apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i think the slideshow is broken, i can't get past slide 8; however, i do like this one. those chairs and the coffee table are awesome. i do see a trend developing though ... none of the finalists have any color on their walls!

Slide 9 is black, but then 10-12 work for me.

oooh -- what is that TV?

I love this space. It lacks the oomph of a unique solution which is the main criteria I've been looking for, but it is nevertheless gorgeous!

Not sure how this apartment slipped under my radar first time around!

LOVE IT!
LOVE IT!
LOVE IT!

A wonderful example of pared down vintage elegance.

Still love it.
Still needs an area rug in the main living area. :)
And not diggin' that big bookcase.

Hmmmm, both a rug and new bookcase could be acquired with a lovely DWR gift certificate!

Congrats on a spare and elegant home.

Great artwork. I love this place.

Love the furniture and art -- your aesthetic is so similar to mine. Love the mid-c furniture.

P(too) is right about the rug.

Rob:

You do need to replace that black shelving unit. It simply distracts from an otherwise "very happenin'" apartment. At this point, you're one of my favorites. Good Luck.

while this was not one of my favorites only because of my personal taste, this entry really works. it all flows together and shows how a renter (the renter/owner divide seems to be a big one for some) can use their individual design sense and put together a cohesive, well thought out and appreciated living space. this isn't about architecture or the bones of the apartment, it's about Rob K. good eyes. Congratulations!

yes, where did you get that fab tv? or is it a tv cover?

I love this place. The furniture style is not my own cup of tea, but the way it's arranged, the cleanliness, and the overall way this place works makes it friendly and livable.

This was my own pick for a winner... It's easy-going, not pretentious, doable on a budget, and also doable using other furniture with similar lines.

So airy, simple, but not bland. A worthy finalist, IMO. Where is that table lamp from, by the way?

I love the TV? What make is it and what year, please?

"The furniture style is not my own cup of tea, but the way it's arranged, the cleanliness, and the overall way this place works makes it friendly and livable."

terry, my thoughts exactly. good design shows the possibilities and appeal of things one doesn't particularly care for.

I'm not usually crazy about MCM, but that chair... that desk... that desk chair... serious lust over here.

I still like this one, but I prefer less "detail shots" that say "look what I own as furniture" and would prefer more that talk about the space as a whole....

Despite this entry's use of the recently-controversial MCM, one could easily mimic the approach using pieces from many different design genres. What works so well is the flow, the consistency, the careful curating of objects and stuff. It is a viable model for owners, renters, rich folks and the rest of us. The place could easily be added to the next edition of the AT book!

I also would like to see more color and texture. It is a worthy finalist, but not sure I would crown it smallest and coolest.

I don't understand why this is a finalist. He has beautiful furniture pieces but there's nothing particularly distinctive about how he's put them together. I felt the same way about the Brooklyn brownstone finalist--pretty space but nothing special.

hey Lisa from VA, I believe that tv is from Target a few years ago- they had a matching red cd player that had the same flip up top - but i don't they carry it anymore..

Personally, all things from the same era get a bit much for me over time. Just a pop something else (not too much to overwhlem the small space) would make it for me.

But a lot of really yummy artwork.

This is outstanding.

The fact that it is clean and cohesive in style when he had very little money to work with shows his resourcefulness.

It is also reflects a very personal style.

This is my favorite

Great lamp!

Loved it when you first posted it, love it now. And only 260 square feet? Holy moly. This place feels spacious when it's actually quite small.

I have to second what Li said... he just has a bunch of cool stuff. I don't see any creativity. The pictures seem like they're from a furniture catalog -- showing off the objects, not the space.

hmmmm...part of me says i might agree with some of the "critiques" above, but there's still something about this place which really, really works - and my gut tells me it's not just luck, it's a very sly, understated and discerning eye. it takes talent to make a place so laid-back yet elegant.

and my gut tells me rob will place, so maybe he'll get a rug AND a bookshelf. but what do it know?

I liked it the first time; I love it now. And that television is just delicious. I love it when a television is either cool and swell on its own, or when it can be made to be a natural part of a home, if the people watch TV. The artwork in this place is also fantastic. So many nice compositions here.

OK... Yentl didn't direct itself, and this "stuff" didn't just voluntarily jump into this apartment, folks. There's a VERY good curatorial eye at work, and the fact that it all looks so natural together is not a fault, it's more of a (I hate this word) virtue.

"OK... Yentl didn't direct itself, and this "stuff" didn't just voluntarily jump into this apartment, folks"

that's what i was gonna say, curtis - people overlook the fact that, y'know, people CHOOSE what goes in their place. if it was easy, everyone's place would look fab.

but to compare it to yentl is an insult to the apartment ;)

Yes!!! Another one of my personal Top 3 picks! Creativity, a strong eye and sense of restraint go along way in this space. Despite the constraints of budget and landlord/rental limitations, this entry really shines for me. This is the freshest take on the usage of Mid-C vintage I've seen in a long while--which says quite a bit since I'm no longer the biggest fan of the style. In fact, this apartment reminds of why I first fell in love with Mid-C years ago. It's a very cool and masculine take on the style; and is a little reminiscent of Mike Hammer's cool-as-hell bachelor apartment in the 1955 film noir classic "Kiss Me Deadly."

Note to the detractors: I challenge you to come up with something as strong under similar constraints. Rob quite obviously has a sharp eye and evolved understanding of the aesthetic. This shit ain't cookie-cutter Mid-C by any stretch.

Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate your thoughts. It's really fascinating to read people's reactions, positive and otherwise.

Enrique, I will have to go rent that Mike Hammer film soon!

For those of you who asked about the tv, it's a Memorex "Video Sphere" which I got at Target around 2002 or so. Unfortunately they don't sell them any more as far as I know, but a friend of mine found one on Ebay.

While there is no doubt that this entry in well within the confines of the competition - it is not 260 sf as that total does not include the kitchen cabinets, closet, bathroom, structure INSIDE the unite) exterior wall and half of the party wall. There is a industry standard for calculating square footage - it's not rocket science AND generally when you buy an apartment you should get that calculation. It's not always 100% accurate - but pretty close as you can sue if sold less than advertised.
I know I am being picky - but perhaps a definition of how to calc square footage is in order as some other entries get pretty close to the max allowed.

From: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/scc.php

Official Measuring Procedures?

Take the length and width of your apartment as if it was a rectangle and multiply together to get gross square footage (this included closets, bathrooms, etc). Next, subtract any volumes that lay outside of your apartment such as common stairways, halls, or other apartments.

Seems to me they did give an explanation of how to measure.

I see well-selected funiture carefully arrayed in one room...and not much else. Not a finalist in my view. It's hard for me to believe that this furniture was collected on a limited budget, but if it was then this person could have a profitable career in collecting and selling vintage stuff. Good eye for that.
About the posting re:lack of color among the finalists, the knife-wall folks had a saturated blue in the kitchen. And the Darko-bear apartment is very colorful. But I agree that the taste-skew here is toward "subdued". Which for me is about equivalent to...ho-hum.

Pat is picky.

I want this one to win! It's so serene and gorgeous and designed without seeming at all fussy. I love the organic shape of the coffeetable. A very charming element - that he's taken cuttings from his pothos plant and is rooting them in a jar of water.
I'd like to see some warmth on the floor, too, as other people said, at least in winter... some kind of asymmetrical but pleasingly-shaped rug, maybe. And something awesome over his bed... a headboard with really clean lines, or maybe a very simple but large mirror, if that's not too "porno". But it's great just as it is, too.

pphilipp -
You know that I don't mean to insult the apartment, when I compare it to Yentl! (Do I smell another "scamp"?) But you DO remember that when it got a nomination for best picture (and maybe the Oscar?) but no nomination for Best Director, some people (maybe Babs huhself?) said, "The picture didn't direct itself!" I stand by my analogy.

curtis, i was just funning; i'm not a babs fan, that's all. but i'm a curtis fan.

Rob K: I could only find one image on "the internets" in which part of the Mike Hammer apartment is visible.

http://www.moviemartyr.com/images/1955kissmedeadly01.jpg

Not a Babs fan??! Hand in your card on the way out, please. ;)

Such a wonderful apartment.

Everything works so well within your space, and your pictures are beautiful!

Thank you for sharing...

I second that, Miss Turquoise dear! :)

Holly

give me a break. . . it's a slideshow of furniture. i thought this apt contest was supposed to be on the creative use of space not a display of mid-c pieces of furniture with some ikea thrown in. how about showing us how people actually manage to live in less than 500sqft (cause really anything more is not really a small apt). what did these guys really do that is so friggin special. i don't even think dwell would publish these pics.

I think this place is beautiful. The furniture is out of this world, but it feels a bit dishonest to tell a whole bunch of home decor lovers that you bought all this stuff on budget. The vintage pieces do not look cheap, but if i am wrong please let me know. So, help me out rob. where'd you get all these pieces? are you serious about the budget.

Usually I like individual elements that work together to create a whole. This one is a series of individual elements that work by themselves as individuals. It has a museum quality to it that I find appealing, especially considering my own propensity to have way too much crap everywhere. I must like crap, as it IS everywhere.

I'd probably be afraid to set foot in the apartment. I don't know the names and eras and furniture things. I'd see invisible velvet ropes looping everything off to keep people like me from getting near the items.

Oh, I'd WANT to sit in the chairs...but I'd be afraid I'd hear you holler "DEAR GOD, WOMAN, DON'T SIT IN THE SHOGUNBERGERINI" And I'd have no clue if that was a chair name or someone spilt shogunbergerini on the chair and it was still wet. If you were trying to protect me from staining my skirt or protecting your chair from my butt.

So, it's small, it's cool, it's visually pleasing, and I'd shower three times in a row and THEN take a bath before coming over. I'd find a nice place on the floor that wasn't close to anything and sit there. Your space looks roomy, which I like. But it doesn't say "Come on in!" I suppose I'd have to wait for you to say that and make the first spill. ;)

I second Enrique's comments.

I couldn't find any sphere televisions (yet) but here are some shapes if anyone is interested:
http://tinyurl.com/jc2o3

Ugh, you can also check out the Sports area for baseball TVs with your favorite sports team logo. I'm not kidding.

Oh, hahahaha, there's a french fry TV in Style.

And lots of kid's ones in the Fantasy area.

Andree, that was hilarious!

andree, you made me laugh.

achingly lovely

In my book, this guy gets *it* and I love *it* getters.