apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yay Curtis, it looks *so* great!!!! ;D The paint-by-numbers wall is just amazing.

'He has since enjoyed working to take small city apartments and turn them into wonderful living spaces by experimenting with creative techniques.'


how about --

'he has since enjoyed turning small city apartments into wonderful living spaces by experimenting with creative techniques.'

sorry, sorry, i just had take care of that sentence.


the design is great, by the way. i really love that wall.

Cool, Curtis!

Hell.to.the.NO.

I really like the wall but not the room overall. I would have liked to see less stuff in the room.

While I think that the paint by numbers is cool, it is just too busy for me. I love the dining set however!!!!! Does anyone know where to find it? I looked at Bloomies and did not see it...:(

"Click Here for All Three Windows and Voting"

I'm confused! I clicked, I saw the three windows, but I don't see the voting. Help!

Voting will start soon....stay tuned.

I adore the paint-by-numbers background but I have to agree that overall the space seems a bit busy. The eclectic assortment of furnishings would work in a simpler space, but since the background is so lush and detailed, a more pared down and simple choice of furniture would have really made the room pop.

The kick ass mural is the star of this space, not the furniture. Perhaps it would have been more effective on one of the smaller side walls with the beautiful olive color on the big wall. With so much going on, the eye has nowhere to rest. Aw, screw it. I may go cross-eyed looking in this window but it's worth it. Nice work, Curtis.

TREMENDOUS!!

I like how the furniture seems to be part of the mural, so it's like the whole room is a big paint-by-number.

Curtis's room is my number two, that paint-by-numbers mural is clever, but in general the room seems to suffer from scale in a few ways: the mural makes everything seem so crowded, dictates the color scheme, furniture placement and perspective, a bit too set design oriented. Curtis can you go back and make the mural at 3/4 scale???

Is there even furniture in that room? I hadn't noticed...

The mural is a nice idea from a "hey, notice me I'm a designer" standpoint, it would have worked on Top Design to get attention. I don't think the mural works in this context. The furniture should be the focus, but instead the furniture becomes invisible.

Also, While Professor Strunk would be proud of Pistachio, Miss Manners would find Pistachio's unsolicited correction quite rude.

nope, pretty sure miss manners like well-crafted sentences as well...

*likes*

see, no one is immune.

Stunning, witty. Love the leather jacket over the chair,makes me believe someone actually has been/lives in the room. The paint by numbers mural actually makes the furniture look and feel better than it is. Choice of furniture to echo the arch curves in the mural is terrific. And feels so full of air and light and height for such a limited space.
Bravo Curtis

Huh, I thought the furniture integrated well into the room despite the elaborate wall (which is just beautiful, btw). As someone said, the furniture almost becomes part of the mural. I guess if the point is to sell furniture, making it play second fiddle to the wall isn't the most goal-oriented way to dress a window, but from a design standpoint, I think the room is lovely.

Who makes the white dining table? I love the baluster-look of the stand.

I love the furniture - those are pieces I would choose for myself.

But I'd have to agree that from a window standpoint it doesn't quite work. I think I would have gone for a more monochromatic/tonal approach with the mural to allow the furniture to standout a little more. It's a little too camouflage-y. (Maybe I'd have gone a warm pink/red and grey - thinking of a sunset alpenglow of that view)

I think the mural image is just right though. Romantic and fantastical (if that is a word). Props to Curtis!

The dining table (Florence) and chairs (Dyna) are by Calligaris and available for sale at Bloomingdale's!

The mural is a very cool idea, but it would be overwhelming in a real house. But this is not a real house, it's a store window. So bravo!

What first struck me is how the mural gives a similar feel as late 18th and early 19th century wallpaper panoramas mase by french manufacturers:

http://fabienbarbera.com/images/Papiers_panoramique.jpg

http://medias.jds.fr/images/article/8926/photos/le-papier-peint-au-debut-du-xixe-siecle_300.jpg

as if André Derain had redrawn them :

http://www.lapasserelle.com/musee/images/marquetlb.jpg

and placed them in Apartment Therapy !

nice job :-)

The bridge mural is wonderful; I love it! However, I didn't notice the furniture in the room.

The mural overpowers the furniture in the room. I would suggest Heftier Darker pieces to anchor the space. But regardless it is the most inspired out of the three entries and best suits their theme.

Daniel Poiters -
You soooooooo "get it"! The Landscape Wallcovering exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt a few years ago was definitely one of the inspirations for this, and by the time I had digested that idea, the Smithsonian had an exhibit of Paint By Numbers paintings, which was kind of like the other shoe dropping into my brain.

SherryBinNH-
You'd be surprised how not overwhelming in a bad way this can be in a real house. Actually, I have one in my real apartment, and living in it makes me happy every single day.

To those NYers out there, get thee to Bloomingdale's before the voting is over... you get SUCH a different perspective on all of the windows, and Curtis' window shines in person in a way uncaptured by these pics (albeit great photography).

In fact, all three windows reveal themselves in a much different light in person. Especially at night.

Curtis, your house tour was the very first AT post I ever read (more than a few) years ago. It rocked my view of design and *still* inspires me. Also made me a loyal AT fan. I loved the PBN wall you made in your house -- it was definitely not overwhelming, it pulled your whole space together and would make me smile every day.

I was so glad to see you as well as Jane and Ptoo (two of my other all time favorite AT posters and designers) in this competition. I wish I lived in NY so that I could see the Bloomingdales rooms in person!

immaterialgal -

Thank you so much! And I do agree that the other two are pretty amazing. BUT... somebody needs to get off it, and vote for me, because although I'd LOVE to win this thing, I at LEAST need to not be the Ross Perrot of it! My percentages as of January 21st LOOK as if I'm less popular than George Bush, and I KNOW better!

Here's a few more photos of my window, including several progress shots taken while I was painting the mural itself.

Click the little thing toward the upper right which says "Slideshow":

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artycurtis/sets/72157612948349201/

- Curtis

GO CENTENARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!No men when I went there!!!

luvdecor -

Methinx there might be more than one Centenary College in the country actually. I went to the one in Shreveport, Louisiana. Some folks tell me there's one somewhere in New Jersey. I don't think mine was ever just one gender.

I just saw the windows in person this evening. Your window has has an energetic, youthful vibe to it. Very cool.

rojodu -

Thank you! Now what you have to do is physically reach through your computer screen to all the other posters and drag them over to Lexington Avenue with you so they can see them in person. All three are really kind of amazing.

I just reviewed your slide show - and your PBN wall is just fantastic! From the close up photographs of the window, I could see how the furniture does work in the room. You are right - going IN PERSON would be the very best thing to do.
All the designs are so interesting and so different from one another, which is just the way it should be.

As usual, brilliant!

I'm pulling for you, Curtis ;)

(Big Tex)

Hey Curtis-- what was the GORGEOUS olive green on your left wall... and do you mind if I use it on an upcoming job??? :)

Thanks for asking, Patrick!

That wall color is Alligator Green by Benjamin Moore, basically pulling it right out of the mural, itself. Go nuts, have fun, use it to your heart's content!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out to do with the actual canvas the mural is painted on. Sell it? Or perhaps cut it up and stretch and sell the bits of it? That could be interesting, hunh?

Seriously, that is a sexy olive green. And green is hard to get right.