apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEEEASE!! Tell me where you got the chandeliers!! I love all three of them! TELL ME!!!

20 years ago, I saw an apartment similar to this with black-and-white-tile floors, and I still remember it. If you ever get tired of parquet...

Oops. Hit return before I finished...

Your space is wonderfully personal. What a great place to hang out in! Thanks so much for sharing.

(I especially love how you've mixed museum-quality contemporary photos with what looks like paint-by-numbers. Now that's style!)

I like it a lot, but I would like it SO much more if the furniture was not all lined up against the walls. Also it feels like too many little pieces of furniture, and not enough large pieces. Other than that I also love and want to octopus chandelier.

I am frothing at the mouth from that utterly delicious pink octopus chandelier.
Color me green, with envy.

This is SUCH a giggle!

I would love to see a contrasting color, though, on that bit of wall behind that ceiling-high shelf of dolls that forms kind of a "frieze", and maybe another contrasting color on the edge of that shelf, but that's just me talkin'. I think it would make those things pop even more.

What the hell is wrong with you people. I literally am going to run to my office communal toliet to wash out my eyes.

Credit personal taste but for the love of god. What in the hell happened here. She has a few good items on display but? The chandeliers are cute but? Perhaps it is the mass confusion and the parquet floors. But? Eh.

No guy straight, gay, confused, happy or sad could approve of this?

Like designers say men make your pad less bachelor and more girl friendly this is must the opposite and start working on it tonight.

Just got a chill. Sorry.

I like it. Love the colors, except I think the floor color is wrong against the pink walls. I would think about covering it somehow wherever the walls are pink. The blue walls on the other hand I think go nicely with the golden wood color.

I like this one a WHOLE lot better that the first.... amazing what 500 more sq ft can do!! :)

This is SOOOOOO Adorable and Cheeky!! But, can anyone REALLY live like this after 30?

The chandeliers and the flower ottoman make me smile.

Didn't Dixie say the first time that she liked to dance, and that's why the furniture is kind of out of the way?

One of the most important things to remember when you do comedy is: commit to your bit. Commit. Don't do anything half-assed, don't stand outside it with ironic detachment; inhabit your bit, whatever it is, completely. That's what Dixie has done here: committed completely. Where I would buy one little insane bluebird figurine and put it somewhere random, where it might look lonely and out-of-place, she has bought a flock, and placed them together, where they can assert their first-amendment rights to peacable assembly. The result is simultaneously reassuringly safe, and excitingly adventurous.

Dixie really created a space that's warm and fun but also intimate and comfortable. I wish I could create a similar zeitgeist in my own space. Well, at least I have the same Those Darn Accordions bumper sticker -- it's a start.

Dixie's place makes me curious to see her boyfriend's apartment. I wonder how much his own home decisions ( decorating is probably not be the right word) are in reaction ( positive or negative) to hers, and how much of the time they hang out at his place.
If enviornments shape as well as reflect our lives, there's a story or two here...
By the way, I think Dixie's place is marvelous. More than most house tours, it makes me want to be the householder's friend. Probably not her roommate, but certainly her friend.

She should be committed alright! I don't know if I could live like this...but it certainly is entertaining and makes me smile. When owner "passes" this should be donated as the Manhattan Museum of Kitsch. You go girl!

I have to semi-agree with michaelc. i really appreciate dixie's creativity, but it kind of makes me sad that there are really beautiful pieces of furniture & accents, and way too many tchochkes (sp?) to focus on or enjoy any of it. A few of the tables are fantastic, love the acrylic chairs, chandeliers, and the floral ottoman, but they get lost in this "museum" of stuff. I'm sure these collections are near & dear to her heart, but some things need to go. Is it really necessary to have TWO hot pink christmas trees, or two very bold sets of cannisters on display in the kitchen?

Also, I agree with the "furniture-against-the-wall" assessment someone made.

madfoot are you drunk?

This was painful for me to look at!

To all the naysayers, perhaps go back and read her AT survey answers:

"Best Advice: Decorate and live in a way that what makes YOU feel good, not what other people would have you do"

She's living it, folks... It may not be a style you or I could live with (except for the amazing squidlight that I am seriously coveting), but she has created HER dream home. And I think that's fan-freakin'-tastic.

I am the only female in my house and would love to crazy with pink. I am considerate so I refrain. Do your thang Dixie!If you ever throw a party or open house I would love to drop by.

I have to totally agree with Michael C! But the fact that Dixie knows what she likes and could not care less about what others think (note her friends' comment about her style) makes me appreciate her style -- even if I could not stand to be in it or look at it for more than a few minutes. So i am not going to tell her how she could do it better, because she is doing what she wants and she loves it . . . and that is all that counts. How we design our lives and the places in which we live is a matter of individual taste. But the design democracy that has taken over our television sets (HGTV) and retail (DWR) is a bit boring . . . So I am I am glad there are people willing to live in a Pepto Bismol bottle because it means that there is diversity out there and diversity in design is critical.

So Michael -- I share your opinion about Dixie's taste, but I am glad she is willing to do her own thing.

*love to go crazy with pink

I loved Dixie's old place and love this one.

It says "Dixie", not Westcratkea.

I guess I do commend the fact she is comfortable and does her thing. But just thinking like a New Yorker when you walk in the door most like to feel at ease, minimal surroundings, soft colors, etc. I mean we all deal with utter mayhem all day on the streets and at our jobs. This to me is just an extention of that mass confusion.

But she sounds like a solid person so that does count for a lot. Dixie should at least listen to friends and perhaps any designers willing to venture over there and utilize her items a bit better. She has what she needs just needs better placement. Perhaps a large natural jute rug which are generally cheap to calm the room. Break up that golden floor to pink ratio some. Too big of a space for such little things. I just don't know on this one..Plus the up keep/cleaning has to be fustrating here no?

Boyfriend? That was a suprise.

I like the old place more. This place seems empty. I think you need to go out and buy more stuff.

Chandeliers muy bonito.

OK, this is my apartment.
1. Thanks so much to all the sweet folks who said kind things. And thanks to those who refrained from saying mean things. Mmmwah!
2.. Check out Adam Wallacavage for your very own custom octopus chandelier. He is a great artist -- and a great guy.
3. Um, why is my having a boyfriend a "surprise"? Jeez.
4. I have to keep the furniture out there on the outskirts or my 5 parrots will eat and claw it to shreds. I totally agree it would be better arranged differently, but I can't. Sometimes LIFE, and living beings, is more important than perfect decor.

Oh, and the other chandeliers were cheap -- from greatchandeliers.com or something.

o god i LOVE it. what a happy place.

Bluebird Manor is the apotheosis of what a brothel is supposed to look like, and, come to think of it, Dixie is the apotheosis of what a hooker [with a heart of gold] is supposed to look like. It's the Golden Age of Americana.

Dixie has dolled up every aspect of her existence, especially her repartee, in such a way as to make every married fellow wish he were single, and every single fellow wish he were straight.

With the passing of Brooke Astor, I think it's time that Dixie take on the title and responsibility of Grand Dame of New York.

Dixie,

Last year, I inherited a lounge chair that is the same as the one you have in your reading corner, except mine is bottle green. I don't know anything about it except that it was purchased in the Boston area sometime during the past 15 years. Do you have any info about it?

The entire apartment is one big negligee trimmed with marabou and worn with a turban, high-heeled mules, and a small fortune in diamonds, possibly with a cigarette in a long holder and a cocktail with breakfast.

Love it as a statement; would be thrilled to visit it; will not be copying it in full size; MIGHT knock it off in miniature.

Also love the idea of having cards that name one's apartment.

I love the blue color in the bedroom and the pink is amazing. It feels so welcoming!

I covet the octopus chandelier. It is fantastic! I, too, am a collector, much to my husband's chagrin. Yes, your place seems a bit overpacked but the photos made me smile on more than one occasion. Thank you for sharing.

The octopus chandelier is adorable, and I got a kick out of the flower ottoman. Where oh where did you find a hot pink Christmas tree?

Wende, that was brilliant!

Having seen Dixie present her apartment slideshow at the AT "offline" the other day I have to say that she has been creating a great space for herself. While this is not my taste, I think that what she has done her is very creative and fun. I have to give commend her for taking a leap and creating something that works for her despite any negative comments about it.