apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Where's finalist number 4?

I saw the #4 finalist on the San Fran page of this site.

How could anyone stay in a bad mood after five minutes in this place? Cheery to the tenth power!

This place is way out of my taste for pure modernism and my minimalist asthetic... Its also way way too girly for me... But WOW! I love it! What a fun space to explore.

How did I not see this entry last month? The pink and green go together so very well. Georgeous! Absolutely georgeous!

It reminds me of Betsy Johnson!
Just a wonderland.

Girl, most people just USE color - you really OWN it.

Beautiful...

I forgot to ask..where did you find those sweet green sheers in the pink room? :)

love this one and glad to see it's a finalist!

It could use a touch of color.

All I can say is thank god another "real" entry made it into the finals. I really enjoy how you use vintage dresses to add more color to your rooms. Looks like a very fun place to live :)

i love this, and the other finalist choices as well, which are shrewdly and spiritedly chosen. i approve.
did i miss #4 somewhere?
congrats to all, and congrats esp. to the judges for not being hutzed by pros or rooms previously photohraphed elsewhere. thank you.

The photos donÂ’t reveal much. If I want to see Artsy photo's I would go to an art show. I Am sure there is a photograph contest you can enter and maybe win.
From what I can see the place looks ok (but I hate pink)

GIRL!!! I LOOOVE this .. lol .. it makes me so happy! What an absolutely sweet place. I think someone said it right when they said you OWN these colors. What a treat!

And I totally got a kick out of your original living room picture. A PowderPuff girl on your wall?! How PeterPan-ish!! Congrats!!!

boy! JJ is cranky today. I lvoe seeing people express their style and having it work. I wish more people would use atypical art for the wall, i/e the dress and cartoon. I gotta go redo my house now-bye

Wow! That place is electric!

When it comes down to semantics, I think that this is a far better example of a bold use of color than most of the other finalists. Congrats on making it this far!

I'm clicking my heels and wishing I could see the whole place! Amazing blend of greens, pinks, red, blue, and some nice neutrals too for balance. I hope this one wins!

If I had one ounce of the style this person has - my home would be amazing...I am so jealous!!!

Not my style at all, but I kind of LOVE IT anyway!

Yeah my comments came out a bit mean and I was trying to be funny (IÂ’m not very good at express my thoughts when I write)
What I was trying to say I donÂ’t care for the place all that much. The reason why I donÂ’t like it is because I have a bias against pink and girly pastels. I just donÂ’t like them on wallsÂ…sorry

My other part of the common is about the photos. It seem that people are hiding their layout of the spaces with cool art like photoÂ’s. Like I said she did a great job with the picture taking , but the leave me with no understanding of the space. It also leave me to believe people are hiding things about there spaces and making it appear to be something itÂ’s not.

I agree with jj. We can't see the space.
I have a cool bright sweater that I could hang on a nice wall and photograph...tells you nothing about my space.

I love elizabeth's place it makes me think color i never thought color before- never had anything but white walls- it's openned a new world for me

MMMMmmmmmm.... COlor YUMMY.....


amazign use of color and space...

Clearly this girl has nothing to hide! I suspect she's very happy with who she is...

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_small_space/article/0,1793,HGTV_3382_4394068,00.html

And apparently, she's not the only one who's happy with who she is:

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

I love this place. Way more girly than I normally go for, but the execution is brilliant.

I'm going to be the dissenting voice and I know I'll get slammed for it. I know everyone really loves this apartment and I am mystified as to why.

Granted, I am a lover of pink and find it impossible to have too much pink. I also really love the furniture. And of course there is a lot of color.

I can see the owner is very creative. I would love to spend some time there. What I can see of the apartment appears to be overdone. I feel a little cheated because I can't see that much of the apartment. All I really see is a bunch of still-lifes. I think the owner would be very skilled at window disply. And while these still-lifes are skillful, they look overdone in an apartment. There doesn't seem to be any restraint here. There are some very very beautiful pieces of furniture, but they kind of get lost.

I just know my 3D glasses are around here somewhere.

....wait a second....this is a contest....this apartment design has been noticed/praised, but it has never won a contest. And the winner is chosen by us...correct? It is sweet and original, even if I have seen it before on this site. She's a contender.

Ain't no rules that say the space can't be previsouly published.

But there --IS-- a rule that says "The colorful room must be part of a home lived in by the contest applicant."

Huh, wunder if everybody still lives in there spaces?

This entire contest has been one big disappointment. It had the potential to be really good; offering some great eye candy for AT readers; decor ideas and tips; constructive critcisms, etc. Instead, we get flimsy rules, barely there criteria, judges who can't/don't explain their picks and the last slap in the face is the editors note on the Colors Contest page calling those who've found fault with this competition 'nitpickers.'

Apartment Therapy is a wonderful community, but I believe someone else (other than whoever is running it at the moment) will come along, refine and polish the idea and it will truly be all that it can/was meant to be.

I scoff at AT's wag of the finger to "nitpickers". How dismissive of a legitimate observation that an entry may have been rigged or at least inappropriate. The (latest crop of the) AT faithful deserve better than "you asked for it you touchy bastards."

The only thing I would add is that *future* contests may want to preclude previously published entries, but since *this* contest didn't, I think the uproar is unwarranted.

Henrietta--
That nitpicker comment has appeared on several of the last entries, I believe, not just this one. I think it an attempt to keep the threads civil. But perhaps you are over-reading what it means?

I think it sad to be necessary, but perhaps the (latest crop of the) AT faithful has warranted it.

"But perhaps you are over-reading what it means?"

I haven't been paying all that much attention to this contest, so that's possible. Still, it seems that the same criticisms appear every competition and that they have yet to be adequately addressed. "rules" may still be chiming in under a different guise, but anyway, the point remains that clarity in the rules and fair play would forestall a lot of dissatisfaction.

Henrietta--
Was just mainly commenting on how you equated the "nitpicker" comment with "you asked for it you touchy bastards." I somewhat agree with what you are driving at, but thought that to be a touch extreme!!!

But you are indeed correct about this same concern cropping up on past contests. And perhaps even the same paul who leads the charge against "professional entries" and previously published entries!

But a general question back to the audience... are people equally upset to see ATers on TV shows *after* contests or appearances here?

Department of Whacking a Dead Horse One More Time: the editors state in blurb #7 that the finalists were chosen by popular vote and that nitpickers should chill out and enjoy the show.

Hence my comment.

Dear Roy,

I hope this post reaches you in the best of health. I was merely voicing my opinion about the way the contest was handled (poorly). If you think this was a well administered competition, great!! I, however believe that things could have been done differently and better. I do not hate the site, but believe there is room for improvement; I do not hate nor have I said a mean thing about the contestants.

Warmest regards,
Pete

How can you not LOVE this pad?!? Brings me back to the glorious junior high days of pink and green ... so glad someone has held on to them! Simply dazzling!

janine--
Getting sick of people saying "give her a break" when all I am doing is presenting an alternative perspective... and I did it with no snideness, insults or hidden agenda. If you don't understand dialogue, then perhaps a thread forum is not the best place for you. heehee.

And, no, Janine, I was not looking for validation, nor was I refering even to my own exposure on HGTV, believe it or not... I was actually thinking about the recent publication of two AT Smallest Coolest in O at Home. Why aren't they guilty of publicity hounding (which I DO NOT think they are) by these/your standards here?

Now, who will tell me to "give janine a break"? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?

Henrietta--
I did not doubt the word nitpicker was used. I just found it to be more an innocuous word than did you, is all, and was presenting an alternate take. Not arguing, no offense taken nor (hopefully) given.

I hope Fabulous Finalist #5 wins!!!

p2, no offense taken at all.

Jeff--
I don't drink coffee, but LOVE it when stange men call me sweetums! Better than any caffeine jolt.

(but you gave janine more credit than did I-- with her "we all know which one" and "looking for validation, P2?", to be sure!! Didn't seem like sarcasm to me. But anywho. Light and fluffy for the rest of the day, sweetums, I promise!)

Thanks, Henrietta

What's with the disappearing posts? Yikes.

Yeah, What's up with the posts?

Stunningly joyful setting like a songbird in glorious plumage! Perhaps, like the creator!

Elizabeth gives me inspiration to do more with color in my home. Absolutely love it!

Umm.. is it me, or are a whole bunch of posts MIA? I thought there were more than like 60 comments on this entry! I think I have noticed sudden disappearances elsewhere on the site too.
Maybe AT and crew are editing and removing the comments they don't agree with..?? That's not a good thing. Or maybe comments aren't sticking anymore. That is not a good thing either!
Like where is janine (I thought her, Patrick, and Henrietta were having a healthy discussion going)??? And I notice some are missing from Tyler's entry.
Maybe I am losing my mind... off to bed I go! G'nite!

I LOVE THIS SPACE!!! It is no easy task to blend this many colors and have a CLASSY space all the same!!!!

I do have to give my two cents before I head off to bed (I am afraid I will miss all the finalists tomorrow).
So, I do agree that this entry should really NOT be an entry. Too controversial, and way too political. I have to say after viewing Ellen's comment, and subsequent links, I am turned off by this entry (not that it isn't nice and all, but it has already been played and just isn't a fair contestant to the rest of the entries. This entry has already been "honored"). Shouldn't have been allowed past the start gate at get-go. Sorry.

"No Way Jose". Final vote.

got my cone and a scooper. wanna dish it up and chow down. yummy!

clearly this entry doesn't follow any blueprint except the one in her own DNA. this is Just Beautiful, Original stuff...a layered approach that looks divine but obviously happened over time.
i really love "magazne layout " places-in print- but i am Blown Away by space that someone clearly lives in. here you can feel the owner.
it's motivating, thanks sparkly spendor...

I wish the readers out there who are designers and whatnot would be commenting more on the contestants' USE of color.

This one is not merely PINK. She's used the pink with some subtlety! Making believers even of the most ardent pink-haters!

It takes a good eye to balance pink with lime green. She's done it by choosing a WARM pink (I know, the main picture itself has a yellowish tint -- but you can see the warmth in the pink in other pictures that have lighting from a window). She's punctuated it with raspberry items to keep the whole place from looking too pastel (it really doesn't read as pastel -- as baby-girl-clothes pink). The pink has yellow in it. That helps it go-- not clash -- with the lime green. She's also used yellow paint itself on some areas of the walls, which helps bridge the pink and the green.

Everything's LINKED. Even that green (Ikea?) end table -- it actually adds something because it's not TOO matchy -- more olive than lime green -- which adds complexity to the overall color picture.

Compare with "Alisa's Pink Heaven" --http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/fall-colors-2006-east/35-alisas-pink-heaven-013682

--There are just two shades: red and pepto-bismol pink.

The pink apartment in Portugal works for similar reasons.

Oh, man, I am wasting time! Back to work.

Thanks again for your wonderful compliments and interesting criticism! To answer your question Penny, I bought the green curtains at a flea market in Park Slope, Brooklyn for little or nothing. They were really in bad shape when I got them and needed about a week's worth of airing out and care.

I know there were major concerns as to whether mine is a real entry and the answer is yes, I truly live here. As I write this, I sit at the chandelier nook, living, breathing and drinking my coconut coffee. I'm not in cahoots with Maxwell, Apartment Therapy or CB2 however it's true, I've already received some glorious publicity. If you refer to the previous thread, you can see that I did, in fact, ask for permission to enter because I knew there would be much backlash. And Sparkly Splendor was right!

Have a nice day and keep on sparklin'!

once again, i love this apartment. i never get tired of looking at this space. it has warmth and tons of
personality that really invites you in. what i love most about it is its individuality. elizabeth is clearly not afaird to show us who she is. she has skillfully taken two opposing colors and perfectly blended them into a delicately, refined color palate that's playful, fun and sophisticated all rolled up in one. it sparkles!

Dear Crabby People,
I have known Elizabeth since middle school, and these pictures capture her amazing personality to a T. She has ALWAYS been like this, even as a pre-teen. For anyone to allude to some sort-of unfair advantage is silly. It's in her pink-green-blood.

As for her place: like Audrey Hepburn meets Watermelon flavored bubble gum.
Crisp Clean Yummy Fun!
Hope you win, Lizzie!
XOXO Chrissy