gorgeous!

Not really colorful, but very well put together and lovely. And again, where's the rest of the home? It looks like the living room, and maybe a "dining"/piano room?

I'd like to see yur bedroom.

i love the balance betqeen the different textures...

Congratulations Carmen...
a lot of style...

Gorgeous, but too autere. Plus, I have to agree, not enough colour for a "colour contest." I guess AT doesn't screen their entries--perhaps this would be better as a house tour. Great example of executing design principles. Why does it leave me so cold?

It is great!! Good job girls!

I really like it a lot!And Carmen what was your major inspiration?
I love the orange paint! cooool!!!

WOW!!!

Ok I've Decided... win or not I will hire you to re-do my apartment. This is just what I was looking for. Do you mind if I get started without you ... I'll just copy what you did with this room... J/K

Awesome work!!!

very clean, crisp. not much more to add. looks like it was done by a professional.

I like it!!
I think it's a good colour combination. Very elegant and it seems a very warm place.

I often find black and white color schemes to be cold and severe. This is neither. It's warm and inviting. Not quite sure how you managed it. Love the patterns and textures and that nothing seems matchy matchy, although the palette is so limited.

I totally agree about black and white being colors. Neutrals are colors. Brights are colors. Jewel tones are colors. Pastels are colors. All of these are simply different types of colors and they are all around us constantly. What I'm looking for in this contest is the entrants sophisticated and surprising uses of whatever colors they chose.

You have perfected the art of subtlety. The lines are clean and chic without looking stale. My eye is really drawn to the color accents without me feeling overwhelmed. Spectacular! Right up my alley!

Love it - where did you get the sofa and is it a sleeper sofa??

As others have commented, definitely strikes me as fabulous hotel chic! Can anyone tell what is behind the candles in the fireplace? Is that a mirror?

This place is so awesome. I am really indecisive too yet always stay tride and true to simple black and white. This looks totally liveable and comfortable to me. I do agree that this would be a definate candidate for a neutrals done correctly contest rather than a fall colors contest.

what a cute place! The white rugs almost create an ethereal look... Predominantly dark woods/black, with white, and a few bold strokes of color..... looks great! (I must confess a bias, however.... The color scheme is actually quite similar to our tiny place!)

oh, and hi everyone... I've been a lurker for a while... love this site! :-)

Beautiful-lovely-sophisticated.

Hi, I love your design. I was hoping to find out where you bought the tripod floor lamp? Thanks.

Love your home. It is beautifully designed. Where did you purchase the coffee table?

Hi everyone!!! Thank you for taking my home into the finals; hope you enjoy the new entry... The sofa (not a sleeper sofa), lamp, and coffee table are all from Cantoni- see www.cantoni.com for locations

P.S. Also the tripod lamp... And yes, a mirror is beneath the candles in the fireplace!