apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think a little snark spices things up. Gushiness freaks me out more than the snarkiness. But you know, roll with it.

All I can really tell is that you ride bikes and drink a lot. Your alcohol display is incredibly tacky and ruins what looks like might be a really cute wall.

hopefully you don't drink a lot and then ride the bikes

The splatter paint on the wall reminds me of a pair of Keds I had as a kid.

is "reflex" the sporty biker way of saying "reflect"?

"2. If you want to be conservative stay within the color wheel."

Aren't all kinds of colors, including lots of bold bright colors, on the color wheel? I'm not sure I understand this tip.

I like it! I think the bars and spatters used in the bike storage hall creates a lot of energy -- great context for bike storage. I am not offended by the display of alcohol -- couldn't care less, really, such displays are fairly common in many cultures and social circles -- but I really like the square patterns painted to echo the built in shelves on the other side of the doorway. Very fun entry, thanks for sharing.

It seems clear to me that they're working with very limited space, which they've handled creatively-- i.e. the little liquor shelves, vertical bike storage. I think it's harsh to call it tacky. And it also seems to me that English may be the entrants' second language, in which case making fun is what's REALLY tacky.

Clearly some real thought went into this place. Dig the little built-in shelf on the other side of the doorway, dig the use of white. The colors themselves are a little... muddy?... for my taste. But it could be the photos.

i think the comment from peggy is "incredibly tacky."

i visit this site every morning for a bit of inspiration, daydreaming, wishful thinking... and whatnot. but all of the snarky comments are kind of ruining it for me.

snarky. that's the word i was looking for.

thanks aya. agreed.

Agreed. Although I am the queen of snark, I try to save it for certain forums. I have been surprised by the snap judgements on the people (!!) who are willing to share photos of their homes here. A home is a pretty personal place, and anyone who enters these contests has probably put a lot of thought into their design.

I don't see how or why the objects (or DRINKS) they own should have anything to do with our comments here, which I thought were supposed to be constructive and explain our vote.

That said, I adore this space, especially the yellow and the dark gray (?) in the kitchen area. Bold, but not overwhelming, and very smart use of wall space for storage. Like many readers here, I have a small space and love to see innovative solutions for dealing. In that sense, this was a definite competitor. And no one can accuse these folks of neutrality, another complaint levelled on contestants of late.

I'm with the anti-snarky crowd. I actually love this design and use of color. Not something I would do with my own space, granted, but very original and expressive of who lives in this home. I love using the bikes as design elements. I mean why not! Be creative and original not just boring and safe.

I can tell you ride bikes, drink and have an exuberant, lively home and a very creative and original sense of style. Thanks for showing, I love it. I'll bet you have great parties and tons of friends.

I like the alchohol display and find it a fun alternative to what usually constitutes a bar. I also like the combo of the yellow and grey walls. the bike room with the blue & splatters i find rather eye-popping but the energy conveyed by that design makes perfect sense for a room with some sport equipment in it.

i love the bikes! so good to see you've worked them into a cool design, rather than hiding them away. kudos on them and your lively original home!

The comments aren't so bad if you have a sense of humor. I've actually been enjoying comments good and bad, I wonder why everyone's so sensitive. This is fun. Lighten up. I voted in contention. If these people are brave enough to post, they are brave enough to take a "snarky" comment (I even had to laugh at snarky).

I posted my place knowing people would rip it. And when they did, I laughed. That's how art is. That's why at times its really difficult for people to share their art.

But I am wondering - many of the entries have lots of votes for No Way Jose and then no comments. This doesn't make sense. As far as my snarkiness goes, I wanted them to know why I voted in contention. And I still think the cute wall is lost behind that clutter.

Your notion of lightening up is my notion of excusing abusive behaviour. I have been browsing comments in this contest for some time, and the sheer rudeness of some people stuns me. It bothers me even though I am not a contestant. If I were, I would have been very upset. If being trod on is, apparently, fun, maybe I should go entertain myself by lying in traffic?

People who post pictures here invite us into their homes. If you wouldn't say this to a host's face at a party, don't say it here.

There is a way to offer negative feedback without rudeness or highly subjective attacks.

Moving on to the actual contest, I think this space is very inventive and exudes a sense of fun and pleasure through the strong colours. I also like the contrast between loose splashes in one room, and strict geometry in another. I wouldn't want to live in this place, but I bet it's great to visit.

I like the space and color of the second photo much better than the first photo.
I'm not a huge fan of primary blue (that's how the first photo looks on my monitor), but I have to say that the white lines are interesting. On the other hand, I do not like the wall on the left with the paint splatter...it kind of reminds me of the early 80s...with the primary colors. It was brave of you to do though!
That's my humble opinion.

Anya, you said exactly what I was going to say. Someone making nasty remarks and then tryin to make the receiver seem "sensitive" because they took offense. It appears that many here took offense including me.

Maybe someone needs to learn the fine art of "constructive" critisism.

That being said, I like this space including the bar. The colors are nicely done and they have used the space that they have in a creative way.

here we go again...

Remember Peggy, only positive comments are okay. Make a negative one and you'll be forever branded "Snarky!" It's all nonsense. Everyone focuses way to much on comments and not enough on the designs (or lack thereof).

Really though, the problem with the alcohol is not that it's alcohol, but that it's placed in front of a really busy pattern so you're left wondering what was the point of putting the pattern there in the first place 'cause now it just looks even busier and weird. Had it been placed in shelving similar to that on the other side of the entryway, it would work much better because then there would be a little bit of division from the pattern rather than the interference we see now.

As for the splatter paint, again, it's just too busy in combination with the white lines and the bikes, plus that blue is sooo saturated. Given the size of the space, I think it would be improved if it just went in one direction instead of all of them at the same time.

Allow me to repeat myself:
"There is a way to offer negative feedback without rudeness or highly subjective attacks."

P.S.

Charlene, I actually agree with you that the bike area is way too busy. But I like the contrast of one wall with the other - all-splatter or all-blue-with-lines seems boring by comparison. So my solution would be to take off the bikes. :-)

I voted this an "insta-finalist" for the lively upbeat treatment of a limited space. Surprised it received very few votes. The jeering is completely uncalled for. I like the primrary colors, the surface decorations and the sculptural use of the functional objects--particularly the bikes. Most of the viewers of the site are dealing with small urban spaces on limited budgets--this entry is an excellent contribution in that genre.

I just voted insta-finalist! I like this space love the blue walls with bikes hanging and the splatter of paint on part of the ceiling and wall. Creative use of color! I also like your bar area great way you utilized the space. Love it good luck!!

Anya, I agree that it's very sad how many people don't have the language skills to give criticism constructively and politely.

The splatter paint effect in the hall is a bit too "Less Than Zero" for my liking....

The colours themselves are not what's bad- it's the execution.

And if someone doesn't like criticism than they shouldn't be posting their apartment in a contest on a public forum.

While I don't think it helps to be a total jerk I also think the need to play "nice nice" on an entry that is obviously lacking in design sensibility is a bit akin to every kid winning at kindergarten games. There can be no denying that some entries are better than others.

I like the colors, but they are messily used-- I would rather the "splatter" walls were blue and had a neater random cross pattern and the wall behind the bikes left either white or blue-- the bikes are decoration enough. Having said that, if I lived here the walls would give me an instant "uplift" though, so I guess it works!

Re: actual entry.
I like the 2nd pic much more than the first. I don't like the paint splatters paired with the criss-cross lines on the blue wall, but I like the grey/yellow pairing of the 2nd pic. I agree that the number of glass bottles is a bit too busy with the red rectangles in the background, but I think that's more a question of getting everything "picture perfect" (e.g. toilet seat down instead of up). I actually quite like the red rectangles behind the floating glass shelves -- it's a bit of unexpected colorful decoration.

Re: "snarky"
IMO, defending calling something "tacky" as humorous is ridiculous. I agree that people should be allowed to make negative comments, but you should at least explain your viewpoint (e.g. charlene's objection to the alcohol storage) as opposed to a one-sentence put-down.

I wonder why everyone is so concerned about other's comments. Everyone was upset at me for being "snarky" at this DeColores entry, which I probably was, but I really didn't like it, and that's okay. Taste is subjective.

But take a look at Laura's layers (#50). Now everyone is criticizing for gushing.

I personally gushed about Laura's place because I love it.

For a very interesting snark vs. gush comparison look at these two entries under the East heading:
#17 Elizabeth Ingrid where everyone gushed which mystified me, although she has great furniture and #35 Alisa's Pink where people were downright cruel.

I'm not taking this as seriously as everyone else, I guess. I think it's fun. And please feel free to snark my entry. #33 - Peggy's Low Budget Experiment.

I still wish I could have a tour at every one of the houses in this contest.

just speaking from experience-- having all those liquor bottles out can be a problem, they get very dusty and are hard to clean. plus, having them up so high with those disorienting background squares and glass shelves looks dangerous, esp. when your depth perception is imperfect. overall, i'm confused as to what is going on in this apartment.