apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The amazingly simple but right-on-target "headboard" on the wall where the bed is has such an ingenious subtlety to it while still making a very restful statement. I really like this one a lot.

Yay! Another one I liked.

The Kennel under the bed is toooooooooo cute for words. Very smart as well. Boy is THAT an idea I'm going to steal.

I adore this living room. And that closet is awesome.

another great one! competition is going to be fierce for this contest. these two are just nyc and there were so many amazing entries from the west coast.

I have to say while this one is really well decorated, there isn't too much design. And the open wardrobes, however well organized, is not something I can get on board with. The doggy bed is a revelation though! Lovely apartment, not the winner as far as I'm concerned.

The dog's miniature under the bed dwelling should be an honourable mention winner of the "smallest, coolest dog digs 2006" in itself.

man, i do NOT envy the judges. hard to believe that such great spaces could get exponetationally better with these latest round of pictures. i am definitely biting the idea to paint the wall behind the clear frame. and i love that closet, man i wish we had something like that.

Once again, I like your view.

Feel the Love!

The space for the dog is pure genius. And such a fabulous photo, too!

This was may favorite. So glad it's a finalist. Considering the small space and that it's rental make it all the more amazing. So inviting and livable. Hope this one wins it.

I like the dog hiding space. ThatÂ’s a clever idea.

Clearly storage was a need and you have a lot of stuff. You had the space to put doors on the closets in the bedroom -- why not use doors at least in the bed area so you can close it off visually from the living room and so you can cram more stuff in the closet? It was obvious that you didn't want to see it from the living room so you put up the sheer on the door.

I understand the idea to have clean, uncluttered closets and leaving them open requires you to constantly edit. But by default, the major eye-catcher here is a space with a big closet. As a design solution I can see that it meets the need, but visually it just feels overwhelming and I think it distracts from the nice things you have.

I love the window treatment in the bedroom. it has never occurred to me to split a small drape like that. lovely. perfect.

I love the view from your living room window!

Holly

this was one of my favorites too. I love the above the floor bookshelves and people have already talked about the dog space. My dog loves to hang out under the bed too!

Gorgeous. I'm coveting the lighting in your living room? Where can I find something similar?

Lets add this all up. A man, a woman, and a dog. And if they win they will use the booty to get a crib? Let's see how tidy things are in a year! Still - this is the hands-down winner.

I'm so glad this one got in the finals! I agree with Gregg: this is well decorated, and not overdecorated. (I'm not sure what he means by not too much design; I see plenty in putting in the closet and in the overall planning.) The best thing about the apartment is that it's so restful and appealing.

What color is the paint in your living room? (I'm looking for a color that is not too dark but which will disguise NYC grime. Do you think that color would be good?)

Why hello there Wassily chair buddies.

i love this one - go lucy's love shack! i still love those adjustable shelves from the front room... sigh... and i'm glad to see that is a dog and not a gopher, as s/he appeared to be in the flash video.

I've got to say, this place feels real, and it feels comfortable. It's nearly two hundred square feet smaller than the first finalist entry, but it doesn't feel smaller - except for the kitchen of course. The more I see this place, the more I like it.

Oh, and Lucky posing under the bed in the video is awesome. Lucy's a babe!

Beautiful! I have a question: did you make the desk (with the computer on it) yourself? It's exactly what I am looking for. What is supporting the board?

Thanks!

Carlo

This is the smallest, coolest apartment I have seen so far. I am amazed at what you have done. Best of luck.

Funny, the first two finalists are my first two favorites. But this one is my most favorite. What you've done with 370 sq.ft. is phenomenal, and that fact that it's a rental makes it even better. I'd love to see what you would do with the DWR prize!

Where did you the shelf in the kitchen that folds down?

Thanks,

Your closet space/creation gives me goosebumps! You're hired!! :)

Way too much open storage for my taste, but it deserves to be a finalist for how much storage has been carved from the space.

There is so much I love:

-the little nook for the puppy.
-the white space behind the floating frames
-the little pillows on the couch (was it always little pillows? The lines are similiar to my couch with has HUGE back cushions, making it a little to squishy for my taste)
-The blinds in the sleeping area

these are things I love!!

Wonderful apartment. It looks lived-in which I appreciate. A 250 sq feet dweller with lots of books, I have to ask where did you get the bookshelves(they have built-in bookends! So exciting)?

OK, CLEEEEAAAARLY you have too much stuff when you want a DWR Crib?! The kids uses it two years MAX! Caonspicuous consumption anyone?

This is why people hate Americans. Yuppie designer cribs.

And the pandering to the judges is L.A.M.E.

Gag, gag, gag!!!!

Um, Ames?

It's conspicuous.

And all babies need beds. So if you're going to get a bed for a baby, why not take advantage of qining a prize to do so? Another chair would be conspicuous consumption, the crib is brilliant. Especially since Jenny Lind oak cribs are not exactly small and space conscious.

Why am I bothering with this? Maybe because I love this apartment and hate bad spelling.

And haters. I dislike haters.

Yes, if only Americans bought Ikea cribs our reputation would be salvaged.

I would argue a crib is the perfect thing to buy from Ikea as their stuff only lasts two-three years before it's ready to be used as kindling anyway;)

Ikea sofa - no.
Ikea crib - yes.

The apartment's cute and spacially well planned, but I kind of agree. The DWR crib gives me heebie-jeebs. Just my opinion. Don't freak out folks.

Stokke cribs from DWRjax are modular and grow with the child from infant to 7 years old. PERFECT for a small apartment. What better way to use the prize? That's not "pandering" to the judges, they have to get something from DWR, after all.

jayla,

All I meant was:

Yuppie designer cribs are NOT why people hate Americans.

Great space that is well designed without looking like a showroom. Intelligent and homey. Wonderful.

Taking the OT and running with it: I have a one year old. I thought IKEA cribs were a great idea until we went to IKEA and I leaned on one with the fingers of one hand and it began to BUCKLE. They are cheap, and it unfortunately shows.

Most cribs are foofy, ridiculous looking, and too expensive to boot.

Is an upscale crib something you don't want to drop alot of money on? Sure. That's what one does with a gift certificate -- spends it on something you otherwise couldn't afford and wouldn't dream of getting.

Would I spend thousands of dollars on a crib? No. But I'm kind of a hard-core groundscore DIY chick. It's my ethic and aesthetic and it certainly isn't everyone's.

I'm pretty sure Ames, that people have a lot of good -- and bad -- reasons to hate Americans, and upscale crib design is not really at the forefront of anyone's concerns. Please refrain from the attacks.

The dog under the bed thing? Why? Might save space, but it's just odd. Also agreed with the comments on the open closet concept, not a big fan, who wants to look at clothes all the time?Still I think this one's worthy of top 10 for it's size and planning. I like how the computer work area was planned and the bedroom (with exception to the doggie area) is nice looking. Not a winner though.

BTW, Susan that fold down table in the kitchen is a café table from IKEA. It also comes in a much nicer antique pine finish.

What you've done with 370 sq. ft. is nothing short of miraculous! I love the graphic wall behind the bed, as well as Lucy's little spot under it. The living room is stylish and inviting, and the kitchen is well organized and pleasing to look at. However, the open storage you've put in the hallway is what takes your entry right to the top of my list.

Everybody owns "stuff" and personally, I always seem to be at war with a lot of my "stuff" - trying to ORGANIZE it, HIDE it, STACK it, DISGUISE it, DISPLAY it in some pleasing manner... in other words, work my will on it, while all too often feeling as though my "stuff" actually owns me and is winning nearly every round in our demented ongoing war. I have exactly two closets in my apartment, and both are stacked to the ceiling, the kind of closets you never want to open when someone's around because you're not 100% secure that nothing will fall on your head, or out onto the floor altogether. I've actually put a makeshift partition in the hall closet so that I can safely open one side in which I can store visitor's coats, but even that area has all the Christmas decorations stored on the shelves above and a big plastic bin full of fabric and the sewing machine stored on the floor.

So I marvel at your no-war storage zone, at the lovely sense of harmony that seems to exist between you and your "stuff". In fact I love your whole attitude to your stuff... no ratty bathrobes, nothing that isn't aesthetically pleasing, and no deep, dark, closets of pack-rat shame. The way the space is organized, with trays and storage below, keeps it from looking boring. Just a light, airy sense of "This is me, this is my stuff, we get along fine." My admiration for the way you've pulled this off is enormous.

I'm on the precipice and ready to jump into an apartment redo in the next couple of months. I've (FINALLY!) found and bought the perfect fabrics for new slipcovers, the paint colors are chosen and the scheme is really starting to come together in my mind's eye that will - once and for all - successfully marry the pale blue Ikea Kalenda sofa and chair (which were given to me nearly new and which I can't afford to replace) with the gorgeous Indonesian coffee table I splurged on a few years ago and still love. However, you've completely inspired me to insert a preliminary step this weekend. I'm going to take EVERYTHING out of my closets and force myself to imagine them in your Harmonious Hall of Co-existence, and any item that isn't willing to be part of an aesthetic truce and peace-building effort, is going to be firmly ejected from my space. Harmonious co-existence with my stuff... radical concept for me, but you've totally inspired me, and I thank you both for that.

Beautiful entry. I'll be pulling for you!

My early postings on the first three finalists all disappeared! So here I go again. I disagree with the judges on this one. An entire wall of open closet is not a storage solution, in my opinion. It looks like a clothing store, not a home. To be honest, it's just plain unattractive. The doghouse under the bed is cute, and your bedroom is pretty. And you are to be congratulated for being so tidy in your very small space. If you can live there with a baby, more power to you. But you'll have to get closet doors before the child learns to crawl!

I love the open closets - very organized and add interesting texture to the space. Also, the storage above the back hallway is a great way to utilize a tall and narrow space - i'm stealing that idea.

WOW! We didn't think we'd make it to the finals, and now we're thrilled by all the feedback, good and bad, that our little place has generated!

The comments are tapering off now, so we'll address some of the questions and critique that people have left.

Desk: The storage wall does look imposing in the main shot we took of it, but if you look at the plan, you will see that it is entirely tucked out of view from the living area. The sheer room dividers are there to divide the space, not to obscure the wood wall which we are quite proud of and our guests tend to admire.

Incidentally, the wood storage wall was created with about $550 of raw materials and was constructed/assembled in our front room using only a jig-saw, power screwdriver, and a tape measure.

Pat: Sorry you don't agree the storage wall is a solution. It solves ALL of storage issues, but beuaty is in the eye of the beholder. We tend to feel that form should follow function, and we like the openess of it all.

Susan: the kitchen flip-up shelf is from IKEA.

Pam H: The window covering in the bedroom is a tradition Japanese screen typically used to divide rooms. It's called a Noren.

Alicia: The front room light is from IQlight.com

Carlo & Duckbill: The desk is a very simple white Corian top that we spanned across the support arms that are part of the wall system. We provided a link to "Atlas East" shelving in our original entry.

Rachel (in denver): Yes! We did take off the bulky back cushions and replaced the couch with fun, colorful pillows.

J: We're glad you caught the deep storage space we created above the back hallway! We created a lot of extra space in that tall, narrow corridor that would otherwise be useless.


And lastly, we truly hope that Ames doesn't really believe that "people hate Americans" because we like a well made, well designed crib from DWR (one that is modular and convertable to be used from infancy through childhood). And we're not "pandering to the judges" by suggesting what we would by from DWR with a DWR gift certificate...


We have thoroughly enjoyed this process and think differently about several aspects of our apartment. It's been a fun ride, and we are anxious to see who the judges finally choose!

Eric + Ilana

i LOVE this entry!

it's super small.
it's super cool.

it's real and inspiring.
hope you win!

Love the apt and everything you've done. By the way, where does your couch come from?

This entry has given great ideas about space and color. Great use of space.

I was wondering if you could tell me where you bought the shelving? It's exactly the look I'm going for and was considering purchasing the elfa system. Your entire apartment is gorgeous and that closet space is to die for!

oops nevermind just read your comment! =)

awesome - can't believe you made them yourself!