apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What is that fuzzy pink thing to the far left of the first photo? And where are those green side tables (baskets?) from? I really want to see the pink half of this room!

Sweetness! I bet this is a trip in person.
Thanks,

i saw this apartment on a design show and it is spectacular. even though it's full of toys and girlish frou-frou, you can tell the owner knows exactly what she is doing and is quite serious about her unseriousness.

oh, and if i can remember correctly..the other room (kitchen and office?)is as pink as this room is green (the color powers switch)

Elizabeth says herself why she loves this "....I design girlsÂ’ toys, invent and write sparkly craft books for a living so I really need the colors in my apartment to stimulate my creativityÂ…and in my case, pink and green do the trick!" Pretty creative gal. Loves a creative room. Therefore, I see her vision and enjoy this, although for me (my creativity is elsewhere) the huge image of a large headed female with pink hair would keep me awake. But I don't design toys. Elizabeth does.

I like the furniture arrangement, the wall color (I love the wall color actually), the attention to detail, especially on the curtains. It is a girly room. I'd move the plant on the mantel a bit closer in, because I'd continually worry about it falling off, but hey, just a thing.

One comment I do have is this: While I love the dress, I think the second photo should always be of another part of the room that is entered. For instance, I'm curious about that fuzzy pink thing to the extreme left of the room.

I took so long to do my post that I hadn't had a chance to read the others. Happy people like this. It looks like a nice place to be.

Maxwell should add a new rule: We have to have a live tour of all final contestants. I'd love to see this place.

I love this place enough to give it a nod even though I usually hope these contests will reward undiscovered gems (this place has been on Small Spaces and, thanks to Maxwell's recommendation, filmed for a Japanese TV show -- see earlier AT post!)

Szig, I have one of those metallic green bamboo drum table things. I got mine at a shop down by Union Square called (I think) Beads of Paradise. I got it a couple years ago, so am not sure if it's a regularly stocked item. Mine was on sale for about $40.

Yeah, this is quite a pad. I think this is like the third time I've seen it on this site.

wow! More green! I love the fireplace mantel and fireplace cover...really goes nicely with the black and white of the zebra couch (although I would probably tire of that in about 2 weeks). Shows a lot of personal style and thought were put into this space.

Also, I'm really jealous of those huge windows.

I love this place, even though I would love to see less clutter. Pink and green is one of my favorite color combinations. I also love dresses hung as art, I have purses hung as art and cold totally see a shelf lined with shoes as art.

Even though I love this one, I agree with JenDC and would like to see undiscovered gems featured. I have seen this apartment several times in other places.

And I totally totally agree with Jackie. I would love a tour of all the contestants' places.

i do love the color combo. cute. very girlie. is that fireplace light pink or ivory? i'm not crazy about zebra prints but that's just personal preferance. and i wish the the 2nd picture showed more of the room. seemed kind of like a wasted pic. overall it makes me happy. i suddenly have a craving for cotton candy.

I like it! Girly, but focused.

And I agree that instead of the dress, I would rather have seen the other half of the room and learn the identity of the fuzzy pink thing.

Very well done.

FINALLY a place after my own heart! I love it! I love when you can look at a place and tell what the person is all about. I was going to submit my place, but although my friends think it's the most fun place ever, I figured it was not hmmm... mainstream(?) enough. (I too am a toy designer and comic book creator, and it shows when you walk in my place!) but Elizabeth has given me the courage. This place is so fun and adorable and I can instantly sense her personality from it. And that's exactly what a home should do!

Plus, although it's funky, it's not tacky, and that can be a very fine line... ;-)

i think this is an interesting interpretation of the tutti-frutti look, a femme decor trope, which i think of, among other things, as the antidote to mies van der rohe. who needs one.

the trope requires pink and zebra or leopard, which is beginning to make me nervous, though i really love the way pink and zebra look together.

what makes this room, in my opinion, is the taupe couch, very sophisticated, and the foil (gold? chartreuse?) cylindrical occasional table in the foreground. i kind of dig the tableaux created in the taupe sofa niche, as sitting in the sunshine by the window is one of life's greatest pleasures in the city.

i couldn't live with the over the mantel chick pic for more than two seconds. i think one could go for the same anti-mies femme thing in a much wittier manner -- perhaps with a large print of whistler's mother (taupe in all its glory) or one of the incredibly delicious john singer sargent portraits of any number of fin de siecle ladies in gorgeous pink gowns. sexaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

thank you for a really good entry. it looks like a glorious place to live in by one's self -- a true room of one's own -- which also looks generously set up for real conversation and community.

and if the thing is kawaii, i'd go more for the more hard edge kawaii stuff. (see japan society online for exhibit of kawaii, tracing its origins back to the atomic assaults on hiroshima and nagasaki: "Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture."

i'm also playing with the idea of a room decorated the way the fruits dress. anybody seen one?

Two observations.
I don't understand why this contest has had so many entrants who use their second photo to do a closeup of some small item. We want to see your space!

Also, I really think spaces that have been profiled in other venues should not be considered for these contests.

The use of color is phenomenal, the use of light is fantastic, the use of texture is amazing, the sense of rhythm created is sublime-that cupid thing over the fireplace gives me the creeps

i do love this place but... i've seen so many times now. and frankly that's what prevented me from voting insta-finalist. i guess i'm setting my own parameters for voting with each entry! yikes.

I get that the big cartoon chick isn't everyone's taste (like I said before ... I think plenty of people wouldn't understand my place, either), but it's what inspires her and what she loves. Color critique or furniture placement or whatever, I understand. I don't get when people put down artwork choices ... it is the most personal of all choices. The person suggesting other artwork pieces completely makes no sense to me. Why would we put artwork YOU like on our walls? Elizabeth is doing exactly what she loves here, and I applaud her. Maybe she won't win because her style is too esoteric, but at the end of the day, she has a great place that she loves to go home to.

p.s. Can I have that dress? haha.

I absolutely love everything about this except for the cartoon on the wall, which is just too much for me. It seems like such a misstep amongst the sophistication elsewhere.

"i think one could go for the same anti-mies femme thing in a much wittier manner -- perhaps with a large print of whistler's mother (taupe in all its glory) or one of the incredibly delicious john singer sargent portraits of any number of fin de siecle ladies in gorgeous pink gowns"

Oh, yes to the Sargent portrait!

That said, the fact that we're engaging in such a way with the room points to how inspiring it is, really. And I voted Insta-finalist, because even though I'm not fond of cartoon characters as decoration, I trust that the design chops in evidence elsewhere either make it work in context, or else it's a perfectly confident individual statment Either way, it's all good. :)

C'mon Ridge, honey. A little too defensive. This is just all in fun, of course taste is subjective. Just because people don't like the cupid, doesn't mean they don't understand it. And her style is not esoteric, rather it is eccentric, but very very loveable. I would love to spend time with her (as in most of the entries) and offer my superb editing skills (I'm trying to be funny, never can tell if it comes across in a blog).

I would love to see your place. I am sure it is wonderful as well. Don't be afraid to post. I entered mine, and if there were a prize for the person with the smallest place with the least amount of money to decorate I would surely win!

I am fascinated by all the people calling themselves toy designers. And I love urban toys as art. There was a posting on this site (Los Angeles 10/6/06 called Dan's NoHo Loft) where he has done a wonderful job displaying his toys as art. I just love his place.

And lastly, I think I'd like to see the cupid incorporated into a large painting to upscale and mature it a bit. Maybe the painting could incorporate graffiti elements.

I wasn't offended or anything ... I have no problem with people saying "I hate that big chick on the wall" ... I just think a suggestion of better artwork is out-of-place.

Oh, and I did mean esoteric (although it is of course also eccentric!), meaning if you are from the world of toys, comics, whatever, then a big giant pink winking chick is the absolute only choice to put over your fireplace! ;-)

And I would enter mine now, except I don't think I'll have time to take nice pics before the deadline, so I'll probably do it next year if they have the contest again.

Thanks for both the compliments and thorough criticism! I had a feeling there would be a bit of a backlash since I was already featured on Small Space, Big Style and in AnAn magazine so I indeed asked Apartment Therapy if I could enter before doing so. Also, those two features weren't contests and I thought, "Gee...it would be fun to win a prize!" Everyone likes winning prizes! You can't blame me for that!

To answer a few questions, those two fluffy pink things at the side of the photo are fuzzy stoles hanging off of a dress mannequin. I can understand where people might want another shot of a room but to tell you the truth, I'm rather enjoying seeing the detail shots provided by many of the other contestants.

I like this place!! It's so bright and cheery and fun. I love the zebra couch too!!!I remember seeing this place a few months back. So happy.

This takes me back to my seedling days wishing i could reside inside I dream of Jeannie's pink and purple bottle. If only jeannie had allowed herself a little bit of green.. as a city girl ya gotta have green. This home-vision is sublime, it pops me into another world...something we all need in The Final Days of Bush.

Elizabeth Ingrid, if you get to read this please let us know:

A.how you got the gutso to do cast this spell on a rental space
and
Z. how do you summon the courage to leave your paradise? It can be a black and white world out there.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-book/the-cure-congrats-class-of-june-06-009654

I'm deep in the second week of the cure myself, was looking back at the 1.0 cycle of the cure, and saw her place there. Bravo to go from Cure to Color Entry! (There's hope for my place yet!)

This is an amazing use of color, even if I'm not fond of the zebra chaise and it seems out of place, all of the subtleties of changes of tone and shade, yet all in the same family. Would love to see the other room, too.

I love this place more each time I see it! If I wasn't married to a boy and didn't have to scale back on the girly decorations, this is exactly how I would live. The pink half is just as fabulous, you can find more pictures on the SSBS website, episode 208 (not that I'm a fan of the show or anything). BUT, if you are going to get persnickety about viewing more pics, and think it's unfair (even though other contestants, themselves, have listed their own links in postings for this very contest) then please please don't go look - I didn't put the direct link up for a reason. Or just vote here before you go there...AND, don't you all remember David & Im's small space was an AT contest winner and featured on SSBS? Everyone loves prizes, and this use of color is FANTASTIC, this space deserves to win!!! It's definitely an overload of colors and textures but somehow works so perfectly, and that takes skill. I never knew this was a rental, not sure I would have the "gusto" as springchick said, kudos for the energy this took! INSTA-FINALIST! :)

A little bit cluttered, but I like it overall. I think instead of a bunch of little plants, a few big ones would help balance the greens better.

I have known Elizabeth since she was a child. When I saw her apartment I would have known it belongs to her even though no one had told me. It's color, cheerfulness, and designs give the same sparkling appearance as she gives when you meet her. Am certain it is a great place for her to live and work.

I've seen this apartment featured several places too, and while it is completely opposite of anything I would do, I admire Elizabeth's creative talent and this entry of personality-infused color! I'd like to see it again in 5 years.

I like what Elizabeth said about robot design. How does one know that the tonal variations will work? I understand how it would make a room richer. But I've also heard people (including Martha Stewart) that entire houses should be kept in the same tonal range. Olive and teal? Will that work anywhere or just in a place like Elizabeth's (where she obviously knows what she's doing). Thanks!

Wow! This room is amazing! I love the color combination and the little character on the wall. That's so creative and so individualistic. I love when rooms look like their owners. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? I want my room to reflect this room a bit...

Just beautiful!

I have never had the opportunity to design a room, but when I do, I think the first thing I will remember is to layer shades of the same colors. Great tip. I think it's the details of this apartment that make it so perfect.

love, love love it. need i say anymore. it simply all works. playful and fun yet chic and sophisticated. the brown, taupy suede looking sofa in the back ground with the dark nesting coffee tables really brings the room together for me. i think they play a key role in anchoring the space by adding a twist of neutrality and seriousness. they make the pink girl over the fireplace right! ingrid's a master at her craft.

when can i move in? this place is gorgeous!

I love everything about this room except for the pink kewpie girl over the fireplace. She's adorable, but for my personal sense of aesthetics, she clashes with the elegant perky charm of the rest of the room, and I find myself thinking that something else should go over the fireplace.

I *love* the pinks and greens together.

Here's the pink!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/look/look-the-japanese-love-elizabeth-012286

Kawaii!

I despise the cartoon above the fireplace. It cheapens an otherwise well put together, but playful space. Love the squat yellow lamp. And like the hanging dress idea, but please replace the plastic hanger with a wood one.

goregeous! I love the green!

Pinks and greens rule! I love how warm, classic, and playful the flat looks, that it's decorated in a way that doesn't take it self too seriously. I could get really comfy in here.

i want sparkles to be my mommy so i can live in her super super apartment. all my problems would melt away and nothing good would ever end.

Elizabeth Rocks!

How could you not love this? You can only think of Elizabeth when seeing it.

Always such flair yet so feminine! Elizabeth is fabulous with style!

I LOVE ELIZABETH'S APARTMENT SHE HAS SUCH A GREAT TALENT FOR BRINGING COLORS TO LIFE WHEN YOU SEE HER APARTMENT IT MAKES YOU SMILE AND HAPPY WHICH IS WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.

Love it. When can we roast marshmellows by the fireplace and have a slumber party?

I think I know what the fuzzy thing on the far left is.... It's the dreaded pink and orange yetti! Ahhh! Run for your lives.

This is fantastic! While the color pallette isn't something I would choose for myself, it is done so well and manages to be fun, sparkly, yet classy at the same time. This girl has got some skills.

simply the best.
this is a woman who lives her style. maybe it ain't my palette, but i want to sit down with a few mates n undr the nonsense of the day, this room just makes me feel better.
that's what home is, for me.

i feel this one is an original, yet at the same time it is welcoming.
this contest is so interesting. sparkle splendor is at the top of my list.

I LOVE IT!! It's inviting, it's fun, it's the best one i've seen.

I love this room, it is such a beautiful and happy space!

Since Color is the name of the game here - this by far is the best display of colors!! In viewing the other entries - everyone else pales in comparison! It's such a feel-good space - what's not to love?!?

Love the transition and use of small space!

Love love love it! Absolutely the best one by leaps and bounds. Way to be bold and brave with the bling above the fireplace.

You are a sparkling success. I love your home and your enthusiasm for art, color and life! Keep on playing! Love, Annette

It's darling and cozy. The green keeps the pink grounded and not too sugar sweet. Great job!

This is a wonderful space. I can look at it and see the person living in it clearly; isn't that what our homes are supposed to be about? I'd like to meet Elizabeth, and I'd love to see her home in person. It's obvious she's very confident, and a very happy woman.
Joyce