apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I thought that first photo was of an antique store! She definitely does love stuff.

Please tell me that's the "before" picture.

One word - - edit!

Wait. You were photographing THAT room for "small spaces"??

Not doing it for me.

Any idea what the wall color is??? I love the dirty blue/grey.

it's beautiful, but honestly, too much decor stuff. That blue is really nice. And I am jealous you live in that building.

Candidates for the Spring Cure '09.

My great-grandma Winnie always told me that if I couldn't say something nice, I shouldn't say anything at all, but...

If the homeowner is a design director at Abercrombie & Fitch, does that mean I can blame her for the porny ads and/or the ill-made, overpriced, teenybopper clothes? Just wondering.

Given her job, I understand why she has all of that stuff, but she needs to visually organize it or store it away out of sight.

Perfect example: the bookshelf behind the sofa. It is too close to the sofa to allow easy access to the books. It looks like she jammed it back there because she ran out of room. The result is cluttered rather than cozy.

This is a lesson to all of the fans of "mismatched cozy." You need to give those eclectic pieces a little space to breathe. Simply piling layer upon layer of eccentricity ultimately diffuses the effect, as no one piece shines through. With this particular aesthetic, the difference between "grandma's garage sale" and "cozy home" can be a fine one indeed.

I not saying that i like it but, many people in live this way, with a lotta stuff.
in fact from the top photo i would have thought it was the new york apartment of a couple who have accumulated a lifetime's decor in one living room.

Now I understand why A&F clothes look musty.

Looks like it would be awful hard to clean in there!

Just like BadJuJu77, at first glance I assumed I was looking at a thrift shop, all those flimsy teetering piles of stuff everywhere. That doesn't look like a comfortable room.

I also thought it was an antique store. I'd have nightmares if I had to live with that much stuff.

Pretty much everything about A&F annoys me.

wow- way to be mean folks.
I like that room, it has character and warmth, and although its got a lot of stuff, it seems clean and organized.
I have an aunt and uncle who live with their 2 teenage kids in a one bedroom in manhattan. They've been there 20 years, and the walls are closing in on them from all the "stuff". It makes this room look like a spacious, airy uncluttered open loft.
And seriously, using this post to insult A&F? Pretty lame.

I don't think any meaness was intended, and no insult either. Just honest reactions, expressed freely. If you put it out there, not everybody is going to love it. This is just a look that goes contrary to many of the principles of most AT readers. Although I'm sure among other audiences, it might be more appreciated.

I'm all for "stuff" and clutter but that living room just gives me the heebie jeebies - something about it all being vaguely the same colour makes it look like its all got a thin layer of dust on it - and the fact that they've tried to make different seating areas (notice the black chair at the end of the room) is too much for the room - there doesn't appear to be room to get behind the sofa to get to the bookcases on the right-hand wall and theres no flow to the room - wheres the room to walk? - I would suggest getting some taller bookcases and utilising vertical space for their book collections - currently all the furniture is below waist height and it makes it look very claustrophobic
and whats that white thing sticking out of the window on the right?

However, I ADORE the wall colour and also her closet - I've got my eye on a couple of garments there alreayd if she ever sells that lot!

As for A&F - I have no opinion either way - I always browse when I see one because, you know, boys like "girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch" - but I've never liked anything enough to buy from there