apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

With a first entry like this, why bother with anymore? WINNER!

Wow. We're off to a terrific start for this contest.

I feel both energized and cozy when looking at this place. Great combination of feelings your home inspires!

Absolutely beautiful. I love it.

gorgeous

What a great space. Love the way you use color throughout. Please tell me where you got the low bookshelf in the first picture?

The light on your blue wall and the color of your placemats make me want to move to Boston... which would ordinarily not be on my to-do list.

So inspiring! Your table is beautiful.

LOVE that bar! Is it just a bookcase and you added glass doors?

Great pics, great space and colors.

impressive entry!

down to business:

where are your dining chairs from?

(I have a feeling I'll be asking this question a lot)

what color is the wall behind your bed? and in the living room?

it's really colorful and clean - but doesn't look clinical like a lot of the basic mod houses do. it's cool how it's all open and the rooms really go well together... like there's a cool flow from the tv room through the dining room to the kitchen.

Who is the artist behind the painting over the sofa? I love the color transitions.

Great space, great use of color!

Great entry! The design in the first picture over the bookcase is fantastic. Did you paint it on?

Gorgeous. Warm and welcoming and just gorgeous.

Just wanted to say how wonderful it is to have 5 photos, it's going to be so much more interesting and satisfying for all us voters, thanks for listening to the little folks AT!

If this is an indication of this year's entries, yahoooo! Just fabulous! In the last photo, I'm loving the combination of that smokey grey/purple wall with the bright red chairs and shoe rack. Very unexpected and super sexy!

Love, love, love...

First, let me tell you what a great way to use colors. I love love love your place.

What's the color behind your tv/bookcases? How did you paint the graphic behind them, please show me how/where to look into to create it. Thanks so much :)

this is beautiful!

Ace, you asked about the dining chairs. They look to me like the Hippie chairs from CB2.
Great looking chairs! I wonder how sturdy they are though?

And to Andrew&karen: Compliments on the apartment! Many times color can seem forced in an apartment, as if someone read too many design blogs (no offense).
Here it feels natural and welcoming.

yayayay...contest!!! I'm so excited to see all the entries.

I like the pops of red here--and I love how you did your coat closet! Is that the Orleans rug from C&B? It's one of the rugs I'm considering for my living room--I'd like to know how you like it!

Very nice - love the round mirror, love the blue-grey wall, love the wall stencil. Anyone know where the bookcase/liquor cabinet is from? What about those nice place mats?

The more I look, the more impressed I am. This is a fabulous way to use colour: and the combination of the particular colours you've chosen to put together is interesting.
Lovely.

Wow - thanks for all the positive comments so far. I'm at work right now and don't have time to answer all the questions, but I'll login tonight and do my best to answer everything.

The liquor cabinet looks like Ikea Docent (don't see it in the new catalog though...guess it was replaced with the new Besta series.

this is really wonderful! I'll be putting some of these pictures into my personal "style tray" :)

In the first picture, was that painted using a stencil or free handed?

Love the blue and the freehand (or stencil) contrasting detail. And love home depot paints for the same reason: it is open on Sundays and late in the afternoons.

What shade of blue is that (living room)?

Ok, have to know--what Behr colors did you use? I love your apt.

if this is "i've got color" then anyone that strays beyond black or white can enter this contest.

The CB2 Hippie chair is a close knock off but I think its the Coco chair from DWR. I don't think its currently available but you can see a pic here -

http://mocoloco.com/sanfrancisco/archives/000486.php

and here

http://www.loftlust.com/shopping/italian-modern-coco-chair/294/

I have been looking and looking for that coco chair from dwr--they discontinued it, but I was v. glad to see the 'hippie chair' knock-off, thanks southernwayfarer!

Yes, snot, anyone can enter this contest. Even you.

Andrew and Karen: Your wall graphic is bitchin'. Love the placemats, too!

i like these colors. it doesn't look clownish at all, it's very grown up, but still fun.

Pretty pretty. What's the low bookshelf/tv stand in the first pic? Can't tell if it's furniture or wall shelving but I think it's just what I need.

TRES CHIC !

Your place is so cheerful and inviting! It's amazing how much color you've injected while keeping a neutral palette for most walls and major pieces of furniture. It's beautifully coordinated, and it has personality. I love that scrollwork on the blue wall. Very nice!

I think the "bookshelf" in the first picture is two floating shelves. If so, very clever.

Gorgeous, I love the design on the accent wall in the living room. I believe someone already asked, but just in case, is it painted or a decal?

I love, love, love it. Can we possibly have the winner on the first day?

I am very intrigued by the painting in the living room. Does it change color? I would love to see a shot of it in its entirety. In one shot it looks yellow and in the other blue.
More information, please.

I love the lamps. And the red dining chairs are a nice touch.

If we have a winner today we won't get to see the rest. With a start like this one, tho, I *want* to.

Yes, this has my vote.

Love the accent on the wall above the couch!

I love it, especially the wall graphic and the bookcase bar.

Wow! What a nice space.

Congratulations Andrew and Karen! truly beautiful. Like other posters, I too am waiting patiently to read your breakdown of the rooms. Did you do wall tests with colours before deciding. I would love to see the bedroom colour to see how the rest of your home flow as a unit.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks again everyone for such positive comments. Here are the answers to today's questions:

Low Bookshelf: Ikea circa 1999

Dining Chairs: Coco from DWR

Colors: The main color is "Sterling", the blue walls are "Ocean View", the kitchen wall is "Pesto", and the bedroom is "Pewter Mug".

Above sofa: This is our seasonal wall hanging. It's printed fabric from Marimekko which we stretch over an art canvas. We changed the fabric last weekend on the equinox. One picture shows the spring/summer fabric (blue/green tones), the rest are the fall fabric (red/orange/green).

Above bookshelf: This is a scroll from an artist on iStockPhoto.com. We projected it onto the wall and outlined in pencil. Then we painted by hand. It wasn't easy.

Coat Closet: Actually, that's the entryway, and though no one specifically asked, the shoe bench is my own design and construction.

Rug: Yes, the Orleans from C&B. We just got it as a wedding present (we just got married). We love it.

Round mirror and liquor cabinet: Both from Ikea. The cabinet was marketed as a modular media cabinet. We opted for glass doors and booze.

Placemats and throw pillow: C&B "Latitude"

Lamps: The paper lamps are from Ikea. The reading lamp is from Target.

Wall tests: nope. We obsessed over paint chips and then the paint store was closed - we went Home Depot and got the next closest colors - totally happy with the results.

I love this entry and I find the use of colour very skilful. A good example of Maxwell's 80/20 rule. Bright and airy, yet punchy colour accents.

Being a Cantabrigian myself, I understand the aesthetic here: Cambridge funk, Victorian chic, and a bit of Mid Century Modern thrown in. It's fun, cozy, balanced, and is a winner on all points.

Love.

inventive and inviting

omg! I Lo0oOove this! It's such a clean, smart and happy place. I'm sure your home really reflects your personality.

A wonderful infusion of colors, within an open and airy effect. This is an excellent example of how to use color for bold bursts and maintain a clean, effect base palette to work off of. I think this a great way to express the season changes.

i second everyone's comments: this is great and i love it. very colorful but not a nursery school. sophisticated but not pretentious. i like the idea of changing accessories for a seasonal color palette also - i do the same (but, i'm afraid, not nearly so successfully). wonderful.

Great use of color!
I'm intrigued by the poster on the first picture behind the dining table. What is it and where did you get it?

Beautiful! Is either Andrew or Karen an interior designer? Everything works together so well - not just the color (which is impressive) but the textures, the lighting, the furniture placement...every detail works.

LOVE those placemats!!

FYI, Andy and Karen's whole apartment is beautiful, and neither one is an interior designer. I've known them both for several years. They've just got quite a knack.

At first, I thought the art above the sofa might be one of those changing light boxes. They should win the category of "Best Use of Marimekko!"
I love how polished Andrew and Karen's home is, but doesn't feel staged or cold.
The use of the blue/gray color on both the dining room and living room walls is very smart. Love how the two rooms mirror the same color combo, and the main, "sterling," color is great.

Cambridge Holla!!! I'm so glad to see a hometown entrie so elegantly and richly starting this contest! (altho lets face it - we all REALLY love the horrid entries)

This is wonderfully cohesive - with rich colors working together - rather than a bland color 'scheme' focused around one hue. The tone of the wood, the furniture, the accent walls.... its amazing! :)

I have those exact same placemats! Love them! Now if I could just have the exact same apartment....

That crown molding is beautiful! This place is gorgeous!

Having something this amazing first sets the bar pretty high. Yes, color definitely drives the bus on this entry, but they seem to have gotten everything else right, too.

wow, just wow.

i was going to enter the contest. but this entry really puts me to shame.

I love the bedroom. Looking at it makes me relax.

Quote: Favorite type and brand of paint:

Behr Premium Plus because Home Depot is open on Sundays

Love this comment in your description... That is how I pick my paint, too -- Is it available when I need it! lol This is a lovely place - the color is accented through-out the house but doesn't overpower. I do like your shoe rack in the entry! Thanks for letting us know you built it.

Kirby

i've spent a lot of time looking at the contest entires submitted thus far, and i keep coming back to this one. love the chair porn poster in the first pic :D

What I love about this entry is how the color comes from the furnishing/accessories and not from the walls - which is the route most people take to add color to their homes.

So beautifully done. Warm, inviting, uplifting, serene...just absolutely lovely.

My definitely favorite.

Really lovely! I think I like it because I bought (and returned- not quite right for my place) the same placemats, and downloaded the same floral graphic for a project.

Love it love it love it.

beautiful, warm and cosy place.

Even in rooms I really like, there's usually a handful of things I would change if I lived there. This place? I don't think I'd change anything.

Beyond beautiful! You guys ever think of giving house tours? I'd pay to see your house :-)

Awesome color combination! Love it :-)

I miss Cambridge enough already, and this just makes me miss it more. What a fantastic place! I too keep coming back to it despite all the other great contest entries. It manages to be so stylish but without an ounce of pretension, and I agree completely with the 80/20 comment. I really hope you guys win.

with the exception of the inexplicable flourish in the living room, this is gets everything right. Bravo.

Lovely use of strong color "patches" and accessories with a neutral palette. I would have preferred to see the nice industrial grey-blue repeated in the kitchen rather than the overly vibrant green. However, your tactics are the closest to my tendencies I have seen (neutral with selected areas of bold). Lovely home.

I knew this had to do well! Congratulations and good luck! As you know, you've already won something to have gotten this far, and of course, actually being able to live so well in this space is something is a prize you're already given yourself.

I know the contest has ended....still think you should have won. I was wondering if you had a Flickr account so we can see some more of your really cool home.