apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Visible hampers are an enormous pet peeve of mine. I don't want a reminder of smelly clothes or undone laundry. I think the room would look much nicer if that were hidden.

I am not so much into themes. And the furniture is too matchy-matchy for my tastes. It looks nice, but not what I would call the most beautiful.

This may not be my taste, but it is a well put together room. I would like to see some color on the walls, hoever, to cut down on the high contrast between the white walls and dark furniture. And I agree about the hamper. It should either be moved elsewhere, or changed out for something less obvious.

Lori is right on when she talks about the high contrast between the white walls and the dark furniture...

I dunno... formality in the bedroom may work for M, but I'd rather let it all hang out after a long week in midtown.

Then I think of my friends in Williamsburg who have this paradise of a bedroom with gorgeous plants everywhere... Sure, they complain about the cracked walls and ceiling, but the plants hide the imperfections and make the whole atmosphere lush and intimate. The furniture is all hand-me-down and insta-scavenger stuff, but you know what? It works... and it's not so formal. Maybe I could get them to agree to submit a pic.

Is there a prize for this contest?

Paul

This is a nice bedroom, but it's a little too matched up. It's one thing to go with a theme and another to buy a theme at the store pre-made. I don't like the high contrast, especially since you have nice blonde wood floors and there's probably a better way to get them to work together. I'm curious how you've changed it since you took the pictures in '03. You've still done a much better job at making a relaxing retreat than most of my relatives, and it's certainly cleaner and less cluttered than my house. I would be happy to sleep here, if I were visiting, but I'm not blown away.

wait a minute, the pictures were taken more than 2 years ago??? I'd like to see what the room looks like now!

I'm envious of the neatness of the bedroom since that's one of my failings, but this bedroom feels a little impersonal to me. I feel like I'd see it in a catalog for a place I wouldn't really want to buy from.

I'm wondering- the all white room was someone's "dream" room. Is that allowed? I mean, I've got dreams, too.

way to contrasty with black/white and what is going on with the cheezy bedspread?the black furniture and the pine door, completely of the mark. i would incorporate some red tones as that would add to the Asian feel and play off the pine door--or at least paint the door and the walls.

It kind of looks like a bedroom in a model home--it has a theme, but no real character. If it wasn't for the hamper, I wouldn't think anyone actually lived in the room.

It's too matchy matchy for my tastes. The wall art could be displayed better (in particular, the staggering of the three caligraphy prints above the dresser are distracting). I also don't think that the objects displayed on the dressers do anything for the room.

It reminds me of Dirk Diggler's room from Boogie Nights, way too matchy-matchy.

At first I thought "so-so" but then I saw the other pictures. I deeply deeply dislike the bedspread. Also the hardness of the white walls with only dark furniture and little little pictures hung up. And I'm all for bare wood floors, but with the bare walls and the bare door it seems too much. I don't mind the hamper in the corner, in fact, I sort of feel that the hamper, the photos above the bed and the plant in the corner are the most appealing pieces in the room.

It's kind of tacky.

It's so DARK. Plus, anytime someone says their art is cheap, I want to run screaming in the opposite direction

It looks like a hotel room (minus the tacky wallpaper) with too many knick knacks and is anyone else bothered bu the difference between the wood of the door and that of the furniture? The thing that bothers me the most is the idea of "Asian" decor. What exactly does that mean? Asia is a big place with a huge diversity of design.

Good point charlene- on both the door and the decor. I noticed the door too...perhaps the back of it is painted something more suited to the room? Going with the Asian theme- it all matches a little too well and both furniture and decor is black- maybe a variety of some nice antiques or authentic collectables (not just black) would make the room look less like it was a catalogue picture? It's not a bad start- it just could be tweaked.

Poor M! He will never feel content in his bedroom again. The walls will seem glaringly whitewhitewhite. The dark wood will not feel "asian-inspired" -- instead it will represent the dark and judging souls of us taste snobs. The light wood floors and walls will seem to weep in dispair at having nothing to complement them. M will not have happy dreams under the must maligned bedspread and will have to rest in the corner, behind the hated hamper, rocking...gently....wishing he never sent his photos into this contest.

rr...by far you win in most creative comment. It make me chuckle!

Ha! I just read my note above and noticed I wrote "must maligned" bedspread instead of "much maligned'" Ooops, I guess my opinion is showing.

LOL opps...apparently, "I no speak enrlish nemore"...LOL I meant to say it MADE me chuckle. Yeah,it's Friday.

It's natural that a lot of people are going to prefer a softer style. I'm one who doesn't.

I like that it's spare, and crisp as well-pressed linens. I love the bare wood floor and clean-lined furniture.

If you paint the walls a deeper color and leave the trim white, you'll get a nice crisp contrast AND a warmer, more enclosing feeling. Paint the radiator in the wall color if you go that way.

Agree with Lori and rr. Well put-together but not my taste. It is uncluttered, clean and MM takes pride in it and has put thought into it. Can it be better? Sure. But that's not the point. Also, after this, why would anyone want to submit their entries?! I, for one, am not up for public scrutiny and/or ridicule!

It definitely looks like a guy's room, not because of the lack of girliness, but due to the matching dark furniture set with the white walls-I think my brother has a similar set-up. Painting the walls and door a darker color would help a lot.

It just doesn't seem very personal or cozy, but if you like it and you can achieve a sound, peaceful sleep there, then I can't really argue with that.

for some reason i'm reminded of a discount furniture store

Looks like my Korean ex's parents' bedroom. How old is this guy? And aren't we kind of looking for creative, interesting solutions here? It's pretty easy to go and buy a matching bedroom set. Incredibly uninspiring.

looks like a display at LinensNThings

Part of the problem is that the decorations are all too small. Most of the hanging art is too small, all of the things sitting on the dressers are too small. I think that's why it just looks like stuff and none of it stands up and decorates.

You know, there's an antique dealer at that fleamarket on the east side of 6th ave at 25th. He specialises in Chinese art, and he has a bunch of beautiful wooden screens and as well as smaller objects. I'm not an antiques expert, but he had some lovely things and I bought a bunch of original propaganda posters for cheap. My favorite is hanging in my living room, and with an IKEA frame I still managed to spend only around thirty bucks on my first non-hand-me-down grown-up antique. The guy loves to bargain -- each time I asked him if I could get a deal, he dropped the price. If you are looking for better-but-still-inexpensive art, that's a good place to start. There's also an antiques shop in lower Soho near Pearl River run by a Chinese-American woman who imports antiques from all over Asia. Chinatown and Koreatown are also good places to look for objets, although you may want to get a local guide, or at least go with a good shopping buddy...

I think with the decorations being too small, maybe the furniture pieces are too big for the size of the room.

This room is not "crisp and uncluttered" Note the ruflly tops of the drapes!

I agree with Lori (an earlier post) the walls are too white. The matched set of bedroom furniture would not stand out so much
if the walls were painted a rich dark color.

This bedroom is why you shouldn't let straight men choose their own furniture.

So then, Mia, how come the contest is not yet overrun with lots of "stylish" women's bedrooms?

it feels sterile, overly planned out, little spontaneity and everything matches too much to be interesting.

This looks like a very relaxing bedroom, but it needs some color or a few distinctive touches.

I agree with most of the posts--the furniture needs to be a little more varied. Perhaps you could add variety with some color--soothing colors--could be added through paint or bedding or art. There are a great deal of affordable, beautiful Asian chests, screens, vases. etc. that you can incorporate into the bedroom (see mary's post).

However, it's a very nice bedroom. I think most of the posts have offered some constructive criticism on how to make it even better.

Fascinating how many posts this bedroom has inspired. Maybe it's the weekend. I really like this
"matchy-matchy' room except for the hamper and where are the books? I also agree with the could use some color comments
I'd be happy if my husband had MM's care in how his house looked.
Good for you MM.

I just think it's too much drama. Where is the focus? The linen? The curtains, the bed frame, the nightstand? They're all very bold; there is a lack of balance in this room. The Brooklyn room is still my favorite.

How is this bedroom "Asian"? Maybe the pictures are too small to show "Asian" details, but this looks more to me like a hotel room.

And what is meant by "Asian theme" anyway? The aesthetics of China are very different from those of Thailand or India (or Japan or Indonesia, etc.).

it's too plain and kinda tacky. it's way to dark and needs some color, especially on the walls.

I do not like the "Asian Design" theme. No real asians would use black and white theme except in funeral homes. The black curtain (mourning color) is a big taboo in asian design and no self respecting asian (chinese) would place a mirror facing the bed. The furniture are too angular and stiff looking. As a well travelled asian, I can't place a theme to it as it has no character. To improve this room, the lamps should be changed, the bedspread could use a splash of gold and red. The wall certainly needs repainting to a softer color. I give it a 1 out of 10.