apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wanted to live here even before I read that Pee Wee's Playhouse was an inspiration, but after reading that I am just head over heels about this place. Well done!

So awesome! You've got such great stuff! I am just loving your living room...really great job!

fantastic!
what does the sign above the couch say? "so sad" i can't read the rest of it!

I like it a lot! The photo of the couch is my favourite...

Love this! I have a small collection of paint by numbers too. You really did a fabulous job! This is one of my favorite entries.

I love it - This place would makes me smile every day.

What is the name of the print of the blue woman that's over your TV? I've seen it here on AT before but I can't remember the name of it.

I love your paint by numbers too!

I want to see your clothes too. Well done.

adorable

AWESOME!!!! AWESOME!!!! AWESOME!!!!

Truly inspiring, original, daring, and a breath of fresh air.

Gonna go buy paint now..

I really love this apartment, and NOT just because it has such a wonderful collection of paint-by-number paintings, although that helps! Meanwhile, the one above the stove is seriously one of the prettiest ones ever. I think I may have one like that. Anyway... great job!

Love the horse painting collection. Great cozy place!

A original and refreshing use of vintage housewares and artwork. The apartment looks warm and comfortable to live in. So few of this year's listings actually use color in bold ways. (I fact, many of them don't use color at all.) This apartment is vibrant and it looks great!

fun fun fun!!! and loaded with personality. i bet this person is tons of fun to chillax with!!!

I like it. It's just Kooky enough.

I love this place, it looks unique and comfortable and completely genuine. I really dig those gas flame ceramic pieces on top of the stove too! Nice work nesting!

I like that Lucitebox allows her personality to show through in the way she decorates her home. A home is not a museum showpiece. It must reflect what and who the owner is - what she loves, what brings a smile to her lips, what she finds joy in. The choice of colours, patterns, shelves, paintings, cupboards all reveal this. It is obvious that Lucitebox has poured her heart and soul into decorating her home. It is so unique in the choice of colours, patterns and deco. Her display pieces also tell us what she loves and what cheers her. I can imagine her relaxing in her home surrounded by the things she love and just being totally herself! Well done!

WOW! I love the use of playful use color and the detail of decor help to make it powerful. Very well done.

Two of my favorite decorating colors brought together beautifully--pink and light green. This apartment is just wonderful. That pink and black lamp is to die for!

Oh, wow, I want to move in and never leave. I've always loved the effect of walls of contrasting colors in the same room, and Lucitebox had done it gorgeously. And the striking placement of colorful objects against the right background wall is very effective, too: the little smiling blue cruets in the kitchen against the green wall, the gooseneck lamp with deep red shades against the deep periwinkle bedroom wall, with the paintings with similar color and form right nearby. Genius.

Hi. Thanks for these comments. I'm happy that my apartment looks appealing though I can't tell you how anxious it makes me feel to do this. Let me address a few questions. First, THANK you for being nice. You've made me feel fun and happy and I'm glad my home gives that vibe because it's the one I try to cultivate.

Enamorada--the wooden banner art above my sofa is a piece by Eriks Johnson. It reads, "So Sad, It's Another Form of Happiness" I sometimes think it would be the perfect epitaph and would be such a great life/death affirmation on a tombstone."Here Lies _____ ____
So Sad, It's Another Form of Happiness"

Monica--The 50s blue lady is sometimes called The Chinese Girl. It's a print by Tretchikoff. I found mine in a junk store in Wisconsin for $5. I think it seems to compliment my blinking velvet painting of SF China Town above the sofa. It also feels right with the wooden banner art above it.

Kate--the vintage clothes that I sell are available here.

Ilovestuff--those flames on the stove are a creamer and sugar bowl set. They were a client giveaway during the 50s doled out by the Citizen's Gas Company Of Indiana. They are, to me, the epitome of cute!

Curtis--here's something crazy. I just posted a blog entry the other day and cited your place! I've been seriously thinking of wallpapering my apartment and would love to have the energy that you have because I'd copy ya in a minute if I did! My blog is over yonder. Really--your place blows my mind.

Everyone--thanks for the super friendly commentary. You make me feel happy for not being a chicken sh*t and just entering my place in the contest. I was *this* close to clamming up and waiting around until things were "just right." I feel a whole lot better about all of it when I think of it as a process. I suspect things will look different around here in the not too distant future. Change is hard, but it's also very good for the soul.

Now THIS is my kind of style! I love any styles that are from anywhere between the 1920s-1950s. THIS I could live in! WOW!!!!

Yay! Can I come over? Your place is the cats meow...

This is the first one I've seen this year (um, besides my own) that I've liked enough to leave a comment. I really like your place!

I am completely in love with that horse chair in the bedroom. This is a beautiful example of how vintage, when used properly, can look incredibly contemporary. Well done!

Whoa! Wow! I want to live there NOW!!!! Can I, huh, huh, can I????? I'll even walk those adorable doggies lurking in the back ground! Please! This is the coolest space I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way fab-u-cool!!!!!!!!!!

Breathtaking! The comment about a "breath of fresh air" is spot on. I love the way this place oozes style and personality and history, but it looks completely contemporary and balanced too. You can tell it was built over time (and I can imagine the delight you must have felt discovering each fun new find); this is definitely not someone who decided to throw paint up on the wall and toss in a few accent pillows because she saw something similar in a magazine.

I love so many of the items and collections others have commented on. I have a special fondness for your Snack Hound! Such a friendly little guy.

Great job!!

I ADORE it! I'm not afraid of color either, so I am pleased to see that in someone else's house than mine! I love the vintage things you have picked up over the years. Like someone said above, you can tell that you decorate with the things that make you happy and have a humor or a "little wink & a smile" to them. AWESOME!!!

so man kooky things! i wish i knew the stories. this is one place i'd like to see more.

Amazing - thank you for putting yourself and your space out here for all to see. Yes, it's terrifying (don't think I could do it just yet!) but I absolutely adore your place. So happy and wonderful! Cheers for the Midwest!

FINALLY! some real color! i love it!

With just enough balance to remain stimulating but not frenetic. You have made thoughtful yet not over deliberated choices to enhance what has become a place of your own. Inspiring!
PS If one day you notice an empty spot on the wall where velvet SF piece used to be; you won't have to look far to find it.

WOW ! Love the colors, and those cute blue water drop things on the stove.

Your choice are inspiring and your place is beautiful. It's showing a sophisticated side of kooky.

It would be hard to stay depressed in your home. Great job, fun vibe.

I love it. It's like living in The Institute of Official Cheer!

The thing that I love about your place is that you've made a total commitment to color. A lot of the other entrants, well, their places also look nice, but to them color seems to mean "paint all the walls white and stick a red lamp in the room." It's all very easy to do and undo, so it doesn't require much thought or planning. But to make the kind of total commitment you've made takes a lot of forethought and planning, and also a good amount of risk. Some people may not realize how much work it is to use color as extensively as you do and pull it off. But I do. It's a lot of work and you pulled it off marvelously. Bravo!

Wow, simply amazing, to sum it up, cozy, inviting, cheery, and beautiful. The colors you pulled from your vintage textiles are spot on. The "pink coral" with that lighter (lime-ish/yellow?) wall is amazing.
Truly, unique, lots of flavor, style and charm and you pulled it off perfectly. MAGNIFICENT and a true SHOW-CASE apartment.

How much fun is that! I love the bold green and pink. No one could ever be unhappy in your place.

I have to comment on some of your stuff. The snack hound is hysterical and the horse and wagon wheel chair gets a big "Wow!".

Your place is wonderful-it's really one of the best retro-inspired schemes I've ever seen. The art, the colors, the furniture, the lights--all of them are chosen at a really high level of sophistication without ever losing the sense of fun which makes it all work.

I've seen so many living spaces destroyed by the use of bright colors, but you use them beautifully. The combinations are surprising, but they're surprising because they're so damn good.

And I love the sense of humor in your decorating. There are so many details that make me smile.

Let's go shopping together!

I love the color combinations, bright and fun. I also enjoy lots of stuff to look at in someone's house. The modern tv almost blends right in. The paint by numbers down the hallway is a great idea, makes the trip down the hallway more interesting! The Oriental paint by numbers in the bathroom are really amazing.
I'm also a big fan of seeing the doggies hanging out in their cool place!

Wonderful use of color throughout - I especially love the 1940s-inspired combination of key lime green with coral pink. You've also done a great job of making a kitschy/retro aesthetic look sophisticated and polished.

The colors are wild and wonderful. Nothing says creativity like color. Your choices are oddly charming. I adore your use of paint on things like the mounted fish on the all!
Your dog looks puzzled by all the attention! Great Job!!

I love the upbeat, friendly colors of the house & how they flow together so well.

The bedroom's blue is so very soothing - perfect for relaxing after a long day. I think when you're ready to move - just let me know & I'll swap apartments with you!

What a fun place to live - you've inspired me now to get busy on my place, Thanks!

I like the way you put your vintage inspirations into a very modern context - well done. Its kitsch without being overbearing. I loves it.

psst, lucitebox, my house would love a girls' night out...bring your ceramic cat. Your place was one of a very few entries that I truly enjoyed. A collection of great stuff, amassed and I'm sure amended through the years, rather than garanimal matched from catalogue pages.

Take a bow!