apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

oh my god, this is horrid!

When is the contest going to end already!!!

I love your front door.

on first glance I went ew... but it's kinda fun and the more I look at it, I kinda like it... ah so conflicted!

tuck--
tuck off.

John--
Love the banded drapes. Great tip on a cost-effective way to use a designer.

And have always wanted to live in a pool house since "The Bodyguard."

(too bad the pool-facing windows aren't French doors!!)

Ahoy Matey! Set sail for compact care-free living! Love the view overlooking the pool...

The porthole is an awesome touch!

Tuck must be a miserable person. At least Jonathan manages to be funny and obnoxious.

Tuck - when are you going to stop commenting already? Perhaps the contest will end once you submit pics of your place.

And have always wanted to live in a pool house since Rory Gilmore got to totally redecorate the poolhouse on her grandmother's dime.

Fiona--
A matter of opinion! ;)

I like it. Very creative. The fabric wrapping the bedframe reminds me of LL Bean's Casco Bay sheets. I normally wouldn't be attracetd to those blue stripey chairs, but I think they're really cool here! Nice...

Love it! Think the color bands and consistency are sophisticated and lovely. yay poolhouse!

but is Tuck so wrong?

Man, i feel like im on a boat just looking at the pictures.

If anyone of those pieces were on its own i'd say it needed to be burned, but holy crap does it all work well together.

nicely done.

Love the blue/white striped curtains!

The roman blinds are great.
Given the constraints of the space, I think you did well. Bravo

Thank you, Mira, I am not so wrong and all you shiny happy people with your "inspiring" comments work my tits. I call it like I see it. Mediocre is mediocre and the majority of the entries on here are average at best.

I live in a tiny, cheap place with hardly any furniture or possessions, think Ivars place but not as nice. I could care less about my place since I only sleep there and travel often (for pleasure not work). I don't even have a phone or TV or microwave so you all would probably think I'm weird.

I'm coming out as pro-tuck for this one.

John doesn't need pity support - he obviously loves his home. A fully realized vision, that's for sure. Good on ya!

i just about busted a gut when i read tuck's first post.

(i grew up in the south. inappropriate => nervous guffaws)

Question for John: Where did you get those great striped drapes? Was it a custom job? I'm trying to source out some striped drapery panels for my outdoor space (which is my current redecoration obsession) and have been seriously considering bold-striped options. Any insight would be appreciated.

Note to tuck. If you willingly admit to not caring about your own space, then why should we AT readers bother with what you think of others' spaces? In fact, if you don't care about your own space, why do you even bother coming onto the AT sites and commenting? Finally, you say you travel often "for pleasure not work"... Well then, let me bid you a hearty "Bon voyage". [Translation: Go away, please.]

Tuck is a lying freak.

This place is great! The shelf to the left of your windows makes my heart break a little bit, it's so cute.

The concept is so similar to entrants who model their homes after hotel rooms. Critics: have a little imagination. You're boxing yourself into boring conceptions of what "design" is.

Oh, some other stuff I should have said, too. Everything in here is thoughtfully chosen, edited, and quite tidy. The bed is my favorite out of all other entries. Very cool house, John.

In general, it just doesn't do it for me.

But I LOVE the corner shelves with the blue dishes.

I agree with the compliments on the banded curtains. Also like the curtain across the kitchen area.

I can also imagine that it would be nice coming home and hanging with someone in those overstuffed chairs in front of those windows.

I'm not feeling this at all. The only positive thing in this apartment is the dresser (?) to the right of the bed, which I adore. The rest...meh.

Tuck is certainly entitled to his opinion, but the POINT is that there is no need to make his opinion so nasty and unconstructive. His comment ("horrid") was beyond what was warranted for an entry he considers "average at best." I, like Enrique, am wondering why someone who admits their own place is terrible (and implies they have no desire to improve it) is being so harsh.

Personally, I went to sailing camp with a bunch of preppy Southern girls. All sailing motifs inspire in me is a sudden, irrational urge to say something like "Y'all are just so precious!"

So the sailing motif is not for me (although camp was darn fun), but I do think that John has done a good job with that theme here.

And Patrick, point taken--and Rory's poolhouse rocks! ;)

Great place! I love the different blues and the nautical theme. It looks like a very relaxing space.

This place rocks. I noticed the website is called Apartment Therapy, not "mid-century" Apartment Therapy.

"Prison Chic" is for magazines, and photo ops. Living in a small space is about function and daily life. John reflected on how he works and gains inspriation from the view, has zones to be efficient, and comments on staying organized.

Some of the stark compeition is nice to look at but just emphasize the fantasic maids the entrants have in their employ.

John, kudos to you for pulling together a theme, and putting the fun into functional!

I am the owner of "John's Poolhouse" and I awoke this morning to see your comments. It's really hurtful to read the very first one from Tuck. I know it's not personal-- and I guess I have to consider the source. Public opinion can be swayed so quickly. I think if the first comment wasn't so bad, the tone of the following 10 might be more constructive, or um, nicer. I don't mind bad comments, but I'd like to at least read his reasons that were beyond his dramatic effect.

This is my home. These are my collections. I spent two weeks (basically) waiting in anticipation for my entry to be published. I spent 2 hours taking pictures, writing a description and entering the contest. I was hoping for better. Anyone who entered was very brave! All for your amusement!

Lighting has to do with a lot with the entries. There are vivid colors here. They are not coming through for some reason. You don't really see the different textures in the desk, or the chairs. The feeling of the SoCal pool and adjoining garden and the smell of the orange blossums around the tree adds to it all. My goal all along the way to try and stay away from mass-produced pieces-- which follows the site's mission. But I would like to think standing here you get a different feel than in the pictures. It is an easy theme to choose, and a difficult choice at the same time. But I thought it would be most appropriate given a small space. I also want to mention that because I wanted to give my chances the best opportunity, I followed the directions of the contest rules. I didn't add more written copy and only 5 of my 7 submited pictures were used-- in other contestant entries, they were able to get more pictures and written copy posted.

This site is about creating a beautiful home in small surroundings. It's become a community who adores mid-century and anything that's "not" is not worthy of the readership-- as a whole. I knew entering was risky and overall, I'll learn to enjoy the good, the bad and the ugly. Maxwell always says the best information is "in the comments." and not in the "posts." And if you are reading the comments in this contest, what do you think first-time readers would say about your spirit?

I'm torn between thinking that the paint job in the bedroom area makes it look like...

a)a sandy beach

or

b)the house recently flooded

Ahh!

John Poolhouse, I understand your indignation, but really, relax. People's tastes differ greatly, and if it happens that 95% of the site's visitors don't appreciate your place, it's nobody's fault. I understand how hard it is to put yourself on the spot, but as long as you enjoy your apartment, that's all that matters. Try to find some useful tips in the comments, but if there aren't any, just go on with your life! This is not worth fretting over.

John Poolhouse -- Most of the comments are actually positive. It's the votes that aren't so enthusiastic.

There's definitely something about photography with normal home equipment and lighting that grays out the photos. Yours is not the only entry that has had this problem, and I've noticed that when I photograph my own apartment, this always happens. Between contests, I'd love to see a tutorial on how to photograph interiors effectively without investing in commercial equipment.

The thing with any contest is -- as a site develops a community, it also develops its own definition of "mainstream" taste. For a non-mainstream entry to do well, it has to be way, way, way, way, WAY better than the standard of the mainstream entries, because it has to convince people who would ordinarily be scoffers.

i've noticed that the entries that really express the owner's tastes & interests (or idiocyncracies if you like) are the ones that people usually come down really hard on. if you can't indulge in your obsessions at home then where can you? (don't tell me.)

this is a completely funky place and i think its fun and comfortable. what else do you need?

John -- i particularly like the fabric you used for the bed/headboard. Nifty!

Bubble-poor John is fretting, because he wants cash-ola from er "mainstream sponsor" DWR!

"Not for real, real, just for play play...."
...Foxy Love, Drawn Together

Sorry but I really don't like thsi and I think we have to stop patronizing people by telling them they have style when they clearly don't.

I think John's decision to use those overscale Isaac Mizrahi nautical lamps as bedside lamps is just one example. He tried to force the issue and the same can be said for the mirror cum portico above his bed. The whole thing is unfortunate.

i agree with tuck ... this is bad. just bad.

horrid is a better description.

Monsoon, do you rain on everyone's parade?

Would lamps from Barneys be better? Does everyone have to spend $900 per lamp for the item to not be 'unfortunate'?

I think we are missing the obvious effort and verve the owner has for this very nice space, and choosing to decorate within some of the pre-existing conditions mentioned in the commentary provided by the owner (roman shades, etc). Certainly better than the blank canvass of some wood and metal....this looks like real world.

And actually, that is ironic given that LA is Another world!


Good job John!

John, I like your place, especially the bed area. It may not be my personal style but I can tell thought and planning went into it and isn't that what this site is about.

I have a thing for ocean liners so my ears "stood up" when I began to read your description. I think I would put up some ocean liner posters(framed, of course). And you know, since you live in Los Angeles why don't you drive down to Long Beach and pick up a toy model of the Queen Mary?
Put it on that glass coffee table overlooking the pool. Then you can sit back, with a drink in hand, and plan an ocean cruise. Regarding those Mid-Century Modern lovers, people like Mid-Century Modern because it's beautiful and it's really hard to make a mistake with it. I personally like it but I don't own a single piece (anymore). Your apartment looks comfortable and easy to live in. Next December when you're in the pool think back to all those people who disliked your apartment, throw your head back, and laugh.

........reminds me of Gilligan's Island.

oh brother,.....I have no idea why it did that, apologies all:)

John, I keep coming back to your chairs. The form is so cool! Where did you get them?

Dorio,

The chairs ARE great and they are soooo comfortable and tight (in a nice way....) I bought them during an employee sale when Disney Animation was clearing out a warehouse. I had been eyeing them for almost a year, even when I used to sit in them outside a screening room. Once they announced the (rare) sale, I snatched them up! I love the scale and color.

This is another space where I don't personally like the appointments, but still the owner has managed to make a tiny space usable and comfortable. That's the point of this contest. You, John, are probably not well-served by your lighting and photography (your blues have gone muddy, for instance, at least on screen). I give you points for having a point of view and going with it. I prefer this kind of place to the sterile, blank-walled oh-so-chic places I keep seeing. (And a word about getting beat up online...welcome to the Internet! It's often ugly in here.)

I like this place. Yay - a poolhouse. And he used his color scheme and them well.

I absolutely LOATHE the vibe and voting here.

You deserve better, John!

Great use of space, excellent theme given that this truly is a pool house and not just a random theme design (i.e. someone living in the desert with an ocean theme, for instance), and it's organized in a way that makes it appear neat but lived in.

I'm also very happy that no eames chairs were hurt in the making of this entry. In fact, there are no eames chairs at all. Hurray!

Holly

John Poolhouse: I was just checking on follow-ups to my "post," and read your "comment" on this thread. How bitchy. How nonsensical. So anything you disagree with is a post, and the things you agree with are comments? Or are you saying that the only info worth reading is the comments of the entrants? Either way, you insult all of us. I'm actually sorry I was as supportive of your space as I was. You've effectively told all of us that we are wasting our time and blowing hot air (or data). And if that really was a quote from the organizer of this contest, or this Web site, (or the writer of The Book...I haven't read it or even seen it anywhere)...whoever the heck Maxwell is... then I guess I won't be hanging around here much longer. Because that is just not nice. And because you have put me in such a mood, I will point out that it's "blossoms," not "blossums."

Gosh, I was having a good morning up until now.

Tuck nailed it.

John, I'd like to talk to you about this design. How do I reach you??