apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I like how you've framed the art in the second picture with white that pulls down to the floor. Very striking!

This is pretty amazing. I love it.

Your color tips are excellent. The room is divine. Excellent balance and visual interest. So elegant.

Your color tip #2 is demonstrated beautifully in your space... I don't often love blocks of color on people's walls but you've done it VERY well. Nice job.

Elegant and bold at the same time. I like the judicious use of white, and the furniture really allows the space to flow, giving more room for the color to exist. 4 Stars!

All very nice though you may want to paint the inner plywood on the coffee table. I don't like the color of the chairs though, is that grey? Or is it just the lighting in the photo?

I think your brown walls would have looked better in chartreuse.

Love it love it love it. And thank you for your color tip #1, I'm going to use that. This is just beautiful. Simple, elegant, personal. Gorgeous. Well done.

Definitely an insta-finalist.

Creative and inspiring.

Definitely an insta-finalist.

Best yet!

The art treatments are nice, but I am a bit underwhelmed by all of the blocky chocolate furniture. It looks a bit dated and cold.

I like the "blocky" furniture. clean and crisp. and another from Miami!!!!!!!

Love the space, love the style..love the look.

but the designer in me is sensing something fake.
is this all photography or did you photoshop and or 3-d model any of it?


something seems almost too clean and too perfect.
especially the shadows.

This is wonderful melding of bold color choices, creative use of color and classy sophistication. VERY well done!! Love the large artwork.

This is one of the best representations of what this contest is about, in my opinion. I gravitate towards a more "lived in" look, but this is more about color than style ...

michael, I see what you mean-- both images are lit oddly and there seems to be 'yellow' light competing with a 'white' light perhaps from the windows. that coupled with the surprisingly cold blocky-ness (blocky-ness? yikes) of the furniture and color squares... I'm having trouble with this entry. I'm voting "insta" because color is artfully used, but the space doesn't do anything for me.

What going on with the rock filled magenta? square peaking out in the bottom right corner (1st image)?

Your color applications and choices harmonize beautifully with your furnishings. This looks confident, well thought out, and mature, which is quite refreshing in this contest. Very lovely, best of luck!

omigosh. Wow. This is so gorgeous. I am drooling. This is my favorite entry.

So far throughout this contest, #2 Midwest - Marilyn and Peter's Home Studio Harmony has been my favorite, and now they are my second favorite.

If I were the judge, you would be the winner hands down, but you really don't need anything else since your place is perfect - so can I have your prize? :-)

Let me count the ways I love this place. I love the zen-like feel to it. You have just the right amount of things. I love how you have framed your art with painting on the wall. Beautiful. I love the way you used natural elements, and love the precise placement of your objects (especially the blue votive candle holders on your red table).

Great work. What are you serving for dinner tonight and what time should I be there? I am sure your presentation will be lovely.

It's nice, don't get me wrong, but it looks like a catalog page - not someplace a person lives, breathes & loves.

i like the colors and the original idea. however, the large painting over the sofa not centered vertically on the white block is driving me a little crazy. and it is not aligned with the other painting to the right. this is probably unnoticeable in person, but striking on the photo.

Wow! I love this. Very creative.

That's really nice. Great ideas. Very harmonious. Good luck for the contest.

Liuba - from my PC the paintings are perfect. The white blocks are the same size, the paintings are not the same size. The one on the right is smaller, they are hung perfectly, look at the bottoms of the paintings which are aligned.

Jean - it is possible to life love and breathe very well in a space like this. I have tried to emulate a zen style in my apartment and it is so much more relaxing to come home to after a stressful day. And romance is always at your finger tips - candles are ready as are the wine glasses - everything has a function and is on the ready. I know many people who do indeed live this way, and it is not as easy as it seems, it takes restraint.

And I disagree with Carol - I like the plywood peeking out of the red coffee table. I love objects reused and offering a hint of what they used to be.

I agree Peggy .. the plywood peeking out on the table is simply full of character.

Great colors, harmonious. Excellent

is this a west elm ad? almost everything looks like it came from the catalogue. looks a bit sterile (blocky, cold and not all that interesting or personal). the salmon, green and brown colors are nice on their own but in this environment the colors could have been applied in another way to soften the room.

Your dining room has made me the most jealous and most inspired of any entry. Beautiful!

I love the sofas. I've been looking for sofas like those. Where did you get them?

I agree with the other that said this looks like a West Elm ad. Where is the individuality in this? Where are the personal details that make this a home rather than a tableau? This may be the least lived-in entry.

Fernanda - your home is SOOOOO beautiful!!!! This is my favorite entry.

You definitely know how to use color. The red and green rectangles on the dining room walls are striking. They add so much life to that area and I love how they frame your wine corner and the other wall decorations. It's even amazing how the color white is so well used there.

Your living room area is warm and inviting. Peggy, you couldn't have put it in better words "romance is always at your finger tips - candles are ready as are the wine glasses - everything has a function and is on the ready". I totally agree.

Everything looks clean and neat. Nothing wrong with posting catalogue worthy pictures of a catalogue worthy home. That just adds to your credit. Congratulations!

both rooms feel -to me -like they either need "more" or "less" . if you are going to go zen , Go Zen, let sparsity and scale provide impact. if you are bringing in collector elements, then bring in 20% or 30% more to show us where you have been , or want to be.
the space appears chosen and thought out but it feels somehow frozen. i'd be reluctant to touch things.the sense that a dog or a child could send things into complete chaos doesn't say "home" let alone "welcome". in my estimation, the best Zen embraces. the best collections invite touch. embrace and invite on...

Sofia,
You are correct, in a zen-like home a child should feel comfortable, and they would feel comfortable in this home. Children have a feel for art and beauty, and there is nothing here to precious for a child to touch. Take the wooden bowl, wooden bowls are wonderful to hold and touch and examining the simplicity and pure potentiality is amazing to children who are very bright and perceptive.

Take the votive candle holders. A child would have a great time moving them around and arranging them like a sculpture. And if one gets broken, so what? Nothing is too precious.

I try to live zen-like (although I have not achieved it as well as this entry) and my nephews, who are big rough boys love coming over. They are allowed to touch everything. Afterall, art is made for touch. They are allowed to touch my pottery, rearrange my pillows, rugs, touch my lamps, rearrange my art to their heart's desire. I don't care if they make a mess or if they break something (which they have never done). After they have touched everything and rearranged it to their liking, we pull up an ottoman have have tea or we cuddle on the sofa admiring their creation.

Children need to be given more credit for enjoying to live in a beautiful fashion. My nephews even pack away their own toys in a lovely wicker basket. The key is to involve them in the environment. An ugly Ikea rocker in the middle of the living room doesn't mean that a room is kid-friendly.

A lot of love went into creating these rooms.

I think it's also important to note that anyone who actually cares about this contest is going to clean up before they take their shots. We have no idea what this room "usually" looks like, so I don't think it's fair to judge on that aspect. "Lived in" as opposed to "minimal" or "zen-like" is not really what we're here to judge, as this is a bold and unique use of COLOR contest.

If you're able to like the space, that's frosting. I have given INSTA's to spaces that I didn't particularly care for, but the use of color was tremendous. Let's stay on track here.

In terms of the blocks of color, the usage of color .. I think most would agree that this entry is very inspirational in that *I* never really thought about framing my art out with paint .. I may have to try that (which is me being inspired). This space may look nice and clean like a catalogue page, but I challenge you to tell me where every piece of furniture came from, like in A LOT of other entries.

This took time and thought and in my opinion, is HIGHLY personal. Are we actually trashing it because it's not "cluttered" enough? That's absurd.

I really really do love the color you've chosen. And the way you've framed your points of focus is very unique. But despite the coolness of it (and irrelevant to this contest) the space seems so frigid & uncomfortable. I'm not intending to be critical of the designer at all here, but I would be so afraid to touch anything or sit anywhere in those pictures. I don't understand why people are so focused on a contemporary space, rather than a comfortable setting where they can truly "live".

Know what I mean, Vern?

Oh well. Insta-finalist anyway. Love the colors.

Beautiful house, very elegant. Your must have an expensive decorator!

Hello everyone, this is Fernanda.

I really appreciate all the comments you have posted about my place. It's been fun reading everybody's feedback.

I feel that a person's home is the reflection of his/her personality. A lot of the things that you see were made by me - including, the long white lamp in the corner of the living room, both pictures on the wall and the four-cube burgandy coffee table.

Someone mentioned that my home doesn't seem kid friendly, however, my two kids AND their friends don't seem to have any problems hanging out all over the place every afternoon. Next to the living room area there is a hammock and if you came
to visit you would probably have no chance to swing on it.

Peggy, my friend, come over for dinner tonight. Do you like Chinese or Italian take-out better? The table will be set nicely for you, but believe me, you don't want me to cook....

Fernanda,
I knew you made that lamp! I made one very similar! Did you also do the paintings? They are lovely. I am also a painter. Check out my entry - #34 Peggy's Low Budget Experiment. There is one of my paintings in the dining room. I love my place, but am already changing it!

the more I look at this the more I love it. I absolutely love the brown walls. And normally I don't like blocks of paint, and I don't normally like shelves on the walls, but I love the way you did it in your dining room. Those blocks with the shelves look like 3d paintings to me.

sushi tonight?

Definitely the best by far! this is a good example that not always the perfection means coldness... You have a very clean place that also reflects peace, harmony and cozy colors, at the same time your personal touch of neat and elegance brings a blend of exquisite taste and well balanced creative expressions all over your house... very nice! great concept Fernanda!

I AM OVERWHELMED WITH THE FEELING OF JOY YOU BRING OUT IN ME. I COULD NEVER BE OR FEEL SAD WHILE THERE. YOU GENERATE ENERGY AND PEACE AT THE SAME TIME. GOOD LUCK.

11/6

Fernanda... Can you tell me the name of the "brown" you used on the wall in the second photo?

I love this! It's so sophisticated and I would definitely try this in my own home.

Jonathan,

The "brown" is Wild Manzanita from Behr

Fernanda,

I am so in love with your place. You certainly did a great job. This is lovely. Please tell me where did youfind your dining set?
I am in love with it.

Fernanda:
What a way to decorate your house, it is so PRETTY, and you have a very good taste.. and very creative.