apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Now that is a product aimed at the DIY "stage your home for sale" market!

The whole idea leaves me cold. I view decorating as a way to express myself. "I bought it in a box" is not what I want to say about my personality.

Thing is, we're all going to pile on about how stupid and meaningless this product is... but it's not aimed at us.

It's aimed at the people who already buy matching sets at Target or JC Penney, and who find it too utterly confusing to steer the cart down another aisle to find the coordinating accessories. They're not going to suddenly burst out into personality-laden decorating divineness because they just don't care about acquiring the skills to do it. Maybe they're schlubs; maybe their day job is just more compelling than the latest trend in pillows.

Surely it's a kindness to visitors to help these people in making their spaces moderately pleasant -- kind of like, if you know your favorite cousin is a horrid cook, you're totally on board for his picking up dinner at the deli instead of serving you burnt rice and limp veggies.

paint by numbers.
cake mixes.
home interiors catalog.
mcDonald's food.

And now this "concept"... they all have one thing in common; uniformity mediocrity simplicity = idiot-proof-ness. It's not about being lazy, (lazy is hiring an HGTV overpriced interior decorator to use a higher-end version of this), but mostly about being hopeless, and worst of all, tasteless. The worst part is... in a way, we're all doing it by buying at all the same places (Ikea, DWR, Target, West Elm anyone?), but in reality there's not much we can do about it. Even so, at least arranging textures, color choices and adding your "own style" to prefab furniture seems slightly more organic and human. A "design-in-a-box" Kit is quite possibly the worst insult to creativity and the saddest example of how much of a homogenous society we're becoming, how scared we truly are to be original, and how we'd rather give someone else charge of things instead of making our own mistakes. (in general)

Oh please Djluckyonline! Wende said it best; this isn't a new thing, and it isn't compulsory. I wouldn't buy it, but then I have the time, energy and money to put my space together piece by piece and I enjoy doing that. Some people don't prioritize decorating, yet want to add something that isn't plain and stark - this is a good product for them. Not making decorating a major part of your life is fine, and not having 'artisanal'/'vintage' everything isn't the end of the world, really!

there's no link. i'd like to know the pricing. some people need this. people are not necessarily hopeless. often people are caught up in day to day living and don't have home environment on their list of priorities. a lot of people grow up in dull homes and just don't have the exposure and acculturation to home design. that doesn't make them schlubs and if they start with something like this that hits all the basics in one shot, there's nothing wrong with it.

that second one looks like a perfect base from which a person could build a very stylish pad.

and the soul sucking continues

Is that ugly mask included in the kit?

I'm sorry, but judging from those photos, that product ISN'T GOOD FOR ANYONE. lol Plus, there's this disgusting mediocrity-advocacy by so many people. We're mostly OK with all these excuses for the real thing. Fake foods, cheap clothes, 2-dollar haircuts...

I might be wrong, but... a choice in interior ambiance shouldn't be a 2 minute choice at Walmart, regardless of how little of a priority it is. I know I've spent more than that to make a 10 minute long experience choice like a cup of coffee, so I know having to live with something (specially since EVERY space is different) must be given a little more thought to accentuate or play down any features of a room.

Again, I stand by what I said, nowadays we'd rather give someone else charge of things instead of making our own mistakes... and by overlooking this social transformation we're helping to make even more ex-individuals "grow up in dull homes and (not care about having) exposure and (the very necessary) acculturation" they deserve as human beings.

Sure, it's uncreative. But I know many a bachelor who needs this. Desperately.

You don't mean 'We' do you Djlucky? You mean 'You'.

As in 'You're mostly ok with all these excuses for the real thing.' You yourself are the sole surviving defender of taste and individuality of course.

Congratulations on being insulting AND hilarious.

Lady J - The kit is about $318 - they are sold by a South African company at http://www.bedroomsinboxes.com/.

I don't see these as a bad starting point for those that can decorate for themselves. I also think that you could still make these kits your own through furniture choices and paint colors.

*can't decorate for themselves*

I cant see the quality in these being great! thats what bothers me the most about them

What's the deal on putting random stuff towards the foot of the bed (second photo)? Who does that anyway?

I agree with those who say this isn't the worst concept in the world. Not everyone has the time, passion or talent to decorate a room and a more expanded bed-in-bag set for them is a nice idea. Just like heating up a Whole Foods ready-made meal isn't cooking, this isn't decorating, but assuming the quality is fair, it's better than certain poorly thought-out and poorly executed 'eclectic' alternatives.

There's a market for this--this is like Garranimals (sp?) from making sure people's clothes looked put together. I actually thought the concept was interesting from a marketing point of view, but not sure on the execution, but I was curious enough to look.

Meh, you're probably some kind of insurgent if you can't see that having your "home interior experience" chosen for you is good, these days I ALMOST wish I was so braindead as to actually be like that.

Still, I'm not.... SOD IT!

Greetings Stylish Ones, I come in peace!
I`m the owner and creative mind behind www.bedroomsinboxes.com I was checking our position on the search engines the other day and came across your forum. Was amazed at the discussion over my fledgling business and the criticisms hurt a little, but I am getting over it, without therapy, apartment or otherwise! I was in 2 minds as to whether or not to add my comment to this discussion, but human nature and self-preservation got the better of me! So here goes...please look at an article I have featured on www.iafrica.com ( The South African version of MSN) Click on the site, then go to Lifestyle and then click on Home and Garden, we are the lead feature...The Ethics of Passion! The article is not promoting my product but passion and sensuality! You can also read a bit more about why I started this business in the `about us`section of my site! I am not out to expunge creativity from the face of the earth, I just want to give the average person with a crazy life a chance to create a beautiful sensual space even if they have no time or creativity. I know this concept is foreign to most of you, as it is to me, I love re-designing my bedroom every 8 months but so few people have our creative talents or vision. But they still wish for it and I just wanted to bring something sensual into the lives of housewives with 2 kids, single guys with no clue etc.
One of the contributors mentioned he was worried about the quality, in a profit orientated world where everything is made in the East, I decided to set up my manufacturing operation in Cape Town , South Africa. My suppliers are endearling slow but they have so much pride in the quality of their products! All the bedlinen, every piece of fabric , every accessory has been hand selected for great quality and manufactured in projects that are giving somnething back to the community.
Looking at the apartment therapy site I saw the most stunning concepts but for the majority of people they are out of reach. I just wanted to share a bit of my creativity and give people a basically great bedroom they could accessorise with their own personal touches. I will be starting operating in the USA in the middle of this year and even if YOU have a dream bedroom, please pass on my link to all the people you know who could do with a bit more sensuality in their lives! I bet there are quite a few, your in-laws for instance! I wish you all well and would love to hear your comments! Thanks especially to user Lady J for her positivity! SAMANTHA